![[Review] Lucky 666: The Impossible Mission (Bob Drury) Summarized](https://episodes.castos.com/660078c6833215-59505987/images/2208983/c1a-085k3-xxgjvxxrb14o-vcxayc.jpg)
Show Notes
Lucky 666: The Impossible Mission (Bob Drury)
- Amazon USA Store: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CO34LIC?tag=9natree-20
- Amazon Worldwide Store: https://global.buys.trade/Lucky-666%3A-The-Impossible-Mission-Bob-Drury.html
- Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/lucky-break/id1510833626?itsct=books_box_link&itscg=30200&ls=1&at=1001l3bAw&ct=9natree
- eBay: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Lucky+666+The+Impossible+Mission+Bob+Drury+&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&campid=5339060787&customid=9natree&toolid=10001&mkevt=1
- Read more: https://mybook.top/read/B01CO34LIC/
#WorldWarII #PacificTheater #B17FlyingFortress #JayZeamer #JosephSarnoski #Bougainville #Aerialreconnaissance #Rabaul #Lucky666
These are takeaways from this book.
Firstly, Forging Old 666 and a renegade crew, The book opens by charting how Jay Zeamer Jr, an unconventional pilot with a reputation for restless initiative, assembled a handpicked team of like minded airmen. Considered too independent by some commanders, Zeamer and his crew scrounged an aging B 17E, tail number 41 2666, and transformed it into a uniquely lethal and resilient aircraft. Drury details how the men cannibalized parts, added extra guns, reinforced weak spots, and practiced aggressive defensive tactics until Old 666 bristled with firepower and personality. This was more than tinkering; it was a philosophy of survival born from repeated missions in the Solomons and New Guinea where maintenance was scarce and enemy contact was constant. Readers see how crew chemistry and trust were forged not only in training but in long, punishing sorties. By the time the Bougainville assignment emerged, Zeamer’s crew had evolved into a tight, fast reacting unit that believed in their aircraft, their leader, and one another.
Secondly, The Pacific stakes and Bougainville reconnaissance, Drury situates the story within the brutal chessboard of the South Pacific. The Japanese bastion at Rabaul projected fighter strength across the region, shielding critical islands like Bougainville. Allied planners needed precise photographic intelligence to chart airfields, coastal approaches, and flak concentrations for future operations, including landings at Empress Augusta Bay. Photo reconnaissance over Bougainville meant flying straight and level at altitude for extended periods, the worst possible profile under enemy guns. The author explains why this specific mission mattered strategically and why resources were thin, forcing improvisation at the edge of Allied capability. He also clarifies the rivalry and cooperation among commands, the supply constraints of forward airstrips, and the tactical gap between available bombers and the escort fighters that could not range that far. In this context, a single B 17 mission could deliver intelligence that recalibrated risk for thousands of troops and ships, making the attempt both necessary and perilous.
Thirdly, Into the storm: the mission and aerial battle, The centerpiece of the book is the June 1943 flight itself, a long, lonely arc to Bougainville and back. Drury recreates the pre dawn takeoff, fuel calculations, and camera checks that preceded the run. Once over target, Zeamer had to hold Old 666 steady while the cameras exposed mapping film, a discipline that exposed the bomber to waves of interceptors. The ensuing battle against Zero fighters unfolds minute by minute: slashing attacks, head on passes, gunnery drills executed under fire, and battle damage mounting across the airframe. Joseph Sarnoski, already wounded, crawls back to the nose to repel another attack and keep the cameras alive, a choice that would cost him his life. Zeamer, grievously injured, keeps the aircraft fighting and navigable, coordinating with his crew as they nursed failing systems and clung to altitude. The chapter captures the violent choreography of aerial combat and the stubborn refusal to abandon the mission until the film was secured and the crew could coax their battered ship home.
Fourthly, Valor, sacrifice, and the weight of recognition, Beyond tactics and hardware, Drury renders the moral texture of courage under extreme pressure. The crew’s actions on this single sortie resulted in extraordinary decorations, including Medals of Honor for Jay Zeamer Jr and Joseph Sarnoski, one awarded posthumously, with additional high honors for their crewmates. The book explores how valor is recognized and remembered, placing citations alongside the human costs that continued long after the shooting stopped. Survivors carried scars, both physical and psychological, while families and squadrons grappled with grief and pride. Drury avoids easy mythmaking by examining the imperfect reality of wartime decision making, the role of luck, and the thin line between heroism and catastrophe. By grounding the accolades in lived experience, he honors the fallen without romanticizing the brutality they endured, and he invites readers to consider what leadership, loyalty, and duty mean when the odds and the outcomes are unforgiving.
Lastly, Reporting, archives, and storytelling craft, A hallmark of the book is its blend of rigorous research and cinematic pacing. Drury mines archives, after action reports, personal letters, and interviews to cross check timelines and reconstruct cockpit level detail. He frames technical aspects of aerial reconnaissance and gunnery in plain language, ensuring lay readers can follow fuel margins, camera runs, and formation tactics without sacrificing accuracy. The narrative toggles between the granular experience of Old 666 and the macro view of Pacific strategy, a structure that makes the stakes legible and the action visceral. Vivid scene setting and carefully chosen anecdotes keep momentum while endnotes and context ground the story in verifiable fact. The result is narrative nonfiction that respects both the historian’s ledger and the storyteller’s arc, giving readers confidence in the facts while delivering an emotionally resonant account of one mission that illuminates a wider war.
- Amazon USA Store: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CO34LIC?tag=9natree-20
- Amazon Worldwide Store: https://global.buys.trade/Lucky-666%3A-The-Impossible-Mission-Bob-Drury.html
- Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/lucky-break/id1510833626?itsct=books_box_link&itscg=30200&ls=1&at=1001l3bAw&ct=9natree
- eBay: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Lucky+666+The+Impossible+Mission+Bob+Drury+&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&campid=5339060787&customid=9natree&toolid=10001&mkevt=1
- Read more: https://mybook.top/read/B01CO34LIC/
#WorldWarII #PacificTheater #B17FlyingFortress #JayZeamer #JosephSarnoski #Bougainville #Aerialreconnaissance #Rabaul #Lucky666
These are takeaways from this book.
Firstly, Forging Old 666 and a renegade crew, The book opens by charting how Jay Zeamer Jr, an unconventional pilot with a reputation for restless initiative, assembled a handpicked team of like minded airmen. Considered too independent by some commanders, Zeamer and his crew scrounged an aging B 17E, tail number 41 2666, and transformed it into a uniquely lethal and resilient aircraft. Drury details how the men cannibalized parts, added extra guns, reinforced weak spots, and practiced aggressive defensive tactics until Old 666 bristled with firepower and personality. This was more than tinkering; it was a philosophy of survival born from repeated missions in the Solomons and New Guinea where maintenance was scarce and enemy contact was constant. Readers see how crew chemistry and trust were forged not only in training but in long, punishing sorties. By the time the Bougainville assignment emerged, Zeamer’s crew had evolved into a tight, fast reacting unit that believed in their aircraft, their leader, and one another.
Secondly, The Pacific stakes and Bougainville reconnaissance, Drury situates the story within the brutal chessboard of the South Pacific. The Japanese bastion at Rabaul projected fighter strength across the region, shielding critical islands like Bougainville. Allied planners needed precise photographic intelligence to chart airfields, coastal approaches, and flak concentrations for future operations, including landings at Empress Augusta Bay. Photo reconnaissance over Bougainville meant flying straight and level at altitude for extended periods, the worst possible profile under enemy guns. The author explains why this specific mission mattered strategically and why resources were thin, forcing improvisation at the edge of Allied capability. He also clarifies the rivalry and cooperation among commands, the supply constraints of forward airstrips, and the tactical gap between available bombers and the escort fighters that could not range that far. In this context, a single B 17 mission could deliver intelligence that recalibrated risk for thousands of troops and ships, making the attempt both necessary and perilous.
Thirdly, Into the storm: the mission and aerial battle, The centerpiece of the book is the June 1943 flight itself, a long, lonely arc to Bougainville and back. Drury recreates the pre dawn takeoff, fuel calculations, and camera checks that preceded the run. Once over target, Zeamer had to hold Old 666 steady while the cameras exposed mapping film, a discipline that exposed the bomber to waves of interceptors. The ensuing battle against Zero fighters unfolds minute by minute: slashing attacks, head on passes, gunnery drills executed under fire, and battle damage mounting across the airframe. Joseph Sarnoski, already wounded, crawls back to the nose to repel another attack and keep the cameras alive, a choice that would cost him his life. Zeamer, grievously injured, keeps the aircraft fighting and navigable, coordinating with his crew as they nursed failing systems and clung to altitude. The chapter captures the violent choreography of aerial combat and the stubborn refusal to abandon the mission until the film was secured and the crew could coax their battered ship home.
Fourthly, Valor, sacrifice, and the weight of recognition, Beyond tactics and hardware, Drury renders the moral texture of courage under extreme pressure. The crew’s actions on this single sortie resulted in extraordinary decorations, including Medals of Honor for Jay Zeamer Jr and Joseph Sarnoski, one awarded posthumously, with additional high honors for their crewmates. The book explores how valor is recognized and remembered, placing citations alongside the human costs that continued long after the shooting stopped. Survivors carried scars, both physical and psychological, while families and squadrons grappled with grief and pride. Drury avoids easy mythmaking by examining the imperfect reality of wartime decision making, the role of luck, and the thin line between heroism and catastrophe. By grounding the accolades in lived experience, he honors the fallen without romanticizing the brutality they endured, and he invites readers to consider what leadership, loyalty, and duty mean when the odds and the outcomes are unforgiving.
Lastly, Reporting, archives, and storytelling craft, A hallmark of the book is its blend of rigorous research and cinematic pacing. Drury mines archives, after action reports, personal letters, and interviews to cross check timelines and reconstruct cockpit level detail. He frames technical aspects of aerial reconnaissance and gunnery in plain language, ensuring lay readers can follow fuel margins, camera runs, and formation tactics without sacrificing accuracy. The narrative toggles between the granular experience of Old 666 and the macro view of Pacific strategy, a structure that makes the stakes legible and the action visceral. Vivid scene setting and carefully chosen anecdotes keep momentum while endnotes and context ground the story in verifiable fact. The result is narrative nonfiction that respects both the historian’s ledger and the storyteller’s arc, giving readers confidence in the facts while delivering an emotionally resonant account of one mission that illuminates a wider war.
