The History of WWII Podcast · Ray Harris Jr

Episode 605-Bruce Henderson Book Interview-Midnight Flyboys

February 23, 2026·48 min·3 clips

Operation Carpetbagger dropped about 10 million pounds of supplies and shortened the war by six months.

1. The History of WWII Podcast episode 605 focuses on Bruce Henderson’s book Midnight Flyboys and Operation Carpetbagger in occupied France. 2. Host Rick interviews Bruce Henderson, a nonfiction author, former newspaper reporter, magazine editor, and field producer, whose work matters because he has written more than 20 nonfiction books. 3. The episode asks how Allied airpower and secret agents supported the French resistance before Operation Overlord. 4. Henderson says Eisenhower and his commanders decided in fall 1943 to strengthen about 60 resistance networks in Nazi-occupied France. 5. He explains that the British had already built many of those networks and were busy with the nighttime strategic bombing campaign over Germany. 6. Henderson identifies three U.S. B-24 squadrons, formerly used for low-level anti-submarine patrols over the Bay of Biscay, as the units shifted to Carpetbagger missions. 7. He says the B-24 was faster than the B-17, carried more payload, and had dual bomb bays for dropping 12 steel containers at once. 8. Henderson describes the flying as dangerous because crews had to slow the B-24 close to stall speed and operate at about 400 to 600 feet. 9. He notes that each crew had to navigate independently to tiny fields in France using maps, slide rules, and visual landmarks like rivers, mountains, and forests. 10. He adds that moonlight helped at first, but the crews soon had to fly completely dark nights because about 10 of every 30 days had no moonlight. 11. Henderson says resistance groups sent detailed supply requests to London, including ammunition and even bicycle tires for couriers. 12. He explains that about 20% to 25% of the time, crews had to turn back to England if they could not see the field or could not make a safe drop. 13. He says the agents dropped with the supplies were called Joes, and the women became Josephines because the crews never learned their real names. 14. He describes the drop sequence as supplies first at about 400 feet, then agents at about 600 feet after the plane circled back. 15. Henderson says one of his goals was to show what the ground teams did with the supplies and how agents helped organize partisans and radios. 16. He says Nancy Wake was born in New Zealand, raised in Australia, worked in London and Paris, escaped over the Pyrenees, and later returned to France as a parachuted agent. 17. The interview has a detailed, explanatory style, with Rick pressing for logistics, aircraft choice, agent roles, and the results of the missions. 18. Henderson speaks in a measured, story-driven way and repeatedly returns to numbers, field reports, and the practical mechanics of the operation. 19. Listeners who like World War II air operations, resistance networks, and Nancy Wake will get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners wanting a short general overview without operational detail may skip it.

As heard by us

A book conversation about resistance support, night flying, and wartime logistics.

Episode 605, with Bruce Henderson and Midnight Flyboys, follows American bomber crews and allied secret agents as they work around the French resistance in World War II.

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Why you'd press play

Want the hidden machinery behind bomber crews, secret agents, and the French Resistance in WWII?

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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