Mustang Aces of the Ninth & Fifteenth Air Forces & the RAF
Mustang Aces of the Ninth & Fifteenth Air Forces & the RAF

Author: Jerry Scutts

Publisher: Osprey Publishing

Published: 1995-11-13

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781855325838

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Although best remembered for its exploits with Eighth Air Force units, the Mustang, in its various marks, actually made its combat debut firstly with the Royal Air Force in the Army co-operation role, and then with the USAAF's tactically-optimised Ninth and Fifteenth Air Forces. Seeing action in Western Europe and the Mediterranean, pilots like Glenn T Eagleston, John J Voll and Samuel J Brown notched up impressive scores flying P-51Bs and Ds with the 354th, 31st and 52nd Fighter Groups. Rarely given the exposure enjoyed by their high-scoring brethren in the 'Mighty Eighth', this volume at last sets the record straight on Europe's remaining Mustang aces.

B-24 Liberator Units of the Fifteenth Air Force
B-24 Liberator Units of the Fifteenth Air Force

Author: Robert F Dorr

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2012-12-20

Total Pages: 96

ISBN-13: 1782009027

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The sterling work of the Fifteenth Air Force is often overshadowed by the glamorous 'Mighty Eighth', yet the men flying the B-24 fought ceaselessly right through to VE Day. The B-24 was heavily utilised in the North African and Mediterranean theatres by the USAAF's Fifteenth Air Force, with operations over the Ploesti oilfields in Rumania being some of the most famous missions undertaken by the big American 'heavy' in World War 2. This is the third of five titles charting the operational history of the Consolidated heavy bomber, and is the first single volume to exclusively cover the Fifteenth Air Force's B-24 units.

RAF Mustang and Thunderbolt Aces
RAF Mustang and Thunderbolt Aces

Author: Andrew Thomas

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2013-02-20

Total Pages: 157

ISBN-13: 147280189X

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A look at the RAF service of the two most recognizable American-built fighters. The P-51 Mustang and P-47 Thunderbolt were the finest American fighters of World War 2, and both saw service with the RAF in substantial numbers. The RAF began flying the Mustang in 1944, using it to fly bomber escort missions, and deploying to support the ground campaigns in Italy and the Balkans. It was also flown by a number of Polish units in the RAF. The P-47 Thunderbolt was the best fighter available in CBI theatre, where it was flown by a number of aces against the Japanese, mainly in a ground support role. Although these two fighter types are most associated with the Americans, this book details the important role they performed serving in the RAF.

United States Air Force and Its Antecedents
United States Air Force and Its Antecedents

Author: James T. Controvich

Publisher: Scarecrow Press

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13: 9780810850101

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This bibliography lists published and printed unit histories for the United States Air Force and Its Antecedents, including Air Divisions, Wings, Groups, Squadrons, Aviation Engineers, and the Women's Army Corps.

Mustang and Thunderbolt Aces of the Pacific and CBI
Mustang and Thunderbolt Aces of the Pacific and CBI

Author: John Stanaway

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2013-02-20

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 1472801946

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Although far better known for their exploits over the war torn skies of Germany and Italy, the USAAF's premier fighters, the P-47 and P-51, also made significant contributions to the victory against Japan from 1943 onwards. This book relates the appearance of the Allison-engined A-36As and P-51As over Rangoon from India in November 1943, the 1st Air Commando Group in China, P-47s over the jungles of New Guinea in 1943, escorting B-29s on long-range bombing sorties against the Home Islands in 1944-45 and elsewhere.

P-38 Lightning Aces 1942–43
P-38 Lightning Aces 1942–43

Author: John Stanaway

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2014-07-20

Total Pages: 231

ISBN-13: 1782003347

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The story of the highest-scoring P-38 aces of the war, who had claimed approximately half of their total victories by the end of 1943 flying Lightning models ranging from the F-1 through to the H-5. The first P-38s became operational with the 1st Fighter Group in April 1941, and the initial combat deployments were made in Alaska, the Southwest Pacific and North Africa during the latter part of 1942. Photographic reconnaissance versions of the P-38 were in action even sooner when F-4 (P-38E) models were rushed to frontline units a few months after Pearl Harbor. Often using modified field measures to equip aircraft and train pilots in this demanding fighter, early pilots wrote a remarkable record of accomplishments that displayed a high degree of courage and innovation. Every theatre in which the United States was involved saw deployment of the P-38, and more than 60 Lightning pilots were credited with at least five victories by the end of 1943. Featuring illustrations depicting P-38 models from the E to the H-5 previously not known to the general public, unpublished photographs and new data, this volume presents a comprehensive and innovative account of some of these lesser known aces.

Aces of the 325th Fighter Group
Aces of the 325th Fighter Group

Author: Tom Ivie

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2014-01-20

Total Pages: 96

ISBN-13: 1780963025

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Illustrated throughout, this volume tells how, of the 325th FG's 537 aerial victories, 202 were scored by its 27 aces. The 325th FG was activated under General Order number 50 on 30 July 1942 and set up training operations at Theodore F Greene Field in Providence, Rhode Island. By mid-December 1942 the group was considered ready for combat and the alert for overseas duty arrived on 2 January 1943. The pilots and their P-40s departed on the carrier USS Ranger on 8 January and flew their aircraft off the vessel into Cazes airfield, near Casablanca, on 19 January 1943. After the remainder of the personnel arrived in late February, the group prepared for combat, and finally flew its first mission on 17 April 1943 as part of the Twelfth Air Force. During the next four months it participated in the North African campaign, and operations against enemy-held islands in the Mediterranean Sea. By the end of the Sicilian campaign on 17 August the 325th FG had scored 128 aerial victories, been the first P-40 unit to deliver 1,000-lb bombs against enemy targets and had escorted 1,100 bombers without losing a single one of them to enemy action.

P-47 Thunderbolt Aces of the Eighth Air Force
P-47 Thunderbolt Aces of the Eighth Air Force

Author: Jerry Scutts

Publisher: Osprey Publishing

Published: 1998-10-30

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781855327290

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The US aviation industry produced three great fighter designs to equip its burgeoning army air force during World War 2, and of this trio, Republic's P-47 Thunderbolt was easily the heaviest. Powered, crucially, by a turbocharged Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engine that produced 2000 hp, the first production fighters reached the 56th FG in June 1942, and six months later the group joined the Eight Air Force in Britain. The arrival of the first P-47Cs in mid-1943 addressed the problem of the aircraft's short combat radius, as this model could be fitted with an external tank. Slowly, as combat tactics evolved in units like the 56th and 78th FGs, pilots learnt how best to fly the Thunderbolt in order to effectively counter the more nimble Luftwaffe fighters.

Misconceptions about the Tuskegee Airmen
Misconceptions about the Tuskegee Airmen

Author: Daniel Haulman

Publisher: University of Georgia Press

Published: 2023-02-15

Total Pages: 148

ISBN-13: 1588385418

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Once an obscure piece of World War II history, the Tuskegee Airmen are now among the most celebrated and documented aviators in military history. With this growth in popularity, however, have come a number of inaccurate stories and assumptions. Misconceptions about the Tuskegee Airmen refutes fifty-five of these myths, correcting the historical record while preserving the Airmen’s rightful reputation as excellent servicemen. The myths examined include: the Tuskegee Airmen never losing a bomber to an enemy aircraft; that Lee Archer was an ace; that Roscoe Brown was the first American pilot to shoot down a German jet; that Charles McGee has the highest total combat missions flown; and that Daniel “Chappie” James was the leader of the “Freeman Field Mutiny.” Historian Daniel Haulman, an expert on the Airmen with many published books on the subject, conclusively disproves these misconceptions through primary documents like monthly histories, daily narrative mission reports, honor-awarding orders, and reports on missing crews, thereby proving that the Airmen were praiseworthy, even without embellishments to their story.