This book details the colourful experiences of the elite pilots of the AAF's Tenth and Fourteenth Air Forces in the 'forgotten' China-Burma-India theatre during WW2. Inheriting the legacy of the American Volunteer Group (AVG), units such as the 23rd FG 'held the line' against overwhelming Japanese forces until the arrival of the first P-38s and P-51s in 1944. The Warhawk became synonymous with the efforts of the AAF in the CBI, being used by some 40 aces to claim five or more kills between 1942-45. This volume is the first of four covering the exploits with the P-40 during World War 2.
This book details the colourful experiences of the elite pilots of the AAF's Tenth and Fourteenth Air Forces in the 'forgotten' China-Burma-India thea...
Thrown into action following the Torch landings of late 1942, the 'green' American pilots flying the obsolescent P-40F suffered cruelly at the hands of seasoned German fighter pilots flying superior machines. Those that survived learnt quickly, and a handful of Warhawk pilots succeeded in making ace by the time the Axis forces surrendered in North Africa. The action then shifted to Sicily and Italy, and the P-40 remained in service until mid-1944. This book charts the careers of the 23 men who succeeded in making ace during that time, despite the advent of much better P-47 and P-51 fighters.
Thrown into action following the Torch landings of late 1942, the 'green' American pilots flying the obsolescent P-40F suffered cruelly at the hands o...
The first USAAF fighters to engage the Japanese in World War 2, a handful of P-40s rose to defend Pearl Harbor from attack on the morning of 7 December 1941. Warhawk units were also heavily involved in the ill-fated fight to stem invading Japanese forces in the Philippines and Java between December 1941 and April 1942 and again in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands between January 1943 and March 1944. This book examines The Warhawk's wartime exploits and all of its aces including 'aces-in-a-day' Mel Wheadon and Joe Lesika.
The first USAAF fighters to engage the Japanese in World War 2, a handful of P-40s rose to defend Pearl Harbor from attack on the morning of 7 Decembe...
The pilots called themselves the 'Tokyo Club'. It was a simple task to become a member. All you had to do was strap yourself into a heavily loaded P-51 Mustang, take off from Iwo Jima (a postage-stamp sized volcanic island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean), fly 650 miles north over the sea - often through monsoon storms - in your single-engined aircraft to Japan, attack a heavily defended target in the vicinity of the enemy's capital city and then turn around and fly home while fretting over your shrinking fuel supply and perhaps battle damage as well. If your gas held out and you were...
The pilots called themselves the 'Tokyo Club'. It was a simple task to become a member. All you had to do was strap yourself into a heavily loaded ...
Staffed with inexperienced USAAF pilots and led by a handful of seasoned veterans of the American Volunteer Group (AVG), the 23rd FG was formed in the field at Kunming, in China, on July 4, 1942 and flew combat missions that same day. The group's three squadrons - the 74th, 75th and 76th Fighter Squadrons - were initially equipped with war-weary P-40s handed down from the AVG. These were supplemented by the attached 16th FS, flying new P-40Es, and all squadrons adorned the noses of their airplanes with fearsome and iconic sharksmouth designs.
The 23rd FG fought a guerrilla war...
Staffed with inexperienced USAAF pilots and led by a handful of seasoned veterans of the American Volunteer Group (AVG), the 23rd FG was formed in ...
Organized in January 1941, just as the United States was building up military forces for its inevitable entry into World War II, the 57th Fighter Group was the first USAAF fighter unit to go into action in North Africa. It went on to establish a number of other "firsts" during its illustrious combat history in this theater. Flying P-40 Warhawks, the pilots of the 57th entered combat in August 1942 and fought throughout the final Allied advance from El Alamein through the Axis surrender in Tunisia, the capture of Sicily and the invasion of Italy. Converting to the P-47D Thunderbolt in late...
Organized in January 1941, just as the United States was building up military forces for its inevitable entry into World War II, the 57th Fighter Grou...
Although the P-40 and the Bf 109 both joined the air war over North Africa at nearly the same time in early 1941, the venerable German fighter was already fully sorted with a combat career dating back to 1937 in Spain, while the American fighter was making its combat debut in the hands of the RAF's Desert Air Force. Both aircraft were low-wing designs powered by a single liquid-cooled engine of roughly the same output, but there the similarities ended. The Bf 109 was small and agile, capable of operating at high altitudes. The P-40's weight and engine limited it to middle-altitude operations,...
Although the P-40 and the Bf 109 both joined the air war over North Africa at nearly the same time in early 1941, the venerable German fighter was alr...
