Nearly every World War II fighter squadron that flew in Europe has had its history chronicled. Other than Pappy Boyington's famous VMF-214 Black Sheep, little has been written about Marine Corps squadrons in World War II. The contribution of VMF-223, the Death Rattlers, over Okinawa in the Spring of 1945 is virtually unknown. In two months there, the squadron became the top-scoring unit of any service with 124 1/2 victories and produced 12 aces, the most for one tour of any Marine squadron. The squadron downed 24 3/4 Japanese aircraft twice in its tour, the most for a single Marine squadron...

Lost in the air combat and air ace fanfare of World War II was the dangerous, unheralded and vital role played by USAAF fighter-bomber pilots over the Mediterranean and northwest Europe. Four times as many pilots were lost during strafing and ground attack sorties than were lost against the Luftwaffe in aerial combat. This extensive book is the first in-depth examination of American air-to-ground attack and explores numerous aspects of the subject. The three priorities of the fighter-bomber - air superiority, interdiction and close air support along with combat reports and pilot narratives -...

William Wolf brings his meticulous research to describe the little known Douglas B-18 Bolo which was America's most numerous front line bomber at the time of Pearl Harbor. Over the years the story of the airliner turned bomber has languished in obscurity and the few articles on the subject in popular aviation magazines have emphasized its faults and maligned it as a budget bomber that had few virtues. Wolf's comprehensive book is the first ever on the subject and gives the reader the definitive description and appraisal of this neglected bomber's development, testing, manufacture, the...

Over the years the B-32 has been described only in a small number of magazine articles and in a booklet that have generally given a superficial and incomplete account, maligning the bomber, fairly or not, as a mediocre design besieged with developmental problems and a lackluster combat record. Consolidated B-32 Dominator - The Ultimate Look: from Drawing Board to Scrapyard is the definitive description and appraisal of this neglected bomber's development, testing, manufacture, and combat experience. The author used company design and production information, flight and test evaluations, along...

Following his previous "Ultimate Look" volumes on the B-29, B-32, B-18, and B-25, Wolf has written the definitive book on U.S. aerial armament in World War II. Drawing from his extensive library, microfilm archives, and technical manuals Wolf covers aerial machine guns and cannon; a discussion of the machine gun vs. cannon controversy, ammunition; gunsights; gun cameras; search radar and radar gunsights; Central Fire Control systems and remote sighting; an extensive section on the development, installation, and description of the numerous bomber turret and non-turret gun positions; fighter...

Following his previous "Ultimate Look" volumes on the B-29, B-32, B-18, and B-25, and volumes one and two in this series, Wolf continues his definitive history of U.S. aerial armament in World War II. Drawing from his extensive library, microfilm archives, and technical manuals Wolf covers: Dive Bombers, Fighter Bombers, Rockets, Napalm, Torpedoes, Depth Charges, Aerial Mines, GT-1 Glide Pattern Torpedo, Speedee Bomb, Hydrobomb, Disney Rocket-Assisted Bomb, Very Heavy Conventional Bombs, Atomic Bomb, Poison Gas and Biological Bombs, Leaflets, Animal Aerial Weapons. There is an extensive...

Following his first two massive volumes describing the day-by-day history of the 5th Fighter Command and associated tactical, strategic, and grand strategy, William Wolf completes the trilogy with this volume. The aces of the 5FC are now personalised, and their fighters described, and Japanese aces are portrayed for the first time. American and Japanese pilot training and their importance to the outcome of the war is discussed and compared. Details of the 5FC Groups and Squadrons are revealed, as are those of the Japanese Naval and Army Air Forces. The details of the aircraft of the two...

In his fifth book in The Ultimate Look Series, Dr Wolf again brings the same degree of meticulous research to describe this unappreciated and misunderstood B-26 medium bomber. This massive, comprehensive volume is the first to give the reader a definitive description of this neglected bomber, its development, testing, and manufacture. The role of the enigmatic aviation icon Glenn L Martin is described in the development of the American aviation industry and the Marauder. The author made extensive use of the massive document and photo collections of the Marauder Archives at Akron and Tucson,...

Of all the Allied bombers of WWII, the Douglas A-20 Havoc is probably the least well known, but was a major contributor to the air war effort, flying yeoman and unheralded missions not only for the USAAF, but also for the Royal Air Forces of Britain, South Africa, and Australia; the Vichy and Free French Air Forces; and most importantly, for the Soviet Army and Navy Air Forces, where more A-20s flew than with the USAAF. This is the sixth in the "Ultimate Look" series and presents the same meticulous depth of research as the other books, using a multitude of original sources, technical...