P-36 Hawk Aces of World War 2 (Aircraft of the Aces) Review

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(More customer reviews)My initial thought when I saw the Osprey adverts for P-36 HAWK ACES OF WORLD WAR 2 was: WHAT P-36 Aces!?! Then the attic light went on and I realized P-36 = Hawk 75 = French aces. And, as chronicled in this interesting 'Osprey Aircraft of the Aces' book, some 39 l'Armee de l'Air pilots made ace in the aircraft. Finnish pilots likewise made good use of Hawk 75s against Russian aircraft, some 15 aces being produced. Along with the odd USAAF and RAF kill, Curtiss' scrappy little fighter compiled quite a combat record.
Lest the reader think the P-36 was a second-stringer warbird, consider these facts. The FIRST Luftwaffe pilot downed by l'Armee de l'Air Hawks was Werner Molders! French Hawks were credited with 234 kills in the 1939/40 fighting with Vichy Hawks later adding a few more victories over RAF and USN aircraft. Aces like Camille Plubeau, Georges Baptizet, Edouard Sales, Maurice Tallent, Michel Dorance and Georges Lefol used the highly maneuverable, heavily armed Curtiss fighter to deadly effect. Finnish aces like Eino Koskinen, Aaro Kiljunen and Kalevi Tervoa likewise exploited the Hawk 75's strengths to help down 190 Russian aircraft between 1941 and 1944. Interestingly enough the P-36 Hawk was one of the few warbirds to fly for AND against the Allies in WWII!
Authors Persyn, Stenman and Thomas do a nice of tracing the Hawk's combat career in various air forces and conflicts. Many first-hand combat accounts liven up the text as do some 80 photographs and eight pages of color profiles of P-36s/Hawk 75s/Mohawks by Mark Styling.
P-36 HAWK ACES OF WORLD WAR 2 is a wonderful addition to the 'Aircraft of the Aces' series. It sheds light on a little-known but very effective warbird that saw service around the global in various air forces and is a good read to boot. Recommended.
*****
NB. If several pilots helped down an e/a, the l'Armee de l'Air did not divide the credit for the kill but gave a full victory credit to each pilot!

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The Curtiss P-36 began its life in the US where it was considered a revolution in performance design in comparison to other US fighters. Its pilots achieved some of the first American victories of the war and many went on to become aces. One P-36 pilot, Frances Gabreski, became the leading US ace in the European Theater. Yet by the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor the P-40 was increasingly supplanting the P-36, which the US then exported to France under the guise of the Hawk 75. Flown by the French, captured by the Germans, sold to the Finns, transferred to India and Africa, and even incorporated into the RAF, the Hawk 75 saw service in every theater of operations and in a variety of combat environments. This book depicts the fascinating life of an aircraft that fought on both sides in the war, including the oft-overlooked Vichy French Air Force, with color artwork and photographs illustrating just how many national P-36 variants there were. First hand accounts recreate many of the conflicts that gave rise to over 60 pilots from several nations who became aces flying P-36 variants. This volume completes the Osprey Aircraft of the Aces coverage of the Curtiss Hawk family.

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Pacific Skies: American Flyers in World War II Review

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(More customer reviews)There have been many memoirs and histories of the air war in the Pacific published. Some are by famous fliers like Pappy Boyington and George Kenney; others by less well-known Pacific vets. Some were published during the war; others decades later. University professor Jerome Klinkowitz takes over 100 such narratives and weaves them into a unique chronicle of air combat.
PACIFIC SKIES, published in 2004 by University Press of Mississippi, offers a fresh and fascinating look at American fliers in combat. He incorporates the reminiscences of various combatants within a framework that sets the stage for that veteran's narrative and then provides perspective and commentary on what that person wrote. In some cases the individual's take on "what happened" was wildly inaccurate as to results actually achieved. In other cases wartime censorship shaped what was presented. Perspectives and attitudes changed as the years passed and so on.
Many of the works referenced in Klinkowitz's book - CARRIER COMBAT, BAA BAA BLACK SHEEP, GRIM REAPERS, I COULD NEVER BE SO LUCKY AGAIN, IRON EAGLE, DAUNTLESS HELLDIVERS and PUSHING THE ENVELOPE - are considered classics in the field. Klinkowitz's learned commentary on each makes for fascinating reading and provides new insights into the original.
While PACIFIC SKIES isn't your conventional "I was there" military history, it is a marvelous, entertaining and thought-provoking read. As I was reading it, I kept thinking of Paul Harvey's tag-line: "And now you know...the rest of the story" and how much that fit PACIFIC SKIES. Highly recommended.

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From 1941 to 1945 the skies over the Pacific Ocean afforded the broadest arena for battle and the fiercest action of air combat during World War II. It was in the air above the Pacific that America's involvement in the war began. It was in these skies that air power launched from carriers became a new form of engagement and where the war ultimately ended with kamikaze attacks and with atomic bombs dropped over Japan.
Throughout the conflict American flyers felt a compelling call to supplement the official news and military reports. In vivid accounts written soon after combat and in reflective memoirs recorded in the years after peace came, both pilots and crew members detailed their stories of the action that occurred in the embattled skies. Their first-person testimonies describe a style of warfare invented at the moment of need and at a time when the outcome was anything but certain.
Gathering more than a hundred personal narratives from Americans and from Japanese, Pacific Skies recounts a history of air combat in the Pacific theater. Included are the words of such famous aces and bomber pilots as Joe Foss, Pappy Boyington, Dick Bong, and Curtis Lemay, as well as the words of many rank-and-file airmen. Together their stories express fierce individualism and resourcefulness and convey the vast panorama of war that included the skies over Pearl Harbor, Wake, and Guadalcanal and missions from Saipan and Tinian.
As Pacific Skies recounts the perilous lives of pilots in their own words, Jerome Klinkowitz weaves the individual stories into a gripping historical narrative that exposes the shades of truth and fiction that can become blurred over time. A book about experiencing and remembering, Pacific Skies also is a story of unique perspectives on the war.
Jerome Klinkowitz, a professor of English at the University of Northern Iowa, is the author of forty books, including such World War II titles as Their Finest Hours, Yanks over Europe, and With Tigers over China.

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USN Carriers vs IJN Carriers: The Pacific, 1942 (Duel) Review

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(More customer reviews)The epic duel in the Pacific Ocean in 1942 between the carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy's Kido Butai (Mobile Force) and the carriers of the United States Navy makes for dramatic history and this story is told with great verve and insight by Commander (ret.) Mark Stille. USN Carriers vs IJN Carriers is the sixth volume in Osprey's new Duel series and readers need not fear that this is a repackaging of material from other Campaign and New Vanguard series titles. Rather, this volume provides a fresh look at four carrier vs. carrier battles (Coral Sea, Midway, Eastern Solomons and Santa Cruz) in 1942, fought when the odds were fairly even and in the context of two rival weapon systems. Both the graphics and text were highly engaging and I would strongly recommend this volume for readers interested in the Second World War in the Pacific.
The initial section on design and development focuses on carrier doctrine, carrier design and carrier construction programs for both the U.S. Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy. Herein, the author notes that the U.S. carriers were aided by earlier introduction of air-search radar, heavier anti-aircraft armament, better damage control and larger air wings. On the other hand, the Japanese opted for smaller aircraft with longer range, but otherwise the author views their carriers as generally inferior technically to their main U.S. counterparts. Color plan forms of the USS Enterprise and the IJN Zuikaku are included. The Strategic Situation section outlines the U.S. Navy's vulnerabilities after Pearl Harbor and the effort to mass a sufficient number of carriers to oppose the Kido Butai at a favorable moment. In the technical specifications section, the author details the U.S. Lexington and Yorktown class carriers, as well as the F-4F Wildcat fighter, the SBD-3 Dauntless dive-bomber, the TBD-1 Devastator and TBF-1 Avenger torpedo bombers for the U.S.N., and the 6 fleet and 4 light carriers for the IJN.
The well-written section on combatants discusses each sides' command personnel, naval aviators and anti-aircraft gunnery. Here the author notes that the U.S.N. was actually more selective in pre-war pilot training than the IJN, which found 90 percent of its aircrew from the enlisted ranks. Only 22 percent of U.S. naval aviators in 1942 had more than two year's flying experience. The author provides full-page plates on Vice-Admiral Nagumo and Rear-Admiral Fletcher, and a half-page each on aviators Lieutenant Richard Best (Dauntless pilot from USS Enterprise who bombed Akagi at Midway) and Lieutenant Tomonaga Joichi (Kate pilot from Hiryu who almost torpedoed Yorktown).
The 18-page section on combat sequentially covers the battles of Coral Sea, Midway, Eastern Solomons and Santa Cruz. Although the Japanese made costly mistakes in the first two battles, he notes that they increased the size of their fighter wings and added radar to their carriers, which enhanced their performance in the last two battles. This section also has a color battle scene, depicting Ensign George Gay floating in the water, watching the destruction of Akagi, Kaga and Soryu. The real meat in this volume is the 5-page section on statistics and analysis, which lays out the results of these four battles. While Midway was a clear U.S. victory and Eastern Solomons was a draw, the author views Coral Sea and Santa Cruz as costly Japanese tactical victories. He notes that of the 6 U.S. carriers committed in the Pacific in 1942, 4 were sunk, versus 6 of 10 for the Japanese (plus nearly every one of the survivors was damaged in 1942 - a tough year on carriers). The author makes several key points: (a) the Japanese had superior offensive anti-ship capabilities based upon their superior Type 91 air-launched torpedo -"in every 1942 battle, once an American carrier was torpedoed, it was eventually sunk," (b) the USN had persistent problems coordinating multi-carrier air group attacks in 1942 and Midway was the lucky exception, (c) the Japanese improved their air-search techniques after Midway and were not surprised again and (d) the U.S. continued operating single-carrier task forces throughout 1942 - which weakened their offensive and defensive capabilities - but was gradually moving toward multi-carrier task forces. The author concludes that both sides learned a great deal from these four carrier battles, but only the USN had the resources to build and train large carrier strike groups. Japan struggled to replace its losses from 1942, but was forced to convert merchant ships into carriers and its pilot training program could only produce a trickle of trained pilots. On the other hand, the U.S. mass-produced both the excellent Essex-class carriers and thousands of new pilots. The result was that the one carrier battle after 1942 - the Battle of the Philippine Sea in 1944 - was a decisive victory for the USN, which finally resolved the carrier vs. carrier duel for control of the Pacific.


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The Imperial Japanese Navy was a pioneer in naval aviation, having commissioned the world's first carrier, which was used against the US fleet at Pearl Harbor. The Americans followed suit, initiating huge aircraft carrier development programs. As the Pacific war escalated into the largest naval conflict in history, the role of the carrier became the linchpin of American and Japanese naval strategy as these rival vessels found themselves locked in a struggle for dominance of this critical theater of war. This book provides an analysis of the variety of weaponry available to the rival carriers, including the powerful shipborne guns and embarked aircraft.Study the design and development of these revolutionary ships, discover the pioneering tactics that were used to ensure victory and "live" the experiences of the rival airmen and gun crews as they battled for victory in a duel of skill, tenacity and guts.

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Beyond Pearl Harbor: The Untold Stories of Japan's Naval Airmen Review

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(More customer reviews)As a long-time student of the Pacific War, I consider myself privileged to have this book on my shelf. It's beautifully produced, and is packed with first-rate interviews that have never been seen in print before, as well as superb photographs. I was delighted to be learning new details on Japanese carrier operations on the very first page I cracked open. Not only will this book remain a treasure trove for researchers for years to come, it powerfully conveys the human element of our opponents during WWII. A "must-have" for students of the Pacific War in general, and aficionados of the Imperial Navy's aviation force in particular.
-jon parshall-
Co-Author, "Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway"

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This book is the story of the air war in the Pacific through the eyes of the last surviving Imperial Japanese Naval aviators of World War II, chronicled through never before published first-hand accounts, wartime diaries, and private photographs. Living in Japan for over half a decade, the author befriended the survivors of Pearl Harbor, Midway, Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima to gather this trove of stories and images. Meticulously translated and painstakingly researched, all of the veterans' accounts in this book are supported by both official Japanese and Allied records, together with first-hand narratives of American and British participants in these pivotal, historic battles.

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Day of Infamy: Attack on Pearl Harbor (Graphic History) Review

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(More customer reviews)The same is achieved in Steve White's DAY OF INFAMY: ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR, which provides a colorful graphic novel focusing on Pearl Harbor events. These histories will also appeal to young adults studying the facts of military history - this audience will find a much more accessible format and history, here.

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On December 7, 1941, the Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack on American military bases in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Masterfully planned and executed, the attack devastated the US Pacific Fleet; in less than two hours, Japanese aircraft had sunk or damaged all eight US battleships anchored in the harbor and had destroyed 151 planes. Thrust into battle, the United States could have only one response: war. DAY OF INFAMY portrays the attack that drove the United States into World War II in full-color, historically-accurate comic book narrative. Featuring the personal stories of front-line heroes like Ken Taylor, George Welch, and mess attendant Dorie Miller, DAY OF INFAMY also provides rich background material – causes and consequences, key players, and a glossary of terms – as well as a list of additional resources that encourages readers to delve further into the time period. DAY OF INFAMY is the ultimate way to experience how Pearl Harbor unfolded and to introduce a lifelong passion for reading.

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Captured Off Guard: The Attack on Pearl Harbor (Graphic Flash Graphic Novels) Review

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(More customer reviews)This book would be quite good to draw children's attention to the story of the Titanic. If they are low proficient English speakers, the text is succinct enough and the language structure is adequate to serve the needs of ELLs or ESLs who are starting to learn English. Although it may seem very simple, the story is useful for language learning. If you are looking for a Titanic related text that has more complexity, Isabel's Soto, also from the Graphic Library collection is also very useful.

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While camping out, Hank and his best friend James hear loud explosions. Pearl Harbor is under attack! James wants to hide out, but Hank wants to capture the battle on his trusty camera. Will this he risk his life for the snapshot of a lifetime?

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