MilitaryWinter2024

30 WWII AVIATION: US ACES, BIOGRAPHIES & MEMOIRS • US UNIT HISTORIES: AIR FORCES The Great Pacific Air Offensive of WWII Series John W. Lambert. These are pictorial studies of the Allied air offensive that defeated Japanese air forces in the vast Pacific Ocean re- gion, destroyed Japan’s navy and its supply lines, and finally devastated the war making potential of the Japanese homeland. The photos come from official archives as well as from the private collections of veterans. Vol. 1: Return to the Philippines 1944 Covers the period from 1943 to 1944 after the Allies stemmed the tide of Japanese conquest in the South Pacific. Allied victories defeated or isolated Japanese forces in New Guinea, the Solomons, the Mandated Islands, and the Marianas, setting the stage for the invasion of Leyte and the Philippines. Size: 8.5"x11" • 200 bw photos/maps • 128pp. ISBN: 0-7643-2266-4 • hard • $29.95 Vol. 2: Severing the Empire’s Lifeline 1945 Presents theearly1945 liberationof thePhilippinesand Burma; devastatingAlliedcarrier task force strikes from IndoChina to Japan; and the invasionof Iwo Jimaand Okinawa, onthedoorstepof theJapanesehome islands. Size: 8.5"x11" • 200 bw photos/maps • 128pp. ISBN: 0-7643-2267-2 • hard • $29.95 Vol. 3: On Japan’s Doorstep 1945 Describes the final air assault on the Japanese homeland by Marianas-based B-29s; tactical air forces based on Okinawa, Ie Shima, and Iwo Jima; and by the aircraft carrier armada of Task Force 38. Size: 8.5"x11" • 200 bw photos/maps • 128pp. ISBN: 0-7643-2268-0 • hard • $29.95 Classic Light Aircraft: An Illustrated Look, 1920s to the Present Ron Smith. A richly illustrated A to Z book exploring the huge variety of light aircraft to be found at smaller airfields around the world. Mass production types, homebuilts and rare survivors of older aircraft are included, together with description of the types and indications of how many were built. Size: 7"x10" • 849 color/bw photos • 416pp. ISBN: 978-0-7643-4896-9 • hard • $34.99 US ACES, BIOGRAPHIES & MEMOIRS Flying Fortress Gunner: B-17 Ball Turret Gunner Bob Harper's 35 Combat Missions over Germany. Bill Cullen. At 5' 4" tall and 110 pounds, Bob Harper was below requirements. Rules eventually were bent and Bob's deferment was retracted. He was deployed to the European front as a B-17 ball turret gunner. Through letters home, combat reports, and extensive interviews with author Bill Cullen, Bob describes his harrowing experiences onboard the Flying Fortresses of the 8th Air Force. Size 6" x9" • 40 b/w and color photos • 176 pp. ISBN: 978-0-7643-6706-9 • hard • $24.99 2.99 GBP/$32.99 CAD Bazooka Charlie: The Unbelievable Story of Major Charles Carpenter and Rosie the Rocketer James P. Busha With Carol (Carpenter) Apaki. A high school histo- ry teacher before the war, Maj. Charles Carpenter will go down in history as ”Bazooka Charlie.” Carpenter served as an Army observation pilot during WWII. Itching to strike back at the enemy, he mounted “bazooka” rocket launch- ers to his tiny, previously unarmed Piper L-4 and aggres- sively hunted for German tanks. • 6"x9" (152 x 228 mm) • 55 b/w photos • 288 pp. • 978-0-7643-6636-9 • HC • 978-1-5073-0314-6 (E-Book) • $29.99 US/£27.99 GBP/$42.99 CAD Corsair Down!: Tales of Rescue and Survival during World War II: Martin Irons. A history of the missions to recover downed F4U Corsair pilots during the Second World War. Included are firsthand accounts from surviving pilots and tales of many of the great WWII Corsair aces. Size: 6”x9” • over 100 b/w photos • 304pp. ISBN: 978-0-7643-6224-8 • hard • $29.99 Hump Drivers: An American Pilot’s Account of Flying over the Himalayas during WWII. Arthur La Vove. This work is a contemporaneous record “time capsule” about life and war in a specific era and place in World War II. Hump Drivers is a unique work of history, literature, and art. Size: 6”x9” • 43 images • 192pp. ISBN: 978-0-7643-6166-1 • soft • $24.99 Black Sunday: Ploesti! Michael Hill. Tidal Wave! August 1, 1943. The legendary low-level raid on Ploesti, Rumania by the 376th, 93rd, 44th, 389th and 98th Bomb Groups, is de- scribed by author/historian Mike Hill in this large format book. Size: 9"x12" • 350 bw photos • 256pp. ISBN: 0-88740-519-3 • hard • $59.99 Fighter Aces of the USA: New Revised and Expanded Edition Toliver & Constable. The most complete book ever published on American fighter aces, and includes dozens of aces’ combat accounts, plus capsule biographies. Evolution of aircraft, tactics and armament is seen through the eyes of the 1,400 elite Americans who earned the coveted title “Ace." Size: 9"x12" • 850 bw photos • 400pp. ISBN: 0-7643-0348-1 • hard • $59.95 Gabby: A Fighter Pilot’s Life Gabreski & Molesworth. Drawing on private documents and photos, Gabreski, along with writer Molesworth, tells his thrilling eyewitness story with a candor and a vivid style that will earn this brave pilot a whole new generation of admirers. Size: 8.5"x11" • 200 color/bw photos • 176pp. ISBN: 0-7643-0442-9 • hard • $45.00 Herky! The Memoirs of a Checker Ace Herschel H. Green. The dramatic life story of one of the legendary USAAF fighter pilots of WWII. By the time Green was grounded by orders of higher headquarters, he was the leading ace of the 15th Air Force with eighteen aerial victories. Size: 8.5"x11" • 150 bw photos • 192pp. ISBN: 0-7643-0073-3 • hard • $45.00 Happy Jack’s Go Buggy: A Fighter Pilot’s Story Jack Ilfrey. Fly with Ilfrey in his P-38 as he and his unit become the first group of American aircraft to fly from the USA to England. Thrill to the stories of aerial combat over North Africa as Ilfrey becomes one of America’s first WWII aces. Size: 8.5"x11" • 190 color/bw photos • 128pp. ISBN: 0-7643-0664-2 • hard • $35.00 Eighty-One Aces of the 4th Fighter Group Frank Speer. The 4th Fighter Group, armed with P-51s and aggressive, seasoned pilots, battled the Luftwaffe in the air and on the ground, achieving an impressive score of 1,016 German planes destroyed, the highest score of all Allied Groups. Size: 8.5"x11" • 150 color/bw photos • 144pp. ISBN: 978-0-7643-3374-3 • hard • $59.99 The Doolittle Raiders: What Heroes Do after a War. George Nolta. Eighty brave men made a near-suicidal attack on Japan shortly after Pearl Harbor, led by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle. Much has been written about the raid and the frightening escape through China, but little has been written about these brave men’s lives before and after the raid. This collection of biographical sketches tells us much about who these men were. Size: 6"x9" • 16 images • 144pp. ISBN: 978-0-7643-5614-8 • soft • $16.99 The Doolittle Raid Carroll V. Glines. It was the biggest gamble of WWII, but Doolittle’s legendary bombing raid on Tokyo gave America the morale boost it needed in the wake of Pearl Harbor. This is the full story as told by the Doolittle Raiders’ official historian. Size: 6"x9" • 35 bw photos • 272pp. ISBN: 978-0-88740-347-7 • hard • $29.99 I Could Never Be So Lucky Again: An Autobi- ography of James H. “Jimmy” Doolittle with C.V. Glines. Pilot, scholar, daredevil, general, Doolittle was one of America’s greatest heroes. Now, for the first time, here is his life story as only Doolittle himself can tell it. Size: 6"x9" • 48 bw photos • 622pp. ISBN: 978-0-88740-737-6 • hard • $29.99 Serenade to the Big Bird: A New Edition of the Classic B-17 Tribute Bert Stiles. After com- pleting a tour of duty in B-17s, Stiles transferred to a fighter squadron. Just four months later he was killed in action. His book portrays the tragedy of war, and specifically the loss to the world of a fine, sensitive, talented writer who had only a short time to prove his merit. Size: 6"x9" • 25 bw photos • 160pp. ISBN: 978-0-7643-1396-7 • hard • $29.99 The Clay Pigeons: A B-17 Pilot’s Story of WWII E. Helene Sage. This book is centered around the author’s father’s WWII diary. Sage was a B-17 pilot who flew twenty-nine missions out of Thurleigh, England, as a member of the 8th Air Force, 306th BG, 367th BS (“The Clay Pigeons”). Size: 6"x9" • 100 color/bw photos • 160pp. ISBN: 978-0-7643-3951-6 • hard • $35.00 Whistling Death: The Test Pilot’s Story of the F4U Corsair Boone T. Guyton. Whistling Death is the true story, by the test pilot, of the rush to produce the F4U Corsair, the Navy fighter that brought America air superiority over the Japanese Zero in WWII. Guyton, an experimental test pilot at Chance Vought during and after WWII, flew 105 types of aircraft in forty-five years as a pilot. Size: 6"x9" • 16 bw photos • 288pp. ISBN: 978-0-88740-732-1 • hard • $29.99 Paddles! The Foibles and Finesse of One WWII Landing Signal Officer John A. Harper. One young naval officer’s brief WWII career as a carrier Landing Signal Officer. It begins with conversion of a twenty-one year old ensign from fighter gunnery instructor to senior Landing Signal Officer in just four months, and follows him through twenty-seven months of fast paced air operations in the naval air combat environment. Size: 6"x9" • 30 bw photos • 336pp. ISBN: 0-7643-0077-6 • hard • $24.95