PTO Book Collection

[Boom]

[Boom]

Two good books on 'Hump' flying. One first hand, the other broader in subject. Easily the most inhospitable environment that anyone could fly over, including New Guinea.

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Two books that well illustrate the transformation Allied fighter aircraft underwent, and their application in Theatre.

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I'd always thought that the Mosquito performed badly in Burma due to the wood frame suffering badly due to the humidity. Mosquito Intruder proves that a fallacy. It's an excellent read, although please note that Burma only features in the second half of the book, from April '44 onwards. The first is half is taken up with Intruder operations over Europe (a good read in itself).

I've included the Images Of War book as it's photo's provide excellent summation of the really poor conditions for any air force operating over Burma.

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There isn't much out there on the Tenth AF. This one is a reasonably good starter. It'll do until I get a copy of Edward M. Young's far more comprehensive "The Tenth Air Force in World War II: Strategy, Command, and Operations 1942-1945.

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And the final two. A real contrast.

[Plurp]

Shattered Sword author

:Webinar: From Midway to… | National Museum of the Pacific War (pacificwarmuseum.org)

Edited July 17 by Plurp

[Chief_Mouser]

Just started this. Someone has probably provided a link to it somewhere already, as I can't recall how I found out about it. Apologies if that's the case.

 

[Wiedmaier]

On 5/20/2023 at 3:33 AM, Black-Witch said:

Of all my Pacific books the most detailed and interesting is...

The First team. Pacific Naval Air combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway.

The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway eBook : Lundstrom, John B: Amazon.co.uk: Books

Hailed as one of the finest examples of aviation research, this comprehensive 1984 study presents a detailed and scrupulously accurate operational history of carrier-based air warfare. 

From the earliest operations in the Pacific through the decisive Battle of Midway, it offers a narrative account of how ace fighter pilots like Jimmy Thach and Butch O'Hare and their skilled VF squadron mates--called the "first team"--amassed a remarkable combat record in the face of desperate odds. 

Tapping both American and Japanese sources, historian John B. Lundstrom reconstructs every significant action and places these extraordinary fighters within the context of overall carrier operations.  He writes from the viewpoint of the pilots themselves, after interviewing some fifty airmen from each side, to give readers intimate details of some of the most exciting aerial engagements of the war. 

At the same time he assesses the role the fighter squadrons played in key actions and shows how innovations in fighter tactics and gunnery techniques were a primary reason for the reversal of American fortunes. 

After more than twenty years in print, the book remains the definitive account and is being published in paperback for the first time to reach an even larger audience.

 

 

If this isn’t required reading by every member of the team, make it so.  There are a lot of histories out there, but this book, and its sequel, First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign, are some of the most well researched accounts of the carrier war.

He uses a lot of personal narratives that are unique to his scholarship and may never be recaptured.  I know my own grandfather’s account is in there.  He passed 40 years ago now, but from all family accounts he never talked about his war service except the one time he wrote it all out for Lundstorm.

Il-2:1946 gets carrier defense all wrong.  I sure hope that you guys read the most definitive book on the carrier war and especially the role of the FDO vectoring the CAP.

[Boom]

Absolutely correct. Makes for fascinating reading.

[Props]

I've read both of Lundstrom's First Team books a couple of times now and agree that it's pretty much required reading if you want to truly study early WW2 carrier combat.

I just finished John Bruning's 53 Days on Starvation Island about the early days of Guadalcanal focusing on the Marine aviators like Marion Carl, John l. Smith, and Dick Mangrum and the sheer hell those outfits went through at the 'Canal. Highly recommend this one too.

 

[Anonymous]

I recommend the Pacific War trilogy by Ian Toll: https://www.amazon.com/Pacific-War-Trilogy-3-book-series/dp/B084SRTBJC

[Boba Fett]

Agreed, Toll's trilogy is really well researched and isn't just a dry history. He really gets into the personalities pretty far down the chain of command and makes the war a personal history of the players. Excellent work.