Fighter Group: The 352nd "Blue-Nosed Bastards" in World War II

by Lt Col Jay A. Stout

Overview

Jay A. Stout breaks new ground in World War II history with this gripping account of one of the war's most highly decorated American fighter groups. Stout combines the storytelling gifts and careful research for a seasoned historian with the combat experience of a former fighter pilot to tell the remarkable story of the 352nd Fighter Group. This isn’t just the story of a single fighter group; it’s the story of how the United States won the air war over Europe.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780811736534
Publisher:	Globe Pequot Publishing
Publication date:	02/16/2018
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	464
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Jay A. Stout is a retired Marine Corps fighter pilot who flew 37 combat missions in the F/A-18 Hornet during Desert Storm. His work has been read on the floor of the U.S. Senate, and he has appeared as a combat aviation specialist on Fox, Al Jazeera, and NPR. His earlier books include Hell’s Angels and The Men Who Killed the Luftwaffe. He lives near San Diego, California.

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

Chapter 1 They Were Boys First 1

Chapter 2 Birth of the 352nd Fighter Group 15

Chapter 3 To England 39

Chapter 4 Combat 49

Chapter 5 On the Scoreboard 61

Chapter 6 A New Year 83

Chapter 7 The Missions 99

Chapter 8 Fuel and Nerves 115

Chapter 9 Moral Dilemma 125

Chapter 10 March Madness 133

Chapter 11 Mustangs 143

Chapter 12 The Enemy Fighters 157

Chapter 13 The Gray Enemy 165

Chapter 14 Aces 177

Chapter 15 Victory Claims 187

Chapter 16 The Deadliest Gamble 193

Chapter 17 Failed Guns and Varied Tactics 217

Chapter 18 D-Day 227

Chapter 19 To the Other Side 241

Chapter 20 Longer Legs and Longer Missions 249

Chapter 21 Clearing the Table, Clearing the Sky 255

Chapter 22 Summer with the French 265

Chapter 23 Taking Care of Business 275

Chapter 24 Unheralded Heroics 279

Chapter 25 To the Sound of the Guns 285

Chapter 26 Grinding through the Fall 297

Chapter 27 More Mistaken Identities 317

Chapter 28 To the Continent and Tragedy 325

Chapter 29 Making History 339

Chapter 30 Finishing the Fight 365

Epilogue 389

Author's Note 392

Endnotes 395

Bibliography 408

Acknowledgments 411

Index 413

Editorial Reviews

This may be the finest book yet written about the air war over Europe during World War II.”

--Air & Space Smithsonian

“Stout's crisp, concise writing powers a narrative that highlights a collection of aviators who destroyed more than 700 German aircraft. The book is certain to take its place with other memorable accounts of European combat.”

--John F. Wukovits, author of Black Sheep

Praise for the author’s Hell’s Angels:

“Hell's Angels is a gripping and awe-inspiring book.”
—Nathaniel Fick, author of One Bullet Away

“It's all there—the boredom, the devotion, the horror and even the humor in an industrial war fought on a global scale that we'll never see again. Unit histories just do not get any better.”
—Barrett Tillman, author of Whirlwind and Forgotten Fifteenth.

“Jay Stout is a triple-threat aviation historian—an experienced combat aviator, a meticulous researcher and a compelling story teller. Stout makes a hard-ridden topic seem fresh and new again. Highly recommended.”
—Walter J. Boyne, Author/Historian

From the Publisher