The Greatest Air Aces Stories Ever Told
272
The Greatest Air Aces Stories Ever Told
272eBook
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Overview
but this book concentrates on American and Commonwealth pilots.
These aviators were chosen not only because of their “scores” and their great courage, but also for
other qualities which set them apart, like the WWII Royal Air Force Wing Commander who shot
down more than 20 Germans while flying with two artificial legs.
Here are a few of the aces. Note that the air forces of Europe and the United States did
not always have today’s names, used here for simplicity’s sake:
Albert Ball, RAF, son of the Lord Mayor of Nottingham, winner of the Victoria Cross. He
had 44 victories in WWI when he was killed at the age of 20, well known to his German foes, who
much admired him.
Gabby Gabreski, USAF. Son of hard-working Polish immigrants. An ace in WWII with 28 kills and later in Korea, with another six. He was an accomplished commander, finished a long career as a colonel.
Mick Mannock, RAF. Tough and aggressive in spite of his fear of fire, he won not only the Victoria Cross, but five other high awards for gallantry. Highest British scorer of WWI with 73 victories, he detested Germans, and rejoiced with every kill. He was shot down by ground fire in the last year of the war.
David McCampbell, USN. Scored 34 WWII kills to become the U.S. Navy’s all-time ace. In 1944, set an all-time record with nine victories on a single mission. Winner of the Congressional Medal.
Pick Pickard, RAF. Led the RAF rooftop bomber raid on Amiens Prison In WWII, freeing many underground members, some of whom were facing death, and who were promptly spirited away by French partisans.
Frank Luke, USAF. Deadly American famous for his busting of German observation balloons in WWI. Shot up over German territory, he managed to land safely, but, being Luke, tried to fight it out with enemy infantrymen with only his pistol.
The book will also touch on the equipment these aces flew, from the famous Fokkers and Sopwith Camels to the ungainly two-seater FE2b, which was driven by a pusher engine and looked like a bathtub with wings and a miniature oil derrick glued on the back. Also included are our own Grumman carrier fighters, the P-40s, the P-38s, as well as the P-51 Mustang, probably the finest fighter of the war, a happy marriage of an American airframe and a British engine. The deadly, graceful Spitfire has its place, as do the Hurricane, the biplane Gladiator, and even the four-engine Lancaster.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781493029693 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. |
| Publication date: | 04/03/2017 |
| Series: | Greatest |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 272 |
| Sales rank: | 855,831 |
| File size: | 2 MB |
About the Author
Laurence J. Yadon is an attorney, mediator and arbitrator and speaker on legal subjects and the American West. He is general counsel of a federal power administration which markets federally generated hydropower in a six-state area. Mr. Yadon is a graduate of the University of Tulsa and University of Oklahoma College of Law.
Table of Contents
Foreword v
World War I 1
Chapter 1 The Coming of Armageddon (1914) 3
Chapter 2 Only a Broth of a Lad Albert Ball 9
Chapter 3 Deadly and Ruthless Mick Mannockp 19
Chapter 4 The Pride of Canada Billy Barker 29
Chapter 5 When the Royal Navy Ruled the Air Raymond Collishaw 37
Chapter 6 Escadrille Americaine 43
Chapter 7 Hometown Hero Eddie Rickenbacker 49
Chapter 8 No Engine, No Wings, No Bloody Hope 61
Chapter 9 Burning Balloons Ahead Frank Luke 69
Chapter 10 A Canadian Original Billy Bishop (RFC Canadian) 79
Chapter 11 The Red Baron Freiherr Manfred von Richthofen 87
Chapter 12 A Brilliant Pilot James McCudden 95
Chapter 13 Fierce Little Beast The Sop Camel 101
Chapter 14 Small Package, Deadly Contents Andrew Beauchamp-Proctor 111
Chapter 15 Too Young to Vote George Edwin Thomson 115
Chapter 16 One Tough Irishman George McElroy 121
World War II 125
Chapter 17 A Man of Dash and Gallantry Robert Stanford Tuck 127
Chapter 18 The Man with the Tin Legs Douglas Bader 133
Chapter 19 An Enigma Pappy Boyington 141
Chapter 20 All-American Boy Joe Foss 159
Chapter 21 Untiring Patience and Energy Johnnie Johnson 165
Chapter 22 One-Armed Mac James MacLachlan 171
Chapter 23 The Finest Natural Pilot I Ever Met Richard Bong 179
Chapter 24 The Greatest Flying Ace Pat Pattle 187
Chapter 25 The Cream of the Crop David McCampbell 193
Chapter 26 Young Finucane of the Shamrock Paddy Finucane 203
Chapter 27 Adlertag 215
Chapter 28 Just One More Gabby Gabreski 221
Chapter 29 Ace of Aces Adolf Galland 231
Chapter 30 Faith, Hope, and Charity The Battle for Malta 239
Chapter 31 The Boys from Shangri-La In Which Jimmie Doolittle Visits Tokyo Uninvited 247
Chapter 32 The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot 255
Chapter 33 The Nelson Touch Swordfish at Taranto 261
Chapter 34 Graceful Lady When Enola Gay Brought the Fires of Hell to Japan 281
Afterword 287
Bibliography 289
Index 291