The Hub: Fighter Leader

Under the tenacious and inspired leadership of Colonel 'Hub' Zemke, the US 8th Air Force's 56th Fighter Group emerged as the most successful American fighter unit in Europe. Flying red-nosed P-47 Thunderbolts, the Group scored more aerial victories than any other in this theatre, its aggressive leader himself downing nineteen German aircraft.
This book tells Zemke's story as narrated to author Roger Freeman, who intersperses it with his own observations on the qualities which made Zemke such a successful fighter commander. Never one to court popularity, he was frequently at loggerheads with senior staff when he encountered a situation which hampered his unit's efficiency. He also maintained a tight ship and would not tolerate sloppiness amongst his subordinates. But the flight disciplines and tactics he evolved, whether flying bomber escort duties or strafing ground targets after D-Day, made him an outstanding leader who was respected and trusted - even if not always liked - by the pilots who flew alongside him. The same qualities were equally evident when he became Senior Allied Officer in Stalag Luft I after his aircraft disintegrated in a storm and he was captured.
Roger Freeman's book is a classic of the air war, with vividly recalled combat sorties and shrewd analysis of those attributes which made 'The Wolfpack', as the 56th became known, such an elite formation. It is both an absorbing narrative to read for pleasure and one which should be required reading for all officers in the modern air force.


by Roger Freeman
Published by Airlife 1988 1st edition 256pp illustrated, index. 16x23 fine, including d/j.






Note:
"Long" descriptions, where shown, may have been taken from the book's dust jacket notes, and as such are relevant to the date of publication (e.g. any references to "new edition" "previously unpublished photographs" etc.) and not the present.

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