Great American Air Battles of World War II

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{detailed description}American airmen fought many great battles during 1942-1945, none more so than in the Pacific and European Theatre of Operations where flak and fighter were the two main enemies on missions.
In the Pacific, US Navy and US Marine Corps pilots and crews fought an implacable Japanese enemy all the way from Pearl Harbour to Okinawa. Coral Sea, Midway and the great Battle of the Philippine Sea are just three of the triumphant air battles along the way, while on a smaller scale, the shooting down of Admiral Yamagata, and the Battle of Kagoshima Bay reflect the courage and tenacity of individual crews who daily fought the air war over the large expanse of the Pacific Ocean - and beyond.
Europe was considered the 'Big League' in aerial warfare with American air forces based in Britain, North Africa and Italy and ranged against the Luftwaffe. Battles raged deep within the Reich from Romania in the south to Norway in the north. Whole squadrons could be wiped out in minutes and at Misburg and Kassel, they were. Ploesti, Regensburg, Berlin and Schweinfurt became synonymous with the heaviest losses of Fortresses and Liberators. A high price was paid as the US Army Air Forces went to war in daylight, often without escort, and duelled with the Axis over the battlefronts. Epithets like 'Black Thursday', 'Blitz Week' and 'Big Week' recall the enormity of these missions. Only the timely arrival of the 'Little Friends' saved the 'Big Friends'. There were great victories too - the 'Marianas Turkey Shoot' and the 'Big Day' in January 1945, when carrier-borne aircraft and Mustangs respectively, showed the world just what conventional American air power was capable of.
{Author / Publisher / Date}by Martin W. Bowman
published by Airlife 1994 1st edn. 154pp illustrated, index 20x27
{condition}near mint, in price clipped d/j.
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