Wings of War Great Combat Tales of Allied and Axis Pilots During World War II

by Busha, James P.; Hinton, Steve

• ISBN13: 9780760348529
• ISBN10: 0760348529
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2015-09-25
• Publisher: Zenith Press

Summary

Experience the exciting combat tales of both Allied and Axis pilots around the world during World War II.

Wings of War encompasses the World War II air war from late 1939 through 1945 and provides a chronological snapshot not only of famous and significant events from the global air war, but also of other lesser-known events that are equally thrilling and important. Over three dozen different Allied and Axis airplanes are featured, giving you a unique experience at the controls of a variety of World War II’s famed fighters, bombers, liaison, and jet airplanes.

Here are just a few of the stories included about World War II aces from author Jim Busha’s vast archival research and interviews:

• A pilot that flew a P-36 against the Japanese at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, while still in his Sunday pajamas.
• A B-25 pilot who launched off the USS Hornet along with his fellow Doolittle Raiders.
• P-40 pilots who flew against Rommel and his Afrika Korps.
• A PBY pilot helped locate and recover a downed Zero over the Aleutians, which was later used as a test bed to learn its deadly tricks.

The action is truly global—from the skies over England, Greenland, mainland Europe, the African deserts, the CBI Theater, the entire Pacific Theater (including the Aleutians, Russia, Japan, and China), and many more—this is one book no fan of warbirds will want to miss!

Author Biography

Jim Busha is the director of publications at EAA and the editor-in-chief of Sport Aviation, Warbirds, and Vintage magazines. Jim is also a contributing editor of Flight Journal and has had numerous articles published in FlyPast, Aircraft Illustrated, Classic Aircraft, and Air &Space/Smithsonian. Most recently Jim authored The Fight in the Clouds (Zenith Press, 2014) and Wings of War (Zenith Press, 2015). An avid pilot and aviation historian, Jim owns and flies a 1943 Aeronca L-3 and Stinson L-5.

Steve Hinton is the president of the Planes of Fame Museum and the owner of Fighter Rebuilders in Chino, California. He is a test pilot, air-show performer, World Speed Record holder, and Reno Air Race Champion who also operates vintage warbirds for the motion-picture industry. Hinton has logged more than 11,500 hours in the air, including 9,000 hours in more than 150 types of vintage aircraft.