P-40 Warhawk Aces of the Pacific

Description

The first USAAF fighters to engage the Japanese in World War 2, a handful of P-40s rose to defend Pearl Harbor from attack on the morning of 7 December 1941. Warhawk units were also heavily involved in the ill-fated fight to stem invading Japanese forces in the Philippines and Java between December 1941 and April 1942 and again in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands between January 1943 and March 1944. This book examines The Warhawk's wartime exploits and all of its aces including 'aces-in-a-day' Mel Wheadon and Joe Lesika.

Carl Molesworth has specialised in producing unit histories for the USAAF fighter groups of the CBI since the 1980s, interviewing surviving veterans from these little-publicised units. This is his third volume for Osprey. Jim Laurier attended Paier School of Art in Hamden and has been working professionally in the field of Fine Art and Illustration ever since. As a pilot he combines his love of history with his flying experiences to create some of the most realistic and historically accurate aviation paintings seen today. Jim has aviation paintings on permanent display at the Pentagon and has been published in many books, magazines, and calendars.

"This is yet another excellent offering from Osprey. Fans of the P-40 and PTO air operations need to add this work to their libraries. Recommended." --Fred Rick Boucher, AeroScale (May 2007)