American Nightfighter Aces of World War 2

Description

The Americans lagged behind their European contemporaries in military aviation in the late 1930s, and it took the Battle of Britain to awaken America to the necessity of having aircraft that could defend targets against night-time attack by bomber aircraft. This book examines the numerous aircraft types that were used by the US in this role, beginning with the early stop-gap conversions like the TBM Avenger, Lockheed Ventura and the A-20 Havoc (P-70). It goes on to detail the combat history of the newer, radar-equipped Hellcats, Corsairs and Black Widows that were designed to seek out enemy aircraft and which registered most of the kills made by the Navy, Marine Corps and USAAF in 1944-45. With full-colour profiles and rare photographs, this is an absorbing account of an underestimated flying force: the American Nightfighters.

Warren Thompson has had numerous books and magazine articles published over the past 30 years. His interest in the role of the American nightfighter in World War 2 has spanned this entire length of time, although he has also been successful in writing on the Korean War and Vietnam. Thompson has written books for Osprey since 1990, with his latest contributions being the Aces volumes on the 4th and 51st Fighter Wings in the Korean War, and a Combat Aircraft title on the F-117 in Operation Desert Storm. Andrew Thomas is one of Britain's leading RAF researchers, having published numerous articles and books on the subject, as well as readily assisting other authors. Having joined the RAF to fly straight from school, he has maintained his enthusiastic interest in the history and development of his Service throughout his career. He has previously published six volumes on British and Commonwealth Aces in the renowned Osprey series. Chris Davey has illustrated more than 20 titles for Osprey's Aircraft of the Aces, Combat Aircraft and Elite Units series since 1994. Based in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, and one of the last traditional airbrush artists in the business, he has become the artist of choice for both USAAF fighters and RAF subject matter.

"Provides an excellent survey of the RAF's role in helping American fighters develop top-notch craft and techniques... includes thirty specially commissioned original color artworks and five vintage photos. All are outstanding military guides recommended for specialty military collections." --California Bookwatch (November 2008) "Number 84 in the highly successful [Aircraft of the Aces] series addresses a very specific subject and makes use of the talents of two well known authors, one British, one American. Following the well-established format of authoratative text supplemeted by rare photos and a folio of color profiles, this book describes the efforts of a dedicated group of skilled aviators... Thomas is a serving RAF officer and has established himself as an authority on his service's long and rich history. Thompson, likewise, is a respected historian on Army/Air Force and Navy/Marine subjects as well as an avid collector of rare photographs. Thus, this book cannot fail to impress and add to the log of information on nightfighters." --Naval Aviation News (March 2009) "I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the history and development of Nightfighters of WWII. For those individuals, it will become a valuable resource and inspiration for their modeling. Even if the reader does not have that particular interest, this book will still be an educational and fun book to read. I enjoyed it enough that I've just added two US Nightfighter model kits to my 'Christmas Wish List.'" --Keith Pruitt, IPMS (November 2009) "As this book tells the story of American night-flyers from the England to Burma, from North Africa to New Guinea, it carries between the lines the evolution of the specialized aircraft, the history of the secret technologies, and, indeed, the progress of the war. Andrew Thomas & Warren Thompson present great detail about the nightfighters' achievements that would not likely be found in another single source. As I would with every other Osprey book I have encountered, I would recommend this book for the bookshelves of anyone interested in WWII generally and WWII aerial activities in particular." --David Stubblebine, World War II Database (October 2008)