23rd Fighter Group: Chennault's Sharks

Description

Famous for the fearsome sharksmouths that adorned their planes, the 23rd FG fought a guerrilla war against the Japanese, steadily moving pilots and aircraft from one remote air base in China to another to keep the enemy off balance. Because China could only be supplied by air from India, there were constant shortages of aircraft, fuel and ammunition with which to contend. The 23rd FG met these challenges head-on, and by the end of the war its pilots had compiled a score of 594 aerial victories and nearly 400 ground kills. The human cost was high, however - 126 pilots lost their lives in China while serving in the 23rd.

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. Jim Laurier is a native of New England and lives in New Hampshire. He attended Paier School of Art in Hamden, Connecticut, from 1974-78, and since he graduated with honours, he has been working professionally in the field of Fine Art and Illustration. He has been commissioned to paint for the US Air Force and has aviation paintings on permanent display at the Pentagon.

"The book is full of superb photographs, many of which I have not seen in print before. Author Carl Molesworth does a superb job of telling the story of the 23rd FG. His knowledge of the subject and access to former pilots and crews over the years has made this an outstanding book. This is further enhanced by the excellent art work of Jim Laurier and some rare color photos. This book on the 23rd is one of the best around and one I can recommend to you without reservation." --Scott Van Aken, Modeling Madness, www.modelingmadness.com (July 2009) "23rd Fighter Group: Chennault's Sharks by Carl Molesworth is among the latest releases from Osprey in their 'Aviation Elite Units' series. Priced at $25.95 each, the book follows the typical Osprey format of supplying lots of good information and photos along with numerous color profile drawings. The 23rd FG has received [little] coverage so this book is particularly welcome since it shows some previously unpublished photos of the unit's P-40s and P-51s." --JT, Air Classics (June 2009)