Bøker av John Stanaway

The 8th fought the best Zero pilots, and took the war to the enemy with P-38s over Rabaul and Hollandia.

Beginning operations in April 1942 with a shoestring flight of four Lockheed F-4 Lightnings (the photo-recon version of the famed P-38), the 8th Photo Squadron gave the American Army Air Forces its only aerial reconnaissance coverage of the Southwest Pacific during the first part of the war. From the first days over New Guinea until the final sweeps over Japan the squadron struggled with the world's most treacherous weather and faulty equipment as well as a resolute Japanese enemy to write an astounding record of keeping the 5th Air Force pictorially informed. The 8th Photo Squadron participated in every campaign from Buna to Hollandia, Lae to Rabaul, the Philippines to the invasion of Okinawa. The squadron played a part in such famous battles as the Coral Sea and Bismarck Sea. Its first commander was Karl Polifka, who went on to be listed in the first rank of American reconnaissance. This book is comprised of over 500 photos â most of which have never been published before â many from the archives of squadron veterans. Many new facts are added to the annotated squadron diary that was kept when the 8th operated almost singlehandedly during 1942 and 1943.

The epic story of one of the highest scoring fighter units in the southwest Pacific. Aces included McGuire, Loisel, MacDonald, Roberts and Bong.

Featuring illustrations depicting P-38 models from the E to the H-5 previously not known to the general public, unpublished photographs and new data, this volume presents an account of some of these lesser known aces.

Built by Lockheed to meet a USAAC requirement for a long-range, high-performance escort for the B-17 bomber, the P-38 Lightning made its combat debut in Europe in 1942. This volume presents archival photographs, scale drawings and interviews with several leading Lightning aces.

Aces such as USAAF pilots Dick Bong and Tom McGuire used the P-38 Lightning to accrue some of the highest scores of Allied fighter pilots in World War II. Described here, the P-38 was born of the need for a high speed, high altitude fighter to escort the B-17 bomber on raids.

This title charts the history of the P-39 Airacobra which served alongside the P-40 and P-38 in the bitter struggle to capture the Guadal canal in World War II.