Here 20 seasoned pilots tell what it was really like to fly some of the classic military planes – the Marauder, the Mitchell, the Superfortress, the Goon-ey Bird, and many more. Included are some airplanes whose reputation grows with each retelling of their story:
B-26 MARAUDER: A World War II medium bomber, her stubby wings were responsible for her nickname. "The Flying Prostitute." (She had little or no visible means of support.)
B-25 MITCHELL: This was the first plane to see action on all World War II fronts and the first plane over Tokyo.
F-80 SHOOTING STAR: The first combat-tested jet aircraft in the US. military arsenal, this baby came equipped with a sawed-off baseball bat in case the plane crash-landed and the pilot had to batter his way out of a locked cockpit!
The great planes of three military conflicts-World War II, Korea, and Vietnam-are remembered in words and pictures. One hundred eight handsome illustrations display the planes in the air, on the ground, and from the cockpit.
Edited by ROBIN HIGHAM and ABIGAIL SIDALL, each chapter comes from a flyer intimately familiar with his machine, well aware of its flaws, and still full of unabashed admiration. The accounts are colorful, laced with flight jargon, but always tempered with respect for the gallant aircraft of the USAAF-USAF.
A selection of the Jeppesen Aviation Book Club.
– From the dust jacket
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