Customer Reviews

Air Combat At 20 Feet: Selected Missions From A Strafer Pilot'S Diary

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Garrett Middlebrook has written a detailed, gut-wrenching tale of the amazing feats of his B-25 strafer unit and their long and dangerous missions over New Guinea in 1942 and 1943, before Guadalcanal! The heroism of these men, flying under dangerous conditions with battered equipment, is simply remarkable. Middlebrook does not tell you this, however. He shows it and you feel like you are in the plane with him.

I couldn't put the book down! It is almost unimaginable the narration Garrett Middlebrook shares in this book of incredible stories taken from his personal journals, written during his tour of duty in the South Pacific during WWII. One of America's unbelievably tenacious and youthful pilots, at the age of 23, he heroically flies his plane against all odds, with a youthful crew, some in their teens, to defend and protect the freedom of America against a relentless and unmerciful enemy, and in riveting detail he puts you in the seat of his B-25 Stafer to experience the pressure, fear and tragedy of war. It will absolutely mesmerize you.

Though there have been many memoirs written by USAAF WW II four-engined bomber pilots, there have been precious few from their medium bomber compatriots. AIR COMBAT AT 20 FEET chronicles Garrett Middlebrook's service with the 405th Bomb Squadron, 38th Bomb Group, a B-25 unit assigned to George Kenney's 5th Air Force. Middlebrook flew 62 missions in all, earning a Silver Star, DSC and DFC.

Middlebrook served with the 38th BG from August 1942 to October 1943. As such, he was involved in early B-25 ops and the evolution of the Mitchell into a heavily-armed low-level strafer bristling with .50-caliber machine guns and armed with HE bombs and parafrags. He survived harrowing missions against Buna, Rabaul, Lae and other targets, attacks on Japanese warships and merchantmen not to mention the god-awful SWPA weather that was as deadly as the enemy. He wrote off two Mitchells in crashlandings by the end of his tour.

AIR COMBAT AT 20 FEET is 655 pages of rip-roaring action. Middlebrook describes each mission in great detail, recounting what he said, did and thought. And that's where I have a problem. Middlebrook states several times in the book that he kept a diary/journal. Well and good but was that diary so fulsome that details such as specfic bearings, altitudes, power settings and Middlebrook's exact thoughts not to mention lengthy conversations he had with other crewmen and squadronmates were recorded verbatim? Don't get me wrong - AIR COMBAT AT 20 FEET is one exciting read. Yet I have trouble remembering just what I said a week ago...let alone 40 years ago!?!

The book is illustrated with dozens of photographs of 38th BG aircraft and aircrews, wrecked Japanese aircraft, air combat scenes and squadron life along with maps.

If you're looking for an exciting, in-the-cockpit look at strafer ops in the Southwest Pacific, AIR COMBAT AT 20 FEET will fill the bill nicely. Recommended.

I am not a big fan of war stories at all. I was skeptical when my grandfather handed me this book as a must read. Not only did it give me a better understanding of my bomber-pilot grandfather but it has also granted me an insiders view into war and the type of American courage it takes to be a hero and success in our armed forces. As a late-twenties/early-thirties it is a must read to understand war in the past and future tense.

This is an excellent book by a pilot who down on the deck, right in the middle of things. The book is thrilling and easy read and certainly beats the heck out "so many aircraft hit such and such target with x losses, and such and such results" that you would see in less personal books.
The writer also takes on the some the truly idiotic orders he was given during the course of the war that kept him from performing as well as he was able, or ordered him commit brutal acts against innocents.

This book covers a subject that I had never heard of before, the Straffer Pilot in a B-25 aircraft and its evolution.
I have had an opportuniy to see the author who is now 94 years of age and he is very errect and mentally elert. I first met him in 1971 when he was an avid ballroom dancer. He is suffering from too many birthdays but is up to date with the problems that still persist in his America.
The book is hard to put down and it leaves you appreciating the ultimate sacrifice made by so many then and today. Life is but a fleeting thing and so many need to be reminded of our undying gratitude.

Air Combat at 20 Feet is easily one of the best first person accounts of a bomber pilot that I have read so far (I have read approx. 200 books on the air war of World War II). Thankfully the author compiled a detailed diary throughout the war and shared it with us! This is an amazing account that should not be missed by anyone interested in the air war, especially in the Pacific region! It is very well written, holds your attention and brings the imagination alive.

I wish I could find other such efforts. I highly recommend this book.

I picked this book up to know more about the air war around New Guinea and the Bismark Sea. This book completely exceeded my expectations. The story of the 405th Squadron and the personal trials of Garrett Middlebrook and his friends is incredibly moving, fascinating, and enthralling. I am very thankful to Mr. Middlebrook for not only telling us their amazing story, but also sharing with us his inner experiences which span the dramatic ranges of human emotion. Thank you for bringing the 405's aircrew into our lives.

I purchased this book several years ago and have read it on numerous occasions. The role of the low level strafer is terrifying and the author captures those feelings very acutely. I love the book