The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign: Naval Fighter Combat from August to November 1942 [Hardcover]

John B. Lundstrom (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1993

This long-awaited sequel to the critically acclaimed First Team completes a fascinating chronicle of the carrier-based air battles that turned the tide of the war in the Pacific. Justly renowned for their heroic feats, these fighter pilots amassed a remarkable combat record in the face of desperate odds. Alongside their Marine and Army Air Force compatriots, U.S. Navy aviators inflicted a decisive defeat on their counterparts in the Imperial Japanese Navy. Victory in the Pacific depended upon superior tactics and doctrine, and the lessons learned at Guadalcanal paid great dividends later in the war. As in his earlier work, which has been hailed as "one of the finest examples of aviation research, " Lundstrom draws from a decade of research to present a thoroughly detailed and scrupulously accurate account of naval air combat in the arduous Guadalcanal campaign. Picking up the story after Midway, this book describes in rich detail the actual planes and pilots pitted in battles of rarely matched ferocity. Based on correspondence with 150 American and Japanese veterans, or their families, Lundstrom reveals the thoughts, pressures, and fears of these airmen and their crews. Here too are the stories of the Wildcat and Zero fighters along with the Dauntless, Avenger, Betty, Kate, and Val bombers. A resolute historian, the author has tapped new American and Japanese sources to fully reconstruct every significant action in which these fighters were involved, placing them within the context of carrier operations. Lavishly illustrated with drawings, maps, and photographs, some never before published, this fresh new look at the Guadalcanal campaign joins The First Team in setting the standard forpublished aviation history.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John B. Lundstrom is a curator of American and military history at the Milwaukee Public Museum, where he has been a member of the staff since 1967. He is the author of several books on World War II naval aviation. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 626 pages
• Publisher: Naval Institute Press; First Edition edition (December 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557505268
• ISBN-13: 978-1557505262
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #298,201 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WWII Aviation Wonks - Lundstrom is your man, June 17, 2005

By 

Steve Conslaw (INDIANAPOLIS, IN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign: Naval Fighter Combat from August to November 1942 (Hardcover)

If you are a casual reader of World War II books, this is NOT the book for you, but if you are a wonk, then you'll love this book and John Lundstrom's companion book which covers the time period of Pearl Harbor to Midway. What sets Lundstrom apart is that he has taken the time to get to know virtually all of the pilots (on both sides) who fought in the Pacific battles in 1942. A theme that runs through both books is that each side had a small fraternity of pilots, and everybody knew each other. These pilots ("The First Team") held the line through the Guadalcanal campaign. Those that replaced them generally did not have the same level of skill.

Lundstrom is good at separating myths from the facts. He must either read Japanese or have a great collaboration with someone who does because his research through Japanese sources is the best that I've seen.

One interesting fact brought to light by Lundstrom: in terms of fighter-to-fighter combat through the Guadalcanal campaign, the A6M Zero and the F4F Wildcat effectively fought to a draw. If you see a reference on the F4F claiming a 5/1 kill ratio or something like that, it is likely based on inflated claims and claims against bombers and seaplanes. The biggest difference between the two types statistically is that a F4F pilot was much more likely to survive the downing of his plane. More of the United State's first team survived to fight again and to train other pilots to fight.

Japan made a mistake in trying to achieve air superiority over Guadalcanal from Rabaul, which is over 500 miles away. Just because the Model 21 Zero could fly that far and fight doesn't mean that it was a good idea to make it a regular practice. The distance was a big factor in the pilot attrition that eventually crippled the Japanese Naval Air Force.

I have no idea how many hours John Lundstrom put in to writing each of these books. I do know that the hours you spend reading them (and in my case re-reading them) will be well-spent.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For the serious student, this is the definitive book, July 2, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Helsinki, Finland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign: Naval Fighter Combat from August to November 1942 (Hardcover)

Rarely does a book appear on the history of warfare that manages to keep both the micro and the macro in view. Lundstrom gives us just that. The fierce fighting at Guadalcanal has been written about by everyone and his brother, but now Lundstrom gives us the details down to the "who flew Joe Foss's wing on that day?" level. If you are into aerial combat simply for the thrill, you're better off reading Eric Hammel, but if you really want to know the whys and whens, this is your Bible. It is mine for sure.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books on a campaign in the Pacific War, January 9, 2007

By 

Charles L. Ainsworth (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign: Naval Fighter Combat from August to November 1942 (Paperback)

Although this book concentrates on U.S. Navy fighter combat during the first four months of the Guadalcanal campaign, it gives so many details of associated events that it should be read by anyone interested in the entire Guadalcanal campaign itself. This book also does a great job of giving details of the Japanese side, even to the point of naming most of the individual Japanese pilots involved in combat with the U.S. Navy and Marines around Guadalcanal. The only criticism (and this is slight criticism) I have of this book is Lundstrom's strong defence, for whatever reason, of Fletcher's actions during the initial part of the campaign which have been heavily criticized by just about every other historian. But, I guess it stands to reason that at least one credible historian would find a reason to defend Fletcher.

Anyway, if I were to name the top three books about the Guadalcanal campaign, this would be one of them along with Richard Frank's "Guadalcanal, the Definitive Account" and Michael Smith's "Bloody Ridge."