Missions Remembered: Recollections of the World War II Air War [Hardcover]

The Men of the Middle Tennessee WW II Fighter Pilot Association (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0070016496 | ISBN-13: 978-0070016491 | Publication Date: March 1, 1998 | Edition: 1

From bailouts to belly landings, flaming cockpits to lurching carrier decks, here are the heoic tales of pilots from all backgrounds, united by a desire to fight their country's enemy to the finish. Drawn from a small corner of Tennessee, these men flew in all theatres of combat, in every front-line fighter aircraft. They soared to victory in the air--and fled from capture on the ground. This is a memorable anthhology of combat tales with great appeal both for veterans and historians.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

All combat pilots reserve one story for fellow flyers and close friends. "We prepared to attack--gun switches on, revolutions per minute high, fuel rich, sun goggles down, and hand on trigger. We got in position for a high-side run on the three nearest bombers. I rocked my wings and peeled off to make a run, and each of the other three Wildcats followed one by one."--Bill Burch over Guadalcanal. "The Zero began to flatten out. I fell in behind with all guns firing. The Zero began smoking and what appeared to be a piece of cowling headed directly toward me so I pulled up sharply to the left to avoid hitting the object, and when I dropped my right wing to look down, no Zero was visible, only pieces."--Frank Davis over Tinian. "I felt a terrific jolt and saw a big flash of fire. I was only 15 or 20 feet off the ground and I didn't know exactly what had happened, but I had to hold the stick clear over to the right to keep the plane from rolling violently to the left. I checked my left wing and there was a gaping hole in it just about where the insignia was supposed to be."--Herman Freeman over Anzio. "I jettisoned the canopy, disconnected oxygen and radio connection, as I recalled the procedures for bail out. One was to slow the airplane and dive out toward the trailing edge of the left wing. I stood up, but there was fire and molten aluminum coming back from the engine. I sat down, reconsidered my bail out procedure, rolled the airplane over, and dropped out."--Tom Ridley over Czechoslovakia. Here are 85 electrifying tales told by 33 men of The Middle Tennessee WWII Pilots Association.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 220 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Professional; 1 edition (March 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0070016496
• ISBN-13: 978-0070016491
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #913,049 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Review of Missions Remembered, July 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Missions Remembered: Recollections of the World War II Air War (Hardcover)

This book is a collection of stories written by fighter pilots, in all theaters of operation, during WWII. There is the mission that resulted in the death of young Joe Kennedy. The ceremonial fly over above the Battleship Missouri as General Douglas MacArthur accepted the Japanese surrender. There are stories of ditching at sea, dogfights over Germany and stories of escape and evasion. This is a timeless book that will always merit the attention of those who have an interest in the Air War of WWII.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great flying experiences By Combat Pilots, July 5, 2000

By 

William B Baker (Elkhart, In USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Missions Remembered: Recollections of the World War II Air War (Hardcover)

This book is a must read for anybody who flys. It is a series of short two or three page stories by flyers before the age of jets. It is the kind of book a busy person can read to fill in those times when you are waiting to do something else since most stories are complete in just a few pages. These a combat stories telling what damage fighter planes can do and what dangers the pilots endure.

5.0 out of 5 stars Missions Remembered, November 20, 2010

By 

Don Berridge (Franklin, TN, US) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Missions Remembered: Recollections of the World War II Air War (Hardcover)

I know a couple of the men that wrote this book, some have passed and the men left are in their late 80's. It's a great book written by fighter pilots, their experiences during WWII and remember, these men were mere boys back then, late teens and most in their early 20's. A generation that saved this country's freedom for themselves, you and I and I hope the future young people of this great nation.
Fun to read.