P-40 Warhawk Aces of the Pacific (Aircraft of the Aces) [Paperback]

Carl Molesworth (Author), Jim Laurier (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Aircraft of the Aces | Publication Date: June 20, 2003

The first USAAF fighters to engage the Japanese in World War 2, a handful of P-40s rose to defend Pearl Harbor from attack on the morning of 7 December 1941. Warhawk units were also heavily involved in the ill-fated fight to stem invading Japanese forces in the Philippines and Java between December 1941 and April 1942 and again in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands between January 1943 and March 1944. This book examines The Warhawk’s wartime exploits and all of its aces including 'aces-in-a-day’ Mel Wheadon and Joe Lesika.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is yet another excellent offering from Osprey. Fans of the P-40 and PTO air operations need to add this work to their libraries. Recommended." -Fred Rick Boucher, AeroScale (May 2007)

From the Publisher

Osprey's Aircraft of the Aces series combines full colour artwork, the best archival contemporary photography, and first hand accounts from aces to bring history's greatest airborne conflicts to life.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (June 20, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841765368
• ISBN-13: 978-1841765365
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 0.3 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #765,271 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another forgotten warrior, July 2, 2007

By 

N. Trachta (Colorado Springs, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: P-40 Warhawk Aces of the Pacific (Aircraft of the Aces) (Paperback)

After reading Osprey's P-39 Airacobra Aces of World War 2 (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No 36), I decided to follow up and read about the P-39's stable mate in the South West Pacific and its aces. As with the previous book, this one follows the now tried and true Osprey method of Introduction and then a round robin summary of the different areas of the Pacific that flew the P-40. As with the P-39, the P-40 was the aircraft enabled the US to climb back into the war. In the Appendices I learned that P-40's were responsible for 655 kills and was the aircraft that many aces learned from (actually it was amazing how many future aces started with the P-40 in the Pacific). For the chapters, the best was Chapter 2, Backs Against the Wall. I enjoyed reading about the early exploits of P-40 pilots against the Japanese in the Philippines and Indonesia. If there's a disappointment in this book, it's got to be Chapter 3, The New Guinea Campaign. Mr. Molesworth seems to have lost some steam at this point and focused on only a few encounters.



The bottom line is this is a solid 4 star book. The color plates are great for modelers or wargamers. While some of the descriptions could have additional information, this is a nice Reader's Digest about what the P-40 pilots did. Something that's seriously missing though is the lack of a bibliography. A bibliography does help me identify future books to read about things I'm interested in and I'm disappointed Osprey didn't include one.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good source for P-40 aces of the Pacific., February 4, 2009

By 

Ira Kepford "Jolly Roger" (Springfield MO) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: P-40 Warhawk Aces of the Pacific (Aircraft of the Aces) (Paperback)

A quiet morning for the Americans at Hawaii on 7 December 1941. Passing the time away with games and other activity, the Americans at Hawaii are totally unprepared of what's about to happen. Then, out of nowhere, Japanese planes apear overhead. Within seconds, bombs are going off, torpedoes are being dropped and planes are strafing. Within minutes ships, cars, parked planes and buildings are on fire. The start of WWII for the Americans had just begun.

'P-40 aces of the Pacific' is a worthy read.
The book starts with the P-40 pilots at Pearl Harbor, and ends at the Aleutian islands off Alaska.
I found the information on aces nicely done. The color plates are well drawn (as all Ospreys are) and plentiful on pictures.
The book boasts 85 pages of information on lots of pilots/aces who flew the P-40 Warhawk. The book explains about aces such as Robert Westbrook, Richard West, Robert Byrnes and more. The book even has John Chennault, son of AVG 'Fying Tigers' commander Claire L. Chennault. (But John never reached 'ace' status).
But this book does explain about both aces and just P-40 pilots which can be confusing as to which is an ace and which isn't.
But overall this book is well worth it's price. I recommend this book for anyone that wants to learn more or begin learning about P-40 aces of the Pacific.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Molesworth Hit, June 5, 2008

By 

J. COOK "JCook" (SALEM, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: P-40 Warhawk Aces of the Pacific (Aircraft of the Aces) (Paperback)

Carl Molesworth is a great historian and writer.
The 7th, 10th and 13th AF coverage was excellect.
I enjoyed the colot plates are descriptions.
Bring on the next one!!