Stars and Bars: A Tribute to the American Fighter Ace 1920-1973 [Hardcover]

Frank Olynyk (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1995

This text is a comprehensive study on the American aces of the post-World War I period. It covers the American aces of the Spanish Civil War, the Sino-Japanese War, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The main part of the book is devoted to almost 1400 biographies of individual fighter pilots, with introductory notes providing, in most cases, place and date of birth, previous and later military service, and awards and decorations. In every case the biographies include a full list of all claims made, by date, time, type, location and type of aircraft flown, together with the serial/Buno of the aircraft flown to achieve the claim, and a note of the author's sources.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 698 pages
• Publisher: Grub Street the Basement (October 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1898697175
• ISBN-13: 978-1898697176
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,796,396 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The bible of fighter aces., September 11, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stars and Bars: A Tribute to the American Fighter Ace 1920-1973 (Hardcover)

Met the author at the annual American Fighter Aces convention. He is still researching and gathering info from the few remaining aces themselves. The aces have a great respect for the author,and the work it took to compile the info. Wonderful resource to some outstanding pilots.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Six-Star Guide to American Fighter Aces!, March 7, 2011

By 

Michael OConnor "Wordsmith" (Wausau, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stars and Bars: A Tribute to the American Fighter Ace 1920-1973 (Hardcover)

Air combat enthusiasts and military aviation historians owe a debt of gratitude to Frank Olynyk, whose single-minded pursuit of information on American victory claims and American fighter aces have produced a series of priceless Victory Credits books and STARS AND BARS, A TRIBUTE TO THE AMERICAN FIGHTER ACES 1920-1973, his magnum opus. Published in 1995 by England's Grubb Street (Publishing), STARS AND BARS is THE definitive guide to America's fighter aces.

STARS AND BARS is a door-stopper of a book, topping off at 668 pages. Olynyk begins with a short history of the American fighter ace. An 'American ace' is defined as anyone serving in an American military unit who downs five enemy aircraft, regardless of that person's citizenship, or any American citizen who, while serving in a foreign air force, becomes an ace.

After brief chapters on fighter ops and 'tools of the trade' (i.e. fighter aircraft), Olynyk provides details on the victory credits awarded to Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy groups and squadrons. The section on the 1st Fighter Group, for example, lists confirmed destroyed/probable/damaged credits; assigned aircraft; a fact-filled summary of the Group's history in WWI and WWII; etc. This is followed by summaries of the Group's assigned squadrons: the 27th FS, 71st FS and 94th FS giving Squadron COs; victory credits; aircraft flown; and unit aces. The section on VF-16 details the squadron's two combat tours. The description of each tour includes the unit's assigned Carrier Air Group; victory credits; aircraft flown; a short unit history paragraph; and aces 'crowned' during that tour.

The meat of the book is the 544-page Biographical List of aces. This section begins with USAF Ace Robert Wilson Abernathy and ends Air Force Ace Charles Joseph Zubarik. Each Ace summary includes hometown and birth/death dates; (final) rank; assigned unit; service number; awards; victory listings; a short summary of their military career and miscellaneous data. Length of entries can vary from a quarter-page to a page or more. The section on Dick Bong, for instance, runs to a page-and-a half. Olynyk also includes pilots who have been mistakenly listed as aces in the past, noting the claims made by those pilots, mistakes made in documenting those claims as revealed by Olynyk's research, etc.

Appendices include listings of pilots who claimed four or more victories, pilots claiming three or more kills since the Korean War and an extensive bibliography. Two 16-page photo inserts illustrate some of the aces covered in STARS AND BARS.

In summary, superlatives comes easy when describing Olynyk's book. STARS AND BARS is a tremendous piece of research and a great tribute to 'the best of the best.' Highly recommended.

*****
3,100 Helpful Votes!