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Carl Molesworth
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Sharks over China: The 23rd Fighter Group in World War II Hardcover – January 1, 2001

by Carl Molesworth (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 16 ratings
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Based on interviews with groups of survivors and containing numerous rare photographs, this book stitches together the missions of the "Flying Tigers" as they outfought Japanese aircraft in WWII.
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  1. Print length
    325 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Book Sales
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 2001
  5. Dimensions
    6.5 x 1.5 x 9.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0785814019
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0785814016
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Book Sales; First Edition (January 1, 2001)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 325 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0785814019
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0785814016
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.65 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.5 x 9.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 16 ratings

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Carl Molesworth

Carl Molesworth

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Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
16 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

ALeaKat
5.0 out of 5 stars Worth reading!
Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2020
Verified Purchase
Great book about a great WWII group that my father was a part of.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and very readable history of a remote corner of the Pacific War
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2023
Mr. Molesworth has written and very detailed and engrossing story of the US Army Air Force pilots battling against overwhelming odds in the remote airfields of China. He has a talent for making the histories of these pilots and their support crews exciting and vivid. I highly recommend this book to any student of American history and that theater of the war
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Splatt
5.0 out of 5 stars Strap yourself in and fly away!
Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2001
I always wanted to be a fighter pilot. When I was young I read "God Is My Co-Pilot" and imagined myself in China with the Flying Tigers (AVG). That book ends with the author (Robert L. Scott) still in China, and I always wondered what happened afterward.
Carl Molesworth's book does just that. Utilizing information gathered from diaries, interviews, and official war records, he presents a detailed and personal history of the 23rd Fighter Group, from it's creation after the dissolution of the famous AVG, to the end of World War II.
The book is very detailed, presenting a seeming blow-by-blow account of the air war in China as the 23rd Fighter Group fought it. There are stories of the various missions they flew, the hardships they endured, and the amazing feats they performed as one of the most undersupplied units of the war. At the same time the book is very personal, with many anecdotes and stories. There are quite a few photos of the pilots and their planes as well, a major plus.
The text is well written, flows smoothly, and keeps the reader's interest from start to finish. While reading it was very easy to imagine that I was in China with them, behind the stick of my very own P-40. This is a book that any lover of war or aviation stories will enjoy.
14 people found this helpful
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Richard Morrow
4.0 out of 5 stars US in China
Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2010
Verified Purchase
It is about the Air Force in China primarily after the break up of the Chenault Flying Tigers. Much of it is personal reminices of the men who flew during those years to he end of the war. However there are gaps. For example the group that flew the P-38 are hardly considered at all, for maybe they weren't felt to be a part of the operation.It is a shame for they undoubtedly contributed a great deal.It is about a couple of squadrons in particular, probably because the author had contact with these men. A broader view would have been more helpful. An interesting view never the less and a story that is largely forgotten in the history of the war.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Revealing About the Untold War in China
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2003
"Sharks Over China" is a great book for any historian or anyone who likes war stories. This book details the true account of the fight in China in WWII after the Flying Tigers disbanded. You hear about Europe and the Pacific quite often, but few TV shows or books bring up the fight in China. It is an interesting scenario as US and Chinese forces tried to put the vice on Japan as the Allies were taking back the Pacific. If any historian ever wondered what happened to the AVG and the fight in China, this book answers them. The US finally took control and expanded Chennault's tools. Unfortunately you find out that the campaign still didn't receive everything it needed to defeat the Japanese. I urge anyone to buy this book, you'll enjoy it. "God Is My Copilot" is good to read about thte AVG, and this book will pick up where Col. Robert L. Scott left off.
7 people found this helpful
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Gonzo
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2016
Verified Purchase
Great book
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Thomas R. Fasulo
3.0 out of 5 stars An interesting history, but....
Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2018
While an interesting story, the book is mostly about the pilots of the different squadrons. I had hoped for more detailed information on all aspects of the group's history. At times it seems the author overwhelms us with the names of the pilots and their aerial and ground victories, as well as their losses.

A most complete story would have covered the enlisted personnel, and the group's relationship with the Chinese. I also felt if the author could have added another 50 pages dealing with the adventures some pilots had, of being shot down behind the lines and taking weeks, with the help of Chinese guerrillas, to return to their units, it would have been an amazing book.
One person found this helpful
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Aviation Book Fan
4.0 out of 5 stars Good coverage of the operations of the 23rd FG (post-AVG)
Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2016
This is a good book on the operations of the 23rd Fighter Group, but not quite a great book. The missions are covered well, along with personal anecdotes from combat reports, letters, and interviews of the pilots. To be a great book, it needed a little more: Coverage of Chennault's strategy, his relationship with Chiang Kai Shek, and how the air campaign fit into the wider war with Japan; a view from the Japanese side of the campaign; a detailed explanation of the logistical difficulties that were the major factor in the campaign; and more technical information on the aircraft and tactics. Those topics are briefly covered, but I would need more for five stars.

The book is well worth reading. It will give you plenty of detail on operations. You'll learn that the 16th Fighter Squadron P-40s of the 51st Fighter Group played a big part in the early days while attached to the 23rd. You might be surprised to learn that P-38s of the 449th Fighter Squadron were attached to the 23rd for a time. Finally, you'll likely be surprised that P-51s of the 118th Tactical Recon Squadron played a big part at the end of the 23rd's campaign. It wasn't just the 74th, 75th, 76th Fighter Squadrons doing all the fighting.

I'll quote the summary at the end of the book as a compelling reason to read the book:

"No single U.S. fighter group in World War II performed more varied missions, had more relative success, and was more central to the war effort in its theater of operations than the 23rd. In fact, for its first year in existence, the 23rd carried on the war in China virtually by itself."

"It seemed the 23rd never had enough of anything. Never enough pilots, never enough planes. Never enough gasoline, never enough ammunition. Sometimes, not even enough air bases. Then in 1944, just as the situation was beginning to improve, the Japanese launched a massive ground campaign that nearly broke the Allied defense of Free China."

"The 23rd Fighter Group fought through every hardship, every shortage, ever setback. Its pilots learned to shoot down enemy aircraft, and they did so with deadly efficiency. By the end of the war, they had tallied 594 aerial victories and destroyed nearly 400 more Japanese aircraft on the ground. Thus, the 23rd placed fifth among all USAAF fighter groups that flew in the war. In the process, forty-one pilots of the 23rd achieved the coveted - though unofficial - title of "ace" by shooting down five or more enemy aircraft. They also learned to drop bombs in a dive and to skip them off the water into their targets. They learned to destroy targets on the ground by strafing them with their machine guns and blasting them with rockets."

"The ground personnel of the 23rd were hardly less heroic. Besides suffering through enemy bombing raids and patching up battered fighters that should have been scrapped, they developed techniques and personal flexibility that enabled them to pack up their work and move it hundreds of miles away to a different airfield at a moment's notice." By the way, they were usually moving their airfields because Japanese ground forces were going to overrun them. Many of the 23rd's airfield's operated in territory that was surrounded by the Japanese.

The AVG began the tradition of achieving miracles with next to nothing. The 23rd was a worthy successor that continued that fine tradition.
One person found this helpful
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