Hailed as one of the finest examples of aviation research, this comprehensive 1984 study presents a detailed and scrupulously accurate operational history of carrier-based air warfare. From the earliest operations in the Pacific through the decisive Battle of Midway, it offers a narrative account of how ace fighter pilots like Jimmy Thach and Butch O'Hare and their skilled VF squadron mates--called the "first team"--amassed a remarkable combat record in the face of desperate odds. Tapping both American and Japanese sources, ...
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Hailed as one of the finest examples of aviation research, this comprehensive 1984 study presents a detailed and scrupulously accurate operational history of carrier-based air warfare. From the earliest operations in the Pacific through the decisive Battle of Midway, it offers a narrative account of how ace fighter pilots like Jimmy Thach and Butch O'Hare and their skilled VF squadron mates--called the "first team"--amassed a remarkable combat record in the face of desperate odds. Tapping both American and Japanese sources, historian John B. Lundstrom reconstructs every significant action and places these extraordinary fighters within the context of overall carrier operations. He writes from the viewpoint of the pilots themselves, after interviewing some fifty airmen from each side, to give readers intimate details of some of the most exciting aerial engagements of the war. At the same time he assesses the role the fighter squadrons played in key actions and shows how innovations in fighter tactics and gunnery techniques were a primary reason for the reversal of American fortunes. After more than twenty years in print, the book remains the definitive account and is being published in paperback for the first time to reach an even larger audience.
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Add this copy of First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat From Pearl Harbor to cart. $60.50, new condition, Sold by Just one more Chapter rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Miramar, FL, UNITED STATES, published 2005 by Naval Institute Press.
Add this copy of The First Team Pacific Naval Air Combat From Pearl to cart. $76.43, new condition, Sold by Just one more Chapter rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Miramar, FL, UNITED STATES, published 1984 by Naval Inst.
Add this copy of The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat From Pearl to cart. $83.50, new condition, Sold by GridFreed rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from North Las Vegas, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2005 by Naval Institute Press.
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Lundstrom is widely recognized as being at the top, if not actually the best, of the current generation of Pacific War historians. This is a thoroughly researched, highly detailed, and well-balanced account of the naval air war from just before Dec 7 1941 through Midway, and it draws heavily not only on primary documents from US Navy sources but also Japanese sources. Despite all the detail it is also highly readable. Anyone wanting to understand the conduct of the war in this time, rather than just the large-scale politicomilitary situation, should come first to this book, including its technical discussions of the merits and faults of various warplanes and how their designs were developed.
