Fighter Aces of World War II

by Robert Jackson

Paddy Finucane, Frank Carey, Johnnie Johnson, Pat Pattle, Richard Stevens, George Beurling, Bob Johnson, Charles MacDonald, Adolf Galland, Erich Hartmann, Werner Molders, Jochen Marseille, Saburo Sakai, and Ivan Kozhedub.

Genres: History, Military Fiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Robert Jackson was born in 1941 in the North Yorkshire village of Melsonby. A former pilot and navigation instructor, his active involvement with aviation lasted many years. Following his retirement from the RAFVR in 1977 as a squadron leader, he became a full-time aviation writer and aerospace correspondent and lectured extensively on strategic issues. He speaks five languages, including Russian, and has written more than forty nonfiction works on military affairs. He is also the author of the popular Yeoman and SAS fiction series.

Reviews

[Jonno · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly short book. Interesting stories and information about pilots from the main nations fighting in WWII. Not written in the most engaging way.

[Pat Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

The actions of Aces from World War 2


Follows the skills and achievements of the best Flying Aces from all the countries involved in the Second World War

[Martin Koenigsberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun little book. Written in the mid seventies, it is an introductory book for those interested in aerial warfare in the 20th Century. We get 14 mini-biographies of WWII "shooting stars"- mainly British, American and German, but with one each for Japan and Russia to give a good cross view of the WWII Pilot experience. Obviously the big lessons are: See them first- its on EVERY story. Be Above them - in just about every story too. Have the superior machine- pretty obvious. Take a break every now and then- The Germans and Japanese used up their trained pilots- never had the resources to train properly after 1941. The stories are always compelling - always interesting- and all too often sad- as about half these dudes did NOT survive the war.
I think this was written for the junior reader- so its an OK book for kids over about 9- if they can handle characters in books passing- they can read this book. For the Gamer/modeller/Military Enthusiast- a great starter book- sure to get you fired up for more Pilot memoirs. Every story features several scenario/diorama ideas- some over five. I think a club could use this book for a campaign, its got that much content. Hard core enthusiasts may want more depth, but I think this is a good survey to keep the fire going.....

[Tim Ganotis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good quick read. Each chapter deals with a different pilot, and some of the things they accomplished were quite astounding. I found that each chapter was enough to give a fair description of the pilot and their adventures, but left me wanting to research more about them individually. Recommended if you like this sort of thing.

[Jan Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book - I read a lot of books that depict aircraft flown during the war and so it was interesting for me to read about the enemies aircraft and airmen in such detail as well as our own RAF pilots. All were so brave and we owe them so much. I hope other readers agree with me .