Hellcat Aces of World War 2

Osprey Aircraft of the Aces #10

by Barrett Tillman, Barrett Tillman

Grumman's successor to the pugnacious Wildcat, the Hellcat embodied many of the lessons learnt by F4F pilots in the opening months of the Pacific war. Introduced to the fleet in January 1943, and blooded in combat against the Japanese by VF-5 seven months later, the F6F served as the principal US Navy fighter on board carrier decks until VJ-Day. Despite its lethality in the air when ranged against the best Japanese fighters, it still retained docile handling qualities around the carrier deck. Pilots flying the Hellcat claimed nearly 5000 kills in the Pacific, and over 350 pilots achieved ace status on the type.

Genres: Military Fiction, Aviation, History, Naval History

96 pages, Paperback

First published July 15, 1996

About the author

Born a fourth-generation Oregonian, descended from American pioneers, Revolutionary War Patriots, Pilgrims (e.g. Priscilla Alden) and Pocahontas, Tillman was raised on the family wheat and cattle ranch. His younger brothers include a breeder of exotic animals and a Rhodes Scholar. In high school he was an Eagle Scout[citation needed], won two state titles as a rudimental drummer, and was a champion speaker and debater. Tillman was first published in 1964 at age 15 and graduated from the University of Oregon in 1971 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.

Like his father, a Navy trained pilot in World War II, Tillman developed an early passion for aviation and learned to fly at age 16. Over the next several years he flew a variety of vintage and historic aircraft, including a pre-WW II Navy trainer and a restored dive-bomber. The latter became the subject of his first book, The Dauntless Dive Bomber of World War II, published in 1976. It established the format for many subsequent books, operational histories of U.S. Navy aircraft.

After college Tillman worked as a freelance writer until 1982 when he founded Champlin Fighter Museum Press in Mesa, Arizona, publishing out-of-print and new titles on military aviation.

In 1986 he moved to San Diego to become managing editor of The Hook, quarterly journal of the Tailhook Association. He remained in that position for three years before deciding to focus full time to writing fiction. His first novel was published in June 1990. Warriors[1] depicted a Mideast air war and became an immediate best seller when Iraq invaded Kuwait two months later.

Tillman's next two novels appeared in 1992: The Sixth Battle, (written with his brother John) which captured a wide following among computer war gamers; and Dauntless, intended as the first in a trilogy. It was followed by Hellcats, nominated as military novel of the year in 1996. He has also published original fiction in the Stephen Coonts anthologies, Combat and Victory.

Tillman remains active as a magazine writer. He is a regular contributor to The Hook, Flight Journal, and several firearms publications. He has also reported from Africa for Soldier of Fortune magazine.

Tillman is a former executive secretary of the American Fighter Aces Association.[2]

-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrett_...

Reviews

[Robert Hepple · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 1996, 'Hellcat Aces of World War 2' is number 10 in the popular 'Osprey Aircraft of the Aces' series of aviation books. This volume is devoted to the Grumman F6F Hellcat carrier fighter, and written by an aviation author who really knows the subject it just cannot fail to impress. That said, even within the constraints of focusing on the Aces, it is a tall order to cover this area in under 100 pages which means that coverage of different pilots is often brief. Nevertheless, a lot is achieved and this makes for a brilliant read.

[Mark Bates · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice pictures and diagrams. Like reading a statistics book, story if there is one does not flow.

[John Somers · Rating 4 out of 5]

14/20.

[Martin Koenigsberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the Japanese war machine with its well designed long range aircraft burst into European Colonial and American consciousness in late 1941, the Japanese fighter plane , the Zero was the weapon that dazzled the most. Somehow the Japanese had built themselves a world class fighter - that could fly for hundreds of miles to do its business- then shoot down the best that the west could offer. The Grumman company knew that its successor candidate to the hardy but limited F4F Wildcat that could fight off Zeros, but not dog fight with them- had to be a Zero killer. Barrett Tilman tells the story of the plane- and then the tales of the men who flew her in this book, Number 10 in the "Aircraft of the Aces" Series from Osprey. Told in the usual Osprey way with tonnes of b/w photos, prose on several sub-topics and a dazzling colour plate center section with silhouette schemes of the pilots with impressive scores. It's a strong package that will even reach the more general audience reader who just likes a cool aircraft on the cover of a book.

Barrett Tilman, the author, is one of the great writers on the Pacific War in the Air. His longer works are great- but so are his more compact classics- like this one. The reader really gets a feel for the pace of operations in the Pacific, as Carrier Task forces- and their air complements - basically cruised all over the Western Pacific kicking ass and taking names. The sheer numbers of Japanese aircraft and pilots shot down is truly staggering. When the US Navy was done with a Japanese Island base, there was often not a single airworthy plane left- and more often than not- no pilots left to fly them. At a time when US/British Imperial pilot training sessions were yielding thousands of graduates per month, Japanese cub pilots were being denied precious fuel just to train. Tillman shows how the Hellcat, the Zero-killer- in the hand of well-trained pilots, simply shot the Zeros all out of the sky. First they shot the opposing carrier pilots, then the land-based lads- and finally they shot down most of the Kamikazes, the suicide pilots who so loudly proclaimed the bankruptcy of both the Japanese war machine - and the moral bankruptcy of old men sending young men off to die in vain. The F6F did Work in WWII, even before you count its Cold War Service- and Tillman is a great guy to tell you about it.

There are few adult themes, and not a lot of graphic injury description, so this is a fine read for the Aviation minded Junior Reader over about 11/12 Years. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast, this is a fruitful, read- but may lead to other reads. For the Gamer, there are a lot of sortie/scenario ideas- but I think more resources will be needed- like mission specific maps as this book only provides maps of some of the actions discussed. For the Modeler, those silhouette schemes are pretty useful- and the book's photos have more diorama/build ideas. The Military Enthusiast gets to meet one of the key weapons of the American Pacific War- the pilots who flew them - and their major achievements. I found myself reconnecting with an aircraft I first met when my father made a 1/48th scale model of the Hellcat in the late 1960s

[Roy Szweda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not knowing as much as I should of the exploits of this mighty WW2 fighter I am working my way through these excellent Osprey books. A complement to the one on the Wildcat and the Hellcat vs Zero I am now much better acquainted with this Grumman masterpiece.
As usual the book is replete with choice photos and full captions as are the original artwork side views and crew poses. Plenty of tables summarising the victories of pilots and units at the back but no index.
I also liked the coverage of events outside the Pacific theatre and that of the night fighter variants.
Here you will read of an outstanding aircraft that was the perfect solution to the battle-hardened Japanese forces in the air and on the ground. I did not realise that the Hellcat was also a bomber and rocket firing machine.
One is left with an impression of a mighty achievement by all concerned. The book is a fitting testament to this and those who never came back.