The Mammoth Book of Fighter Pilots: Eyewitness Accounts of Air Combat from the Red Baron to Today's Top Guns

by Jon E. Lewis (Editor)

From yesteryear's flying aces to today's top guns, The Mammoth Book of Fighter Pilots presents, in the words of the combat pilots who fought them, fifty incredible air battles that have shaped military history in the twentieth century. Veteran anthologist Jon E. Lewis has assembled firsthand accounts from all the great military campaigns of aerial warfare, including World Wars I and II, the Spanish Civil War, Korea, Vietnam, the Falklands, the Gulf, and Bosnia. Page after exciting page of this singular collection brings into vivid play the exploits of such legendary pilots as Manfred von Richtofen, Eddie Rickenbacker, Douglas Bader, and Johnnie Johnson; the Luftwaffe World War II aces Heinz Knoke, Gerd Barkhorn, and Johannes Steinhoff; and forty other brave airmen from America, Britain, France, Japan, Russia, and North Korea. Here, too, are the planes in which these pilots flew into modern history—the Spitfire, the Mustang, the Me 109, the Zero, the F-16, the MiG, and the Harrier. Together with the death-defying drama of combat, this volume vividly captures other facets of the fighter pilot's life, including the perils of bailing out in enemy territory, the daily horrors of internment in a Japanese POW camp, and a harrowing account of being shot down in a blazing Spitfire. The true-life aerial combat adventures in this stirring collection provide a vicarious, adrenaline-fueled expedition into the shell-blasted skies of war in the twentieth century.

Genres: Military Fiction, Aviation, War

512 pages, Paperback

First published August 4, 2011

About the author

Jon E. Lewis is a historian and writer, whose books on history and military history are sold worldwide. He is also editor of many The Mammoth Book of anthologies, including the bestselling On the Edge and Endurance and Adventure.

He holds graduate and postgraduate degrees in history. His work has appeared in New Statesman, the Independent, Time Out and the Guardian. He lives in Herefordshire with his partner and children.

From: Constable & Robinson

Reviews

[Jack Hwang · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good mixture of accounts from fighter pilots of various eras, although focusing more on the First World War period.

In essence, it provides very good pointers for further extended readings. I have read Sagittarius Rising, High Adventure, The Red Battle Flyer, and Winged Warfare -- all attracted by the excerpts from this book -- even before finishing this book.

One regret is that it does not have anything regarding the world's first jet combats -- the Korean War.

[Marc Therrien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting and instructive tales from war pilots. I wish though there were more stories from diversified wars, most tales coming from the 1st and 2nd World War. Still, wonderful to get into the mind of pilots who experienced war.

[Artur Coelho · Rating 3 out of 5]

A aura dos pilotos de caça confere-lhes a equivalência contemporânea do cavaleiro, ícone do combatente solitário que depende da sua destreza e da tecnologia e cujo estatuto se eleva acima da carnificina lamacenta dos campos de batalha. Se a honra de antanho se media a cavalo e à carga, a disrupção tecnológica trazida pelo aeroplano deu-nos o conceito da destreza nos duelos travados no céu.

Este livro puxa o lustro a estas ideias coligindo relatos saídos do punho de pilotos de caça que combateram na I Guerra, II Guerra, Vietnam, Falklands e Golfo. Feito de extractos de diários, cartas ou reminiscências, traçam um panorama do espírito dos homens que nas palavras de um dos pilotos registas nesta obra, vestem a aeronave e partem para os céus numa clara alusão ao cavaleiro medieval que se movia debaixo da pele dura da armadura.

Pega-se nesta obra com a vontade juvenil de ler empolgantes relatos de combate aéreo. Nestes o livro é prolífico, mas ler as palavras daqueles que viveram esses momentos dentro do cockpit retira o lustro da emoção. Cada aeronauta descreve as suas experiências através da lente da sua personalidade. Alguns mostram-se perfeitos psicopatas, confessando o gosto que sentem em ver o adversário despenhar-se envolto em chamas. Outros sentem profundamente a tragédia da guerra, o medo, o conflito entre a perícia e a obrigação de tirar vidas humanas. Outros, mais técnicos, relatam friamente as experiências como registos de actividade. Alguns sublimam o combate mortal através de ideais de honra e valor, respeitando os adversários caídos com um cavalheirismo que entre uma comunidade de militares de elite talvez nunca tenha caído em desuso.

Os relatos contidos neste livro são uma forma diferente de entender o combate aéreo, esse mais admirado ramo da aeronáutica. Para lá das descrições frias da estatística histórica, através das palavras sentidas de quem amava voar, combatia com cavalheirismo e sabia que cada dia podia ser o seu último.

[Vikas Datta]

Most thrilling..