Barney Smith ignored the signals of the landing officer the first day he arrived on the aircraft carrier and for two years he has begged to be allowed to fly a mission against the Japanese over the Pacific. As the Japanese air force downs most of the squadron, the suspended ace is restored to duty and must win back his commander's respect in a ferocious battle for honor and glory.

Draws from letters, diaries, and interviews to recount the air campaigns of 1943, a period of unprecedented bombing against Germany by Allied bomber planes. "A gripping account of the heroism of bomber planes in 1943--the year the "Dambusters" embarked on a campaign to try to win World War II in one swift stroke. The year 1943 saw the beginning of an unprecedented bombing campaign against Germany. Over the next twelve months, tens of thousands of...

In 1944 the OSS set out to recover more than 500 airmen trapped and sheltered for months by villagers behind enemy lines in Yugoslavia. Classified for over half a century for political reasons, the full account of Operation Halyard, a story of loyalty, self-sacrifice, and bravery, is now being told for the first time.--From publisher description.

Little more than ten years after the first powered flight, aircraft were pressed into service in World War I. The romance of aviation had a remarkable grip on the public imagination, propaganda focusing on gallant air 'aces' who become national heroes. The reality was horribly different. Some 50,000 aircrew died in World War I. Marked for Death explored the brutal truths of wartime aviation: of flimsy planes and unprotected pilots; of burning nineteen-year-olds...

The story of Joe Foss's many lives: as WWII Marine ace and winner of the Medal of Honor, organizer with others of the Air National Guard in South Dakota as well as Brigadier General and Chief of Staff, member of the S.D. House of Representatives, youngest governer of the state of South Dakota, popular host of two television programs, organizer with others of the Crippled Children's School and Hospital in Sioux Falls, president of the South Dakota...

Presents information on the airplane pilots of World War I, including a biography of several flying aces, how they were trained, and what type of planes they flew. Includes glossary and index.

Relates the story of the World War II flying ace and leader of the "Black Sheep" squadron, who led many successful missions over the Pacific Theater, earned a Medal of Honor, and was shot down and captured by the Japanese.

""Black Snow brilliantly vivifies the horrific reality of the most destructive air attack in history, against Tokyo on the night of March 9-10, 1945. James Scott deftly employs sharply etched portraits of individuals of all stations and nationalities to survey the global, technological, and moral backdrop of the cataclysm, including the searing experiences of Japanese trapped in a gigantic firestorm. This riveting account illuminates an historical...

A stirring tribute to the men of the Eighth Air Force, who flew deadly missions during World War II. Half of the U.S. Army Air Force's casualties during the war were suffered by the Eighth. Director Erik Nelson tracked down nine of the surviving Eighth Air Force veterans to recall the harrowing experiences they endured in the summer of 1943.