On Boyington's Wing PDF Download

Author: Robert W. McClurg
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Author: Bruce Gamble
Publisher: Presidio Press
ISBN: 0307416941
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 562

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With their renowned squadron leader Greg “Pappy” Boyington, Marine Fighting Squadron (VMF) 214 was one of the best-known and most colorful combat units of World War II. The popular television series Baa Baa Black Sheep added to their legend—while obscuring the truly remarkable combat record of the Black Sheep and Boyington. A retired naval flight officer and former historian for the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation, Bruce Gamble provides a highly readable account that serves to both correct and extend the record of this premier fighting force.

Author: Bruce Gamble
Publisher: Presidio Press
ISBN: 0891418016
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 533

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Black Sheep One is the first biography of legendary warrior and World War II hero Gregory Boyington. In 1936, Boyington became an aviation cadet and earned the “wings of gold” of a naval aviator. After only a short period on active duty, however, he was “encouraged” to resign from the Marine Corps due to his unconventional behavior. Remarkably, this inauspicious beginning was just the prologue to a heroic career as an American fighter pilot and innovative combat leader. With the onset of World War II, when skilled pilots were in demand, he became the commander of an ad hoc squadron of flying leathernecks. Led by Medal of Honor winner Boyington, the legendary Black Sheep set a blistering pace of aerial victories against the enemy. Though many have observed that when the shooting stops, combat heroes typically just fade away, nothing could be further from the truth for Boyington. Blessed with inveterate luck, the stubbornly independent Boyington lived a life that went beyond what even the most imaginative might expect. Exhaustively researched and richly detailed, here is the complete story of this American original.

Author: Frank Walton
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
ISBN: 0813144035
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Marine Corps Fighter Squadron 214 was hastily organized in the field during World War II to meet the urgent need for another combat squadron in the South Pacific. The squadron, self-named the "Black Sheep," went on under the leadership of the swashbuckling "Pappy" Boyington to become the most famous in Marine Corps history. Now comes the true story of the Black Sheep Squadron and the men who wrote its record in the Pacific skies. Once They Were Eagles tells how and why the squadron was formed, provides brief sketches of every member, and creates a vivid picture of the exciting but deadly aerial sorties over the South Pacific. Frank E. Walton located the thirty-four survivors of the fifty-one original Black Sheep. In a unique series of interviews, former "Eagles" share their recollections of those days of high adventure and their experiences in the years to follow.

Author: Bruce Gamble
Publisher: Zenith Press
ISBN: 0760342504
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 218

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“A stunning portrait of incredibly courageous men and their awesome flying machines.”—Alex Kershaw, author of The Few Marine Fighting Squadron (VMF) 214 is the world's most famous fighter squadron. Its second wartime squadron commander was the legendary Greg “Pappy” Boyington. Boyington and the squadron were the loose inspiration for the late-seventies NBC television series Baa Baa Black Sheep, which was later syndicated under the name Black Sheep Squadron. Swashbucklers and Black Sheep is a comprehensive illustrated history of the squadron from its formation and first two combat tours on Guadalcanal as the Swashbucklers, which included their transition to the iconic gull-winged Corsair, to the arrival of their second commander, Pappy Boyington, after which they became the Black Sheep. The squadron's combat over Bougainville and Rabaul and the story of Boyington being shot down are covered, as are the squadron's exploits in the latter part of the war (while Boyington was a POW), which culminated in the heavy losses suffered aboard the carrier USS Franklin. The squadron's service in Korea, Vietnam, and the Global War on Terror complete the storied history of VMF 214. In addition to a rich collection of historical photography, Swashbucklers and Black Sheep features combat aviation artwork from four of America's top aviation artists: John Shaw, Jim Laurier, Craig Kodera, and Bob Rasmussen.

Author: Gregory Boyington
Publisher: Bantam
ISBN: 0804150796
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 363

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Book Description
Here, in his own words, is the true story of America's wildest flying hero, of his extraordinary heroism, and of his greatest battle of all—the fight to survive. The World War II air war in the Pacific needed tough men like Colonel Pappy Boyington and his Black Sheep Squadron. The legendary Marine Corps officer and his bunch of misfits, outcasts, and daredevils gave new definition to “hell-raising”—on the ground and in the skies. Pappy himself was a living legend—he personally shot down twenty-eight Japanese planes, and won the Congressional Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross. He broke every rule in the book doing so, but when he fell into the hands of the vengeful Japanese his real ordeal began.

Author: Walter A. Musciano
Publisher: Schiffer Pub Limited
ISBN: 9780764332326
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 343

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"This book describes the development of the legendary F4U Corsair, and follows it into battle from Guadalcanal to the Indian Ocean, Central Pacific Ocean, Korea, Africa, and Central America, and throughout its lengthy military career into Korea. Also included are chapters on the most decorated Corsair pilots, surviving examples of various models, as well as detailed appendices, and the author's own detailed line schemes and maps. A total of 2,814 F4U-1, F4U-1A, and F4U-2 Corsairs were constructed and delivered. Musciano's book describes how this naval fighter was transformed to perform a myriad of functions for which it was never intended."--P. [2] of cover.

Author: James A. Oleson
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 1450290469
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
Nearly 100 illustrious fi ghter aces and test pilots have granted personal glimpses from their military careers to help create this tribute to Americas patriotic and heroic fliers. IN THEIR OWN WORDS - THE FINAL CHAPTER - TRUE STORIES FROM AMERICAN FIGHTER ACES illuminates what it took to fl y and survive in hostile enemy skies and to test our new and unforgiving fighter aircraft. When I f irst began compiling information, interviewing and corresponding with our legendary fighter pilots, there were about 600 of the original 1,473 fighter aces still with us. It is now 2011 and only 10% of our American fi ghter aces are still living. I, and other military aviation enthusiasts are indeed fortunate that this book will again honor and tell the fi rst person accounts of nearly 50% of these remarkable remaining fi ghter pilots. Th e goal of this book is to write the fi nal chapter to this stunning legacy. A great deal of our nations rich military heritage is about to become extinct. In a very few years all our ace fi ghter pilots will be gone. Th e fact that our country is still free and speaking English instead of Japanese or German bears witness to their extraordinary deeds and courage.

Author: Bill Yenne
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472847482
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 386

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Book Description
America's Few delves into the history of US Marine Corps aviation in World War II, following the feats of the Corps' top-scoring aces in the skies over Guadalcanal. Marine Corps aviation began in 1915, functioning as a self-contained expeditionary force. During the interwar period, the support of USMC amphibious operations became a key element of Marine aviation doctrine, and the small force gradually grew. But in December 1941 came the rude awakening. Within hours of Pearl Harbor, heroic Marine aviators were battling the Japanese over Wake Island. In the South Pacific, the aviators of the US Marine Corps came out of the shadows to establish themselves as an air force second to none. In the summer of 1942, when Allied airpower was cobbled together into a single unified entity – nicknamed 'the Cactus Air Force' – Marine Aviation dominated, and a Marine, Major General Roy Geiger, was its commander. Of the twelve Allied fighter squadrons that were part of the Cactus Air Force, eight were USMC squadrons. It was over Guadalcanal that Joe Foss emerged as a symbol of Marine aviation. As commander of VMF-121, he organized a group of fighter pilots that downed 72 enemy aircraft; Foss himself reached a score of 26. Pappy Boyington, meanwhile, had become a Marine aviator in 1935. Best known as the commander of VMF-214, he came into his own in late 1943 and eventually matched Foss's aerial victory score. Through the parallel stories of these two top-scoring fighter aces, as well as many other Marine aces, such as Ken Walsh (21 victories), Don Aldrich (20), John L. Smith (19), Wilbur Thomas (18.5), and Marion Carl (18.5), many of whom received the Medal of Honor, acclaimed aviation historian Bill Yenne examines the development of US Marine Corps aviation in the South Pacific.

Author: Bruce Gamble
Publisher: Presidio Press
ISBN: 0307514536
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 512

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Book Description
Black Sheep One is the first biography of legendary warrior and World War II hero Gregory Boyington. In 1936, Boyington became an aviation cadet and earned the “wings of gold” of a naval aviator. After only a short period on active duty, however, he was “encouraged” to resign from the Marine Corps due to his unconventional behavior. Remarkably, this inauspicious beginning was just the prologue to a heroic career as an American fighter pilot and innovative combat leader. With the onset of World War II, when skilled pilots were in demand, he became the commander of an ad hoc squadron of flying leathernecks. Led by Medal of Honor winner Boyington, the legendary Black Sheep set a blistering pace of aerial victories against the enemy. Though many have observed that when the shooting stops, combat heroes typically just fade away, nothing could be further from the truth for Boyington. Blessed with inveterate luck, the stubbornly independent Boyington lived a life that went beyond what even the most imaginative might expect. Exhaustively researched and richly detailed, here is the complete story of this American original.