First Team

Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway

By: John B Lundstrom

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Paperback | 1 July 2005

At a Glance

Paperback
576 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
25.4 x 17.7 x 2.97

Paperback

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Hailed as one of the finest examples of aviation research, this comprehensive 1984 study presents a detailed and scrupulously accurate operational history of carrier-based air warfare. From the earliest operations in the Pacific through the decisive Battle of Midway, it offers a narrative account of how ace fighter pilots like Jimmy Thach and Butch O'Hare and their skilled VF squadron mates--called the "first team"--amassed a remarkable combat record in the face of desperate odds. Tapping both American and Japanese sources, historian John B. Lundstrom reconstructs every significant action and places these extraordinary fighters within the context of overall carrier operations. He writes from the viewpoint of the pilots themselves, after interviewing some fifty airmen from each side, to give readers intimate details of some of the most exciting aerial engagements of the war. At the same time he assesses the role the fighter squadrons played in key actions and shows how innovations in fighter tactics and gunnery techniques were a primary reason for the reversal of American fortunes. After more than twenty years in print, the book remains the definitive account and is being published in paperback for the first time to reach an even larger audience.

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You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction Warfare & Defence Naval Forces & Warfare Air Forces & Warfare History General & World History Military History Second World War Regional & National History European History

Introduction to war	p. 3
"We are in great need of a victory" : the Wake Island operation	p. 32
Interregnum	p. 45
"This Sunday it's our turn to shoot!" : the 1 February raids	p. 60
The battle of Bougainville : fighting three in the South Pacific	p. 83
The Enterprise's Central Pacific raids	p. 111
The Lae-Salamaua raid	p. 122
The Tokyo raid	p. 136
Prelude to battle	p. 157
Opening shots	p. 167
7 May 1942	p. 189
The carrier battle of 8 May	p. 221
Coral Sea aftermath	p. 283
Getting ready for Midway	p. 309
The battle of 4 June	p. 329
Midway - the pursuit	p. 419
The "first team" graduates	p. 435
Midway lessons - the F4F-4 controversy	p. 441
The making of carrier fighter pilots	p. 451
U.S. naval flight training	p. 451
Japanese naval flight training	p. 454
Fundamentals of aerial fixed gunnery	p. 458
Fighting colors, insignia, and markings	p. 469
Naval flight formations and the "Thach weave"	p. 477
Japanese combat methods	p. 486
List of U.S. navy fighter pilots	p. 490
Bureau numbers of fighter aircraft	p. 496
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.

First Team

Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway

At a Glance

Paperback

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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