Book Description

Merriam Press Military Monograph 308. Go to war with the Yorktown's Air Group Five (VF-3, VF-42, VB-5, VT-5). Very detailed self-told experiences of American Naval Aviation pilots who fought and survived the Marshall, Gilbert, Salamaua, Lae and Tulagi raids, and the Coral Sea and Midway battles in 1942. Sources for this massive work were the pilots themselves, whom the author interviewed after their return to the States during the war, while memories were still fresh. This is an invaluable record of their experiences. Their descriptions of combat will make you feel like you are right there with them in the cockpit. CONTENTS: Publisher's Foreword; Chapter 1: Into the Atlantic; Chapter 2: Low and Slow; Chapter 3: Meet Dave Berry; Chapter 4: Gaining Experience; Chapter 5: Convoy Duty; Chapter 6: Portland Interlude; Chapter 7: Pacific Bound; Chapter 8: Marshall and Gilbert Islands Raid; Chapter 9: Salamaua and Lae; Chapter 10: Patrol and Search; Chapter 11: Tulagi; Chapter 12: Cruise of the Hing Lee; Chapter 13: Coral Sea: 5 and 6 May 1942; Chapter 14: Coral Sea: 7 May 1942; Chapter 15: Coral Sea: 8 May 1942; Chapter 16: He Who Fights and Runs; Chapter 17: Fixin' for a Fight; Chapter 18: Midway: 3 June 1942; Chapter 19: Midway: 4 June 1942; Chapter 20: Midway: 5 and 6 June 1942; Chapter 21: The Fighting Lady; Appendices; Appendix 1: Organization of an Aircraft Carrier; Appendix 2: Ready Room and Flight Deck Operations; Appendix 3: Torpedo Planes Prove Their Worth; Appendix 4: Pilot Rosters; The Author: Stuart D. Ludlum; 65 photos; 1 map; 4 illustrations.