Read Anywhere and on Any Device!

Subscribe to Read | $0.00

Join today and start reading your favorite books for Free!

Create Free Account

The Mustangs of Iwo Jima

Barrett Tillman

0/5 ( ratings)

THE MUSTANGS OF IWO JIMA
Barrett Tillman

Living history has a shelf life. With each passing day, people who lived historic events are lost to us, whether from death or fading memory. A case in point is VII Fighter Command’s epic long-range missions in 1945 from sulfurous Iwo Jima to Tokyo-area targets. When author Barrett Tillman researched the story in the mid 1970s, veterans of the campaign were plentiful, from wartime second lieutenants to the brigadier general commanding the operation. This story could not be written today.

Even before the Marines fully secured bloody Iwo Jima, the VII Fighter Command’s P-51 Mustangs landed on partially completed airfields. The aim was to escort B-29 Superfortresses based in the Mariana Islands over the Japanese homeland, where defending fighters were expected to resist the American daylight bombing campaign.
Eventually, three groups of Mustangs, each with three squadrons, operated from Iwo.

The concept of routinely flying single-engine fighters on 3,000-mile round trips was unprecedented. It has seldom, if ever, been duplicated. Apart from Japanese flak and fighters, the U.S. Army fliers faced greater challenges: weather, navigation, and even die-hard enemy holdouts on Iwo itself.

In this seminal article the reader learns first-hand what living and flying was like on Iwo Jima. Mission planning, combat tactics, and rescue operations all are described by those who lived the story. On the lighter side, young men far-far from home found ways to occupy themselves, especially in the brisk barter economy that the desolate island generated.

Language: English

Format: Kindle Edition

Release: May 11, 2016

The Mustangs of Iwo Jima

Barrett Tillman

0/5 ( ratings)

THE MUSTANGS OF IWO JIMA
Barrett Tillman

Living history has a shelf life. With each passing day, people who lived historic events are lost to us, whether from death or fading memory. A case in point is VII Fighter Command’s epic long-range missions in 1945 from sulfurous Iwo Jima to Tokyo-area targets. When author Barrett Tillman researched the story in the mid 1970s, veterans of the campaign were plentiful, from wartime second lieutenants to the brigadier general commanding the operation. This story could not be written today.

Even before the Marines fully secured bloody Iwo Jima, the VII Fighter Command’s P-51 Mustangs landed on partially completed airfields. The aim was to escort B-29 Superfortresses based in the Mariana Islands over the Japanese homeland, where defending fighters were expected to resist the American daylight bombing campaign.
Eventually, three groups of Mustangs, each with three squadrons, operated from Iwo.

The concept of routinely flying single-engine fighters on 3,000-mile round trips was unprecedented. It has seldom, if ever, been duplicated. Apart from Japanese flak and fighters, the U.S. Army fliers faced greater challenges: weather, navigation, and even die-hard enemy holdouts on Iwo itself.

In this seminal article the reader learns first-hand what living and flying was like on Iwo Jima. Mission planning, combat tactics, and rescue operations all are described by those who lived the story. On the lighter side, young men far-far from home found ways to occupy themselves, especially in the brisk barter economy that the desolate island generated.

Language: English

Format: Kindle Edition

Release: May 11, 2016

More books from Barrett Tillman

Whirlwind: The Air War Against Japan, 1942-1945

3.9/5 ( ratings)

Clash of the Carriers: The True Story of the Marianas Turkey Shoot of World War II

3.9/5 ( ratings)

Enterprise: America's Fightingest Ship and the Men Who Helped Win World War II

3.9/5 ( ratings)

Forgotten Fifteenth: The Daring Airmen Who Crippled Hitler's War Machine

3.8/5 ( ratings)

The Sixth Battle

4.2/5 ( ratings)

On Yankee Station: The Naval Air War Over Vietnam

LeMay

3.5/5 ( ratings)

On Wave and Wing: The 100 Year Quest to Perfect the Aircraft Carrier

3.5/5 ( ratings)

Corsair: The F4U in World War II and Korea

4.1/5 ( ratings)

Hellcat, the F6F in World War II

4.2/5 ( ratings)

The Me 262 Stormbird: From the Pilots Who Flew, Fought, and Survived It

TBD Devastator Units of the US Navy

Pushing the Envelope: The Career of Fighter Ace and Test Pilot Marion Carl (Bluejacket Books)

4.3/5 ( ratings)

The Blue Devils

Wildcat Aces of World War 2

When the Shooting Stopped: August 1945

U.S. Navy Fighter Squadrons in World War II

Victory

Victory - Volume 4

Dragon's Jaw: An Epic Story of Courage and Tenacity in Vietnam

Rate this book!

Write a review?