Books about WW2 Pilots - Your Recommendations

[Oersted]

The Most Dangerous Enemy - By Stephen Bungay - The definitive Battle Of Britain book. 500-odd pages of eyewitness accounts and pilot stories to go along with the informative parts.

Absolutely agree! His other book about El-Alamein is also very good.

[Gromit]

Highly recommend--

Bloody Biscay, history of the Ju88C crews and their adversaries over the Bay

A separate little war, Coastal Commands battles over Norway and the North Sea, amazing book.

Pursuit through darkened skies, a Night fighter/intruder crews story from training to wars end.

Spitfires over Malta, this is a must read for anyone who has an interest in this pivotal battle, the hardships and horrors the Maltese and the soldiers/airmen suffered and yet prevailed providing a critical role in the desert war is truly inspiring.

Warburton's war, Adrian Warburton, a madman who was unpopular and out of his depth in the RAF found a niche in the Malta siege where with his maverick ways and sheer guts he became a local hero , flying a recce beat up Maryland this guy became an ace and contributed to the desert war in a manner that camouflaged his insecure personality and lack of discipline.
Truly one of the greatest pilots of the war.

Ginger lacey fighter pilot, Britain's highest scoring ace in the BoB in a Hurricane, with the majority of his victims coming from the ranks of the Jagdwaffe.

[TWC_SLAG]

"Bomber" by Len Deighton. Fiction, but still about WW2 pilots. It couldn't have been written without talking to a great many pilots.

badfinger

[Gh0st]

Ran into this article that was published last year while searching for WW2 fighter pilots logs.

SCRAMBLE! by Tom Neil was published by Amberley on September 28. Has anyone had a chance to read it? And perhaps provide a short review?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ng-heroes.html

Thanks.

[TWC_SLAG]

http://www.amazon.ca/Fighter-Pilot-M.../dp/0312569513

Robin Olds' exploits spanned WWII AND the Vietnam war. Haven't read this yet myself but it's holding a five star rating on Amazon with 163 reviewers so far.

I have read it, and it is great.

I read out loud the last part to my wife, and it made her cry.

badfinger

[Dogtail2]

Fly For Your Life .... The story of Bob Stanford Tuck. Brilliant.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fly-Your-Lif.../dp/0583127878

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[pitt]

here a list of my war book collection .
(abebooks.com is a good place to get old books)


WAR IN THE AIR

Anthology – Winged Victory
Arthur Max - Last of the Few
Allan H R – Battle for Britain
Bader Douglas - Fight for the Sky
Bekker - Angriffshöhe 4000
Bishop Patrick - Fighter Boys
Bishop Patrick - Bomber Boys
Brickhill Paul - The Dambusters
Brickhill Paul - Reach for the Sky
Brütting Georg - Das waren die deutschen Kampfflieger -Asse
Bölke - Deutschlands Fliegerheld
Bowyer Charles – History of the RAF
Butterworth – Down to Earth
Charlwood D.E. – No Moon tonight (Bomber pilots -moving!)
Cullard Brian – Twelve days in May
Cunningham Andrew – Tumult in the Clouds
Clarke Allan – Aces High
Costal Command
Collier Richard – Eagle Day
Corbin Jimmy – Last of the Fighter Boys
David Dennis - Hurricane
Deere Alan – Nine Lives
Deighton Len - Fighter
Dundas Hugh - Flying Start
Douglas Sholto – Combat and Command
Euringer Richard – Vortrupp Pascha
Farrer David - Lord Beaverbrooke, Sky is the Limit
Fareman John - - The Forgotten Month
Forrster Larry - Fligh for your Life
Galland Adolf - Die ersten und die Letzten(sign.dolfo)
Galland Adolf - Die deutsche Luftwaffe
Gelb Norman - Scramble
Hawton – Night Bombing
Hillary Richard - Last Enemy
Jarrold C. W. - Did you survive the War ?
Johnson Johnny - Wing Leader
Klosterman Pierre – Bennender Himmel
Kent Johnny – One of the Few
Knoke Heinz - I flew for the Fuhrer
Kurowski - Der Luftkrieg über Deutschland
Laffin John - Swifter than Eagles (J.Salmond)
Lane Brian - Spitfire
Lewis Cecil – Sagittarius Rising
Lewis Gwylim – Wings over the Somme
Middelton Drew – The Sky suspendet
Miller Donald – Mighty 8
Nolan - Hero, the Falcon of Malta
Joubert De La Ferte Philip - The Fatet Sky
Osterkamp Theo - Durch Höhen und Tiefen
Price Alfred – Skys of Fire
Priller Joachim - Geschichte eines Jagdgeschwaders
Pile Frederic - Ack Ack
Ray John – Night Blitz
Royal Air Force 1939 – 1945 Vol 1 – The Fight at Odds
Royal Air Force 1939 – 1945 Vol 2 –
Richey & Franks – Fighter Pilots Summer
Richthofen M.v. - Der rote Kampfflieger
Richey - Fighter Pilot
Rickenbaker Eddy – Flying Circus
Reid John P M – Some of the Few
Rudel Ulrich - Mein Kriegstagebuch
Stahl Peter - Kampfflieger zw. Eismeer und Sahara
Steinhoff – Straits of Messina
Toliver/Constable - Das waren die Deutschen Jagdfliegerasse
Thomson Walter - Lancaster to Berlin
Townsend Peter - Duell of the Eagles
Townsend Peter - Duell in the Dark
Townsend Peter - By Time and Change
Terraine John – The Right Of The Line
Udet Ernst – Mein Fliegerleben( hallm.pnz div feldherrnhalle)
Wellum Geoffrey - First Light
Zamoski Adam - -Forgotten Few



War on the ground


Sassoon – Memoirs of a Infantry Officer
Graves Robert – Goodby to all that
Jünger Ernst – In Stahlgewittern (!)
Remarque Erich Maria – im Westen Nichts Neues
Ettinghofer P C – Gespenster am Toten Mann
Michael Herr- Dispatches (nam)
Keegan John-The Face of Battle (!)
Holmes Richard-Acts of war (!)
Churchill _The gathering Storm etc.
Hanson-Infantry Battle in Classical Greece
Montgomery -The lonly leader
Ferguson- The pity of War
Bryant Arthur-The turn of the Tide
Ambrose Stephen - Band of Brothers,Citzen Soldiers,
Pegasus Bridge, Wild Blue,
Hastings Max - Overlord
Ryan Cornelius- The longest Day (!)
A Bridge to Far (!)
Atkinson Rick - The Day of Battle
Lucas John - The Last European War
Hard Liddle - History of the second world War

[lil_head]

Some more from RAAF/Aus. experience.

Whispering Death - Mark Johnston (South Pacific)
Storm over Kakoda - Peter Ewer (New Guinea)
Lancaster Men - Peter Rees (Europe)
Nicky Barr, Australian air ace - Peter Dornan (North Africa)
Fire in the sky - Michael Molkentin ( WW1, Middle East/Europe)

Best book I've ever read:
Backs to the wall - G.D Mitchell

Great reads
Monash, the outsider who won a war - Roland Perry
The battle of Coral - Lex McAulay (Vietnam)
The Devils General, the life of Hyazinth Graf Von Stratchwitz ' The Panzer Graf' - Raymond Bagdonas


And many more

[blaize43]

Two amazing books about the Fleet Air Arm, Wings on my sleeve, the story of the incredible Eric "Wnkle" Brown. and also Kamikaze Killers which is about a british fleet including four air craft carriers
that were based in the Pacific in 1945 and were attacking targets in mainland Japan flying Corsairs, Baracudas,and various other aircraft.

[FluxCapacitance]

Yes. A little gung-ho in a very few places but generally excellent. The first autobiography of any pilot I ever read. Have re-read it numerous times over the past many years. An honest account of what is was like 'on the other side' including his wavering admiration of Hitler and Goering and, very briefly, his revealing post-war values/attitudes.

Hehe. Yeah, my boss was good friends with Tex Hill from the AVG. They flew together over the "Hump". My friend had a pro-Pappy AVG book (John Toland) for Tex to sign. Tex autographed it, and went to write an expletive-filled paragraph about how inaccurate the book was. My friend and I looked at each other after seeing it and said, "Awesome!" (as in, the book is now a cool piece of history). Tex was saying Pappy had led a flight out and got lost while drunk. They lost a bunch of P-40s in the process. Which brings me to my book recommendation...

--"Tex" Hill: Flying Tiger

Tex was much nicer when he signed my book. hehe
texhillsign.jpg

[56RAF_klem]

Hehe. Yeah, my boss was good friends with Tex Hill from the AVG. They flew together over the "Hump". My friend had a pro-Pappy AVG book (John Toland) for Tex to sign. Tex autographed it, and went to write an expletive-filled paragraph about how inaccurate the book was. My friend and I looked at each other after seeing it and said, "Awesome!" (as in, the book is now a cool piece of history). Tex was saying Pappy had led a flight out and got lost while drunk. They lost a bunch of P-40s in the process. Which brings me to my book recommendation...

--"Tex" Hill: Flying Tiger

Tex was much nicer when he signed my book. hehe
texhillsign.jpg

I've 'put it on my list'.

[wheelsup_cavu]

I've got a bookcase full of 1st person memoirs, my personal favorites are:

Terror in the Starboard Seat by McIntosh (Mosquito navigator)
First Light by Wellum (BoB Spit pilot)
The Wrong Stuff by Smith (B-17 copilot)
Nanette by Park (P-39 pilot)

These are my "elite"; books that I've actually read more than once.

Enjoy,

AKA Knutsac

Nanette was definitely a great read. I only read it for the first time about two months ago.
(Nanette: Her Pilot's Love Story by Edwards Park)


Wheels

[TWC_Ragoo]

Lords of the Sky by Dan Hampton is a quality summation of air warfare from World War 1 to recent. Listened too on audible.

[Barone]

Don't know if it is in the list but the autobiography from George Beurling "Malta Spitfire" is a very good book. Full of old style terms and with a depth view of the battle for Malta. If you see it, get it. You won't regret it.

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[tKestrel]

Im not sure what has been recommended yet, but I love ww1 and 2 books and can offer a few god flight books. My absolute favorite that completely changed how I viewed the german air force in ww2 is "A Higher Call" this is a must have for any ww2 enthusiast. Another good book which i finished a few months back is "Aces of the Eighth" I also liked The Few, which is(despite the marine sounding name) is actually a british air war story. I found it very touching as u can actually feel the connection between the squadmates as you read it. One of my prized books in my collection is from 1943 and boy does it show its age. Its called "Air force" Its about the B17 "Mary Ann". Despite its age, it was still a very good read. Ill link I picture of it in a minute. Im currently starting a new book called Aces High. Im only a few pages in so no opinion on it as of yet but I will be sure to let you know.

[tKestrel]

Im not sure what has been recommended yet, but I love ww1 and 2 books and can offer a few god flight books. My absolute favorite that completely changed how I viewed the german air force in ww2 is "A Higher Call" this is a must have for any ww2 enthusiast. Another good book which i finished a few months back is "Aces of the Eighth" I also liked The Few, which is(despite the marine sounding name) is actually a british air war story. I found it very touching as u can actually feel the connection between the squadmates as you read it. One of my prized books in my collection is from 1943 and boy does it show its age. Its called "Air force" Its about the B17 "Mary Ann". Despite its age, it was still a very good read. Ill link I picture of it in a minute. Im currently starting a new book called Aces High. Im only a few pages in so no opinion on it as of yet but I will be sure to let you know.

Heres the pictures of the books for reference.
20161029_001248.jpg
and here is the inside of the book Air Force.
20161029_001323.jpg

[hnbdgr]

Hi all! Does anyone here know where I could get a copy of "Fighting the Spitfire," by Erwin Leykauf?

[Barone]

Does anyone have "Luftwaffe Fighter Aces" by Mike Spick? How's this book? A good read?

[RobfromME]

Fly For Your Life .... The story of Bob Stanford Tuck. Brilliant.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fly-Your-Lif.../dp/0583127878

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Good evening, all,

I was going to add this title to the list, but wisely did a search first just to make sure I wasn't repeating..however, this is one of my favorite flying books of all time!! I read it for the first of many times when I was in 7th grade (a year or so ago... ). Such a wonderful book and well written. It's got a special place on my bookshelf! I just had to mention it again.

Thanks for mentioning it Dogtail2!

Great thread, thanks to all!

All my best,
Rob

[ATAG_Flare]

I have Fly for Your Life sitting on my desk waiting for it's turn. As soon as I finish And No Birds Sang (amazing WWII memoir by legendary Canadian author Farley Mowat) I'll read it.

[DOWNEAST]

Here is a rare one! Out of print I believe, but scheduled for reprint. "Some Shall Live" about and by Frank Glasgow Tinker. The first American to shoot down a ME 109B. In fact two of them in June 1937 while flying for the Spanish Republic. He brought them down in his Polikarpov I-16 "Moscas" flying nom de guerre; Francisco Gomez Trejo

http://theairtacticalassaultgroup.co...&thumb=1&stc=1

You can read about him here: http://imansolas.freeservers.com/Aces/Frank_Tinker.html

He is a forgotten American Ace

[Barone]

Does anyone know have a good bf109 reading??
I would like to read the bf 109 recognition manual but it's very difficult to find.

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[Pans]

Does anyone know have a good bf109 reading??
I would like to read the bf 109 recognition manual but it's very difficult to find.

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I've just finished reading "Luftwaffe Fighter Ace" by Norbert Hannig and I'd say it's worth checking out if you haven't already... Besides being an account of his training and career, it's an interesting insight into the life of a German during the period (given that the author grew up under the Nazi regime and came of age mid-war) and his experiences as a prisoner of war after May 1945.

I'm currently reading "Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe in World War II" by Philip Kaplan. It's a brief biography of several of the Luftwaffe aces, with some additional background on squadrons and associated "dramatis personae"... and pretty much anything else the author wants to throw in. It is difficult to recommend being rather disjointed and interjected with some quite random asides, but it does have some interesting tidbits.

[Hurricane]

I have just started re-reading The Battle of Britain - James Holland.

Covers more than just the BoB though.

Cost me a tenner in Tesco about 6 years ago. One of their new releases promotions, the actual price was £25 hardback.

Best regards,
Mike.

[ATAG_Lewis]

I'm only a few pages into this book....and it already deserves its place in this thread...

[ATAG_Pattle]

ECR Baker's Ace of Aces. Story of Squadron Leader Pat Pattle, the RAF's top ace in WW2. I take my name in homage and do the best I can to live up to what Pat was able to achieve in 9 months in theatre before his death in April 41 at the age of 26.

Not a long read but it just resonated with me from the first page.

[Barone]

I've just finished reading "Luftwaffe Fighter Ace" by Norbert Hannig and I'd say it's worth checking out if you haven't already... Besides being an account of his training and career, it's an interesting insight into the life of a German during the period (given that the author grew up under the Nazi regime and came of age mid-war) and his experiences as a prisoner of war after May 1945.

I'm currently reading "Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe in World War II" by Philip Kaplan. It's a brief biography of several of the Luftwaffe aces, with some additional background on squadrons and associated "dramatis personae"... and pretty much anything else the author wants to throw in. It is difficult to recommend being rather disjointed and interjected with some quite random asides, but it does have some interesting tidbits.

I've just finished "lw fighter aces" by Mike Spick" it's a very good reading.
But I wanted to find a book only about the 109.

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[ATAG_Vampire]

I've just finished "lw fighter aces" by Mike Spick" it's a very good reading.
But I wanted to find a book only about the 109.

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Hi Barone.

Have you seen this book about the Bf109E series?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DXhP0nV97Jw

o7

[TWC_Brett]

From a slightly different angle, anybody who has a particular interest in German WW2 aircraft and the more technical side of things should check out this series of books by a chap called Eddie Creek.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byli...=relevancerank

I was lucky enough to meet him through my work and spoke with him in length about how he spent time meeting German pilots and compiling design drawings and photographs from his sources, most of it never seen before.
He also gave me one of his books as a 'thank you' and it really is a fascinating read.

[Barone]

Hi Barone.

Have you seen this book about the Bf109E series?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DXhP0nV97Jw

o7

I'll check it out thanks.

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