P-38 Lightning Aces of the Pacific and CBI (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No 14) (Aircraft of the Aces, 14)

Another excellent Osprey Aircraft of the Aces title. In this case, it's "P-38 Lightning Aces of the Pacific and CBI" by John Stanaway.In this 96-page book, the author chronicles the introduction of the P-38 and the men who came to fly and fight this great aircraft in SWPA and CBI where the ceiling, range, speed and armament of the Lightning made it the premiere fighter. The author chronicles the introduction of the P-38 and the fighter squadrons that transitioned to it as it was introduced to these theaters.There's a discussion of the aircraft's characteristics and effectiveness and then he moves into the men who achieved ace status. He goes much further than just Bong and McGuire, giving brief combat careers on a number of pilots, some who were KIA. There are a number of first-hand accounts of combat by the men who flew this aircraft to ace status and those who flew with them. There are also good accounts of fighter tactics use by P-38 pilots. I was also surprised at the number in the CBI the author brings to readers since the CBI was well known as the "forgotten front" if you will.I consider this an excellent look at the plane and the men who flew it to victory in the east during WWII against the Japanese. Five stars.

Great book with plenty of photos and information about all of the P38 pilots that flew during the war. Continues the greatness of the Osprey books of the many aircraft flown during World War II. A must for one's library.

Always overshadowed by the war in Europe, read the exploits of many forgotten heroes and aircraft crews in the Pacific theater. The P-51 wasn't Americas only top line fighter! Read about the Lockheed P-38 and its pilots in the war against Japan. A great book for history buffs and modelers!

P-38 What can I say again a book I put off getting now I have it and love it.

All it talks about are the pilots. That's good, but ultimately boring. What's missing is a thorough description of the P-38 plane itself, how it was developed, and why, and how it made such a huge difference in the air war in the Pacific in WWII. Also missing are detailed descriptions of significant dogfights and the development of dogfighting tactics, where in fact the plane excelled.

I think I returned it as I already have it in my library.

The kind of details I was looking for about the P-38 and its pilots.

I like introduce my friend, a korean Military Aviation Researcherin Seoul,Korea. He sent me a Review on this book as following:During WWII,I had the chance to look at a Japanese concised handbook,"Identification methods of Enemy,US and British Military Aircrafts"On first page,there was a funny featured elegant twin [...], witha fuselage pod mounted on the wing between the booms-P-38 Lightening !It gave me deep impressions with excitement and became absentminded.After,VJ-day,on15,Aug,1945,near the Christmas seasons, I accidenarllylooked at the sky,a silvery white,P-38 was drawing a signs with flightingvapors,X mas,at high altitude over the beaughtiful,blue sky,Seoul,Korea !Bu late 1943, P-38 already proved high altitude sweeping fighter,escorting B-17and B-24 Heavy bomber on Europian theater,medium altitude"Dogfight" fighter,ground strafing and bombiing on Mediterian theater,reconnaissence, and even night fighter.In Pacific and CBI theater,first P-38 victories was two Kawanishiflying boats kills in Aleutian Island.P-38's tactics over most strongwell knoown Japanese Navy fighter"Zero", promised long range,high speedand enough power to climb or dive away from Zero.avoid turning in combatfrom amazing maneuvrability.Japanese preferred "Dog fighting"belowthe altitude,lower than 20,000ft,P-38's best choice was from higher altitude, high speed diving attack with heavier armament,1 20 mm cannonand 4-12.7mm machine guns.straffing then fly away- "Hit and Run"technique.Most memorable operation of P-38 was "The Yamamoto Mission"On 14,April,1943, Nsvy intelligence intercepted Japanese Navy Admiral'sRadio tranmission of Admiral Yamamoto.US planned interception attackwith only possible long ranged available fighters of South Pacific wasP-38Gs at Henderson air field,Guadalcanal. they added special long-range external fuel tanks. On 18,April,1943,under the direction of Maj.Mitchell,16 p-38Gs flight team flew as low altitude as possible.at 9:30AM,2 "Betty"bombers escoted by 6 Zero was spotted.4 attacking group of P-38 attacked them,shot downed 2 "Betty" bombers and 2 Zeros.During this fighting,Mag.Mitchel and remainig P-38G coverd higher altitude.there are 106 Air Aces of WWII in the Pacific and CBI.Among aces of P-38 in the pacific and CBI,Top Ace was Capt.Richard Bong40 kills, 2nd Ace was Maj.Thomas McGuire 38 kills.During WWII,US overall Aces are as folloting: 1) Capt. Richard Bong; total 40 Kills 2) Maj. Thomas McGuire: total 38 kills. 3) Capt. David McCampbell(USN) 34 kills. 4) CoL. Francis S.Gabreski(USAF)31 Kills.Maj. McGuire died during dogfightng,WWII.Capt.Bong died on Test piloting F-80 Shooting Star after WWII.

Typical Osprey, interesting and well written.

日本では山本五十六長官機撃墜で有名な戦闘機ですが、ひとつの戦闘機としては“不当”と言っても差し支えないほど評価が低い。日本の有名なエース坂井 三郎氏は戦後アメリカに訪問した時もP38を評して“ペロハチといって零戦の相手でない”と言ったそうである（ちなみに氏は１９４２年８月に負傷日本に後送され、氏が戦っていた南東方面にP38が配備されたのは同じ年の１１月ころで対戦していないはずである）この本ではそのような日本側の主張に反論している。まず対ドイツ戦優先で配備数は少なく当然交戦したパイロットは少数であり見た目の印象から単発機より格闘戦には弱く対等に戦えないと決め付けられたからだ、と（実は同じアメリカ軍内でも本機に搭乗したことが無いパイロットは本機の能力に懐疑的だったらしい）。しかし実際はどうかーアメリカ撃墜数上位はP38のパイロットから輩出しているのである。この本はそのパイロットらの活躍ぶりを伝えているがアメリカといえど戦果報告は“誇大”である。その点で訳者が日米双方の資料を駆使して傍証・反証を付記しているのでこの本の価値をより一層高めている。航空戦記に興味のある方は対戦した相手側からの視点ではどうだったか知るためにも是非一読をお勧めします。

ライトニングというと未だに「ぺろ８」などと弱い戦闘機と認知されている日本機ファンが多いと思います。しかし、これらの流れを初めて全面否定したのが本書でありました。英訳版は米軍の報告戦果が一方的に正しいかのごとく記載されていましたが、邦訳されている梅本氏は日本陸軍と海軍航空隊の記録を照合、反証をしています。　結果的に米軍の報告戦果は過剰であるのが証明されましたが、日本側の戦果は更に誤認が多いと実証されました。太平洋戦線においてＰ−３８は航続距離が長いのを活かすとともに、航空戦においても強い戦闘機であるのが理解できます。　太平洋戦線航空戦を研究される上で、本書は基礎書として大いに活用できるといえます。