Wings of War

Great Combat Tales of Allied and Axis Pilots During World War II

By: James P. Busha, Steve Hinton - introduction

Experience the exciting combat tales of both Allied and Axis pilots around the world during World War II.

Wings of War encompasses the World War II air war from late 1939 through 1945 and provides a chronological snapshot not only of famous and significant events from the global air war, but also of other lesser-known events that are equally thrilling and important. Over three dozen different Allied and Axis airplanes are featured, giving you a unique experience at the controls of a variety of World War II’s famed fighters, bombers, liaison, and jet airplanes.

Here are just a few of the stories included about World War II aces from author Jim Busha’s vast archival research and interviews:

• A pilot that flew a P-36 against the Japanese at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, while still in his Sunday pajamas.
• A B-25 pilot who launched off the USS Hornet along with his fellow Doolittle Raiders.
• P-40 pilots who flew against Rommel and his Afrika Korps.
• A PBY pilot helped locate and recover a downed Zero over the Aleutians, which was later used as a test bed to learn its deadly tricks.

The action is truly global—from the skies over England, Greenland, mainland Europe, the African deserts, the CBI Theater, the entire Pacific Theater (including the Aleutians, Russia, Japan, and China), and many more—this is one book no fan of warbirds will want to miss!

The stories

See above stars great stories you won’t find anywhere. Narrator is fantastic as you feel like you are along for the ride.

Good combat memoirs

What’s great about this book is the variety of firsthand accounts. Most books like this focus on one plane or nation. This is a great selection of memoirs, showcasing what it was like to fly many of the famous aircraft lf ww2. Specifically, this is one of the few firsthand accounts I’ve found from a pilot that flew in the fw 190. Narrator is also very good.

wide variety of aircraft and perspectives not seen before

Definitely worth the read! Great narrator and stories from every aspect of aviation from attack to observation

Interesting but lacking

This an excellent collection of the experiences of combat fliers from most of the major protagonists… except for any Japanese and Italian pilots. I would have enjoyed an overview of their war experiences after the highlighted episode. Still, it’s a good listen.