Your favorite Fighter Pilot books?

[Charly_Owl]

Hello everyone,

 

I'm an avid reader and I thought I'd start reading some books about modern-era fighter pilots. I've read V.M. Yeates' "Wings of Victory" (WW1), Pierre Clostermann's "The Big Show" (WW2) and I've just bought Robert Mason's "Chickenhawk".

 

I haven't read much about modern-era jet pilots and I was wondering if you guys had any suggestions for a good read. It can be about any period (Vietnam, Gulf War, Iraq War, Afghanistan, etc.) and any aircraft: I'm just very curious to read about what it feels to fly those machines, what the pilot thinks, how he feels, what kind of training he has, all that good stuff. I'm very open-minded and curious.

 

Any suggestions?

[walker450]

"Vipers in the Storm" (first Gulf War)http://www.vipersinthestorm.com

 

"Fighting the Flying Circus" (WWI)

[Sierra99]

Any suggestions?

 

I highly recommend the book "SR-71 Revealed: The Inside Story" while not exactly a fighter... The level of detail into >how< the SR was operated is really a good read.

 

http://www.habu.org/graham/sr71revealed.html

 

Sierra

[MTFDarkEagle]

Warthog by William Smallwood I found fascinating to read.

[SNAFU]

In addition to the a.m. and especially in connection to "Chickhawk" I would highly recomment Ed Rasimus "When Thunder Rolled" (if you have just finished Chickenhawk, you already got used to the places of the area ;) ) about his first tour in Vietnam and his second book following the story of his second tour "Palace Cobra". He has a great style, not only writing, but also the way to reflect his experience. (Both are currently my favs, Rosenkranz "Vipers in the Storm" is also high on the ladder)

 

These are rather presonal storys, compared to Smallwoods "Warthog" and "Eagles", which are more a collection of annecdotes of interviewed pilots. Both books are also great, but I prefered the personal view of things - similar to Clostermanns "The Big Show" or "Thunderbolt!" by R.S. Johnson.

[Hubris]

Not a fighter pilot book, but Skunk Works is one of my favorite.

[Madone]

For me, it's more a JTAC book, but Fire Strike 7/9 by Paul Grahame & Damien Lewis is really good, even if there's some credibility loss.

I'm lokking foward to grab those titles above :p

[Pizzicato]

Not a fighter pilot book, but Skunk Works is one of my favorite.

 

+1 for this. It's a fantastic book.

[Hawk_5]

The Mammoth Book of Fighter Pilots

Edited by Jon E. Lewis 2002

 

Has a bit of everything from WW1 through to the Gulf told as individual pilot accounts.

[NoJoe]

Warthog by William Smallwood I found fascinating to read.

 

Also check out one of his other books, "Strike Eagle, Flying the F-15E in the Gulf War". It's full of combat descriptions like the A-10 book, and does a fascinating job telling the story of the pilots themselves and what it was like to fly in Iraq.

 

--NoJoe

[robert123456]

I havent read many aviation books but this one is strictly fighters and i enjoyed it

 

"FIGHTER COMBAT. Tactics and maneuvering" by Robert Shaw.

[BBQ]

"The Bear Went Over the Mountain: Soviet Combat Tactics in Afghanistan" - Lester W. Grau

[Charly_Owl]

Woah, thank you all for your answers! I have noted a couple of interesting books and I'll definitely be reading them during summer.

[westr]

Try Mustang ace by Robert Goebel, I really enjoyed that book, its a relatively short book as well if you want a quick read, gives a good insight from a fighter pilots point of view of flying and fighting in the P-51 mustang. I'm reading US Navy F-14 Tomcat units of operation Iraqi freedom, and shall post if I think its worth reading when I'm done...

[mr_mojo97]

My fave book of all time - Sea harrier over the Falklands by Sharkey Ward, amazing book but maybe slightly biased but who cares it's a frightfully splendid read. Just read A-10s over Kosovo which is also good and am about ot read Warthog. And I've just read Joint Force Harrier as well which is ok

[westr]

Yes have read the Sharkey Ward book and agree was a very good read +1 would definitely recommend that. I also read a book which took you through the Battle of Britain but instead of one author it was filled with short accounts from pilots involved in the battle on both sides, but mostly allied. It was done in such a way with the entries that it explained brilliantly the path the Battle of Britain took, unfortunately I lent the book to somebody and never got it back and I cant remember what it was called....

[FreeFall]

"Vipers in the Storm" (first Gulf War)http://www.vipersinthestorm.com

 

Exceptionally good book. Highly recommended. :thumbup:

 

Warthog by William Smallwood I found fascinating to read.

 

As well! :thumbup:

 

A-10s over Kosovo

 

A bit too much international politics and stuff involved. Just my opinion. :noexpression:

[Charly_Owl]

Any suggestions for a P-51 Mustang book?

 

I found a couple of them on amazon (including some about the Tuskegee Airmen), but I can't seem to find the "right one".

[WildBillKelsoe]

Any suggestions for a P-51 Mustang book?

 

I found a couple of them on amazon (including some about the Tuskegee Airmen), but I can't seem to find the "right one".

 

There is one on Scribd.com for sale@10 bucks. It's called "I was a P-51 pilot in WWII". :thumbup:

[TimeKilla]

Brave two zero :thumbup:

[mr_mojo97]

Bravo 2 zero's not a fighter pilot book! Tornado Down is though which is also a frightfully good book as is they're other book Team Tornado which is about the lives of front line squadron pilots

[mr_mojo97]

Bravo 2 0 is an amazing book though

[Nealius]

"Viper Pilot" Lt. Col. Dan Hampton

 

Probably not the most accurate of books, but I do enjoy the author's humor.

[Cookie]

Any suggestions for a P-51 Mustang book?

I just got done reading "Dumb but lucky" by Richard Curtis, which was good, but sometimes a bit repetitive (the author couldn´t stop telling the reader that he thought he survived through sheer luck).

 

Not P-51 per se, but a true WW2 story and a MUST read: A Higher Call. The first book in my life that actually made me cry.

 

Of the books I have read within the last few months (I read A LOT, usually several books a week), these are the ones I can recommend (in no particular order, and some may already have been mentioned):

 

• Snake Pilot: Flying the Cobra Attack Helicopter in Vietnam by Randy Zahn
  
• Stealth Fighter: A year in the life of an F-117 pilot by William O`Connor
  
• SR-71 Revealed: The Inside Story by Richard Graham
  
• Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years of Lockheed by Ben Rich
  
• When Thunder Rolled: An F-105 Pilot over North Vietnam by Ed Rasimus
  
• Palace Cobra: A Figher Pilot in the Vietnam War by Ed Rasimus
  
• Apache Dawn: Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned by Damien Lewis
  
• Apache: Inside the Cockpit of the World´s Most Deadly Fighting Machine by Ed Macy
  
• Viper Pilot: A Memoir of Air Combat by Dan Hampton
  
• Fire Strike 7/9 by Paul Grahame
  
• A Nightmare´s Prayer: A Marine Harrier Pilot´s War in Afghanistan by Michael Franzak
  
• Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach (not an aviation book per se, but related and damn entertaining nevertheless)
  
• Once A Fighter Pilot by Jerry Cook
  
• To The Limit: An Air Cav Huey Pilot in Vietnam by Tom Johnson
  
• Yeager: An Autobiography by Chuck Yeager
  
• Lockheed SR-71 Operations in Europe and the Middle East by Paul Crickmore
  
• B-2 Spirit Units in Combat by Thomas Withington
  
• 100 Missions North: A Fighter Pilot´s Story of the Vietnam War by Ken Bell
  
• Feet Wet: Reflections of a Carrier Pilot by Paul Gillcrist
  

 

So yeah, that list should keep you busy for a while. When you´re done with it let me know, I also have a couple hundred classics everyone interested in aviation should have read, plus a whole bunch of books written in German in case you understand it (mostly WW2 memoirs by pilots, grunts and tankers).

[Charly_Owl]

Thank you all: especially you, Cookie. I just love to read and I've been buying a pretty decent collection of books during the last month. I based my choices on historical accuracy, interest and writing style. Each book was carefully handpicked by me after reading numerous reviews of each individual book.

 

@ Cookie: Sorry, I don't speak German... Well, just enough to order a beer or get me in trouble :) , but not enough to read a book. I can read English, French and Spanish though.

 

If any of you is interested in seeing the complete list, here it is. Call me crazy for having spent a great deal of money, but I cherish these first-hand accounts as little gems trapped in time that deserve to be read and remembered. The survival of these accounts is something I value a lot.

 

(Please Note that the list is in no particular order)

 

 

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Aviation - General

• The Aviator’s Guide to Navigation (Donald J. Clausing)
  
• Fighter Combat: Tactics and Maneuvering (Robert L. Shaw)
  
• Howard Hughes: His Life and Madness (Donald L. Bartlett & James B. Steele)
  
• Empire of the Clouds: When Britain’s Aircraft Ruled the World (James Hamilton-Paterson)
  
• How the Helicopter Changed Modern Warfare (Walter J. Boyne)
  
• Skygods: The Fall of Pan Am (Robert Gandt)
  
• The Right Stuff (Tom Wolfe)
  
• Flight: The Complete History (R. G. Grant)
  
• Boeing: The Complete Story (Alain Pelletier)
  

***

 

Aviation – WW1

• Winged Victory (V.M. Yeates)
  

***

 

Aviation – WW2

• Flying Tigers (Daniel Ford)
  
• Forever Flying (Bob Hoover)
  
• A Question of Honor: The Kosciuszko Squadron (Stanley Cloud & Lynne Olson)
  
• Yeager: The Autobiography (Chuck Yeager & Leo Janos)
  
• The Blond Knight of Germany: A Biography of Erich Hartmann (Raymond F. Toliver & Trevor J. Constable)
  
• The Big Show (Pierre Clostermann)
  
• Fighter Pilot (Robin Olds)
  
• Masters of the Air (Donald L. Miller)
  
• I Could Never Be So Lucky Again (James H. “Jimmy” Doolittle)
  
• L’épopée du Normandie-Niémen (Roland de la Poype)
  
• Normandie-Niémen : Un Temps pour la Guerre (Yves Courrière)
  
• A Higher Call : An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II (Adam Makos & Larry Alexander)
  
• Samurai! (Saburo Sakai)
  
• Red Star Against the Swastika: The Story of a Soviet Pilot over the Eastern Front (Vasily Emelianenko)
  
• An Ace of the Eighth (Norman Fortier)
  
• The Twilight Warriors (Robert Gandt)
  
• Thunderbolt! (Robert Johnson)
  
• Fighters over Stalingrad Volume 1: Air Operations of the Soviet Union VVS and Luftwaffe (Nikita Egorov)
  
• Red Phoenix Rising: The Soviet Air Force in World War II (Von Hardesty)
  
• The German Aces Speak: World War II Through the Eyes of Four of the Luftwaffe’s Most Important Commanders (Colin D. Heaton)
  
• The Star of Africa: The Story of Hans Marseille, the Rogue Luftwaffe Ace who Dominated the WWII Skies (Colin D. Heaton)
  
• The Most Dangerous Enemy (Stephen Bungay)
  
• Fire In The Sky: The Air War In the South Pacific (Eric Bergerud)
  
• First Light (Geoffrey Wellum)
  
• Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (Peter Mersky)
  

***

 

Aviation – Korean War to Yom Kippur War

• Loud and Clear: The Memoir of an Israeli Fighter Pilot (Iftach Spector)
  
• The Hunters: A Novel (James Salter)
  

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Aviation – Vietnam War & Cold War

• John McCain: Faith of my Fathers (John McCain & Mark Salter)
  
• To the Limit: An Air Cav Huey Pilot in Vietnam (Tom A. Johnson)
  
• Chickenhawk (Robert Mason)
  
• When Thunder Rolled: A F-105 Pilot over North Vietnam (Ed Rasimus)
  
• Palace Cobra: A Fighter Pilot in the Vietnam Air War (Ed Rasimus)
  
• 100 Missions North (Ken Bell)
  
• The Ravens: Pilots of the Secret War in Laos (Christopher Robbins)
  
• Thud Ridge (Jack Broughton)
  
• Flying the SR-71 Blackbird (Col. Richard H. Graham)
  
• Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years of Lockheed (Ben Rich)
  

***

 

Aviation – Post-Vietnam

• Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century (P.W. Singer)
  
• Apache (Ed Macy)
  
• Vipers in the Storm (Keith Rosenkranz)
  
• Warthog: Flying the A-10 in the Gulf War (William Smallwood)
  
• Strike Eagle: Flying the F-15E in the Gulf War (William Smallwood)
  
• Viper Pilot (Dan Hampton)
  
• Storm Front (Rowland White)
  
• A Nightmare’s Prayer: A Marine Harrier Pilot’s War in Afghanistan (Michael Franzak)
  
• The Night Stalkers (Michael J. Durant & Steven Hartov)
  
• Feet Wet: Reflections of a Carrier Pilot (Paul Gillcrist)
  
• The Dream Machine: The Untold History of the Notorious V-22 Osprey (Richard Whittle)
  
• Vulcan 607: The Epic Story of the Most Remarkable British Air Attack Since WWII (Rowland White)
  
• A-10s Over Kosovo (Phil Haun)
  
• Sea Harrier Over the Falklands (Sharkey Ward)
  

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Infantry – All periods

• Dispatches (Michael Herr)
  
• About Face (Col. David Hackworth)
  
• Outlaw Platoon (Sean Parnell)
  
• Sniper One (Sgt. Dan Mills)
  
• Steel my Soldiers’ Hearts: The Hopeless to Hardcore Transformation of U.S. Army, 4th Battalion, 39th Infantry, Vietnam (Col. David H. Hackworth)
  
• A Rumor of War (Philip Caputo)
  
• We Were Soldiers Once… and Young: Ia Drang – The Battle That Changed the War in Vietnam (Harold G. Moore & Joseph L. Galloway)
  
• Not a Good Day to Die: The Untold Story of Operation Anaconda (Sean Naylor)
  
• Lions of Kandahar: The Story of a Fight Against All Odds (Rusty Bradley)
  
• Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 (Marcus Luttrell)
  
• Kill Bin Laden: A Delta Force Commander’s Account of the Hunt for the World’s Most Wanted Man (Dalton Fury)
  
• No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission that killed Osama Bin Laden (Mark Owen)
  
• Roberts Ridge: A Story of Courage and Sacrifice on Takur Ghar Mountain, Afghanistan (Malcolm MacPherson)
  
• Pathfinder (David Blakeley)
  
• The Yompers: With 45 Commando in the Falklands War (Ian Gardiner)
  

***

 

Armored Warfare – All periods

• The Heights of Courage: A Tank Leader’s War on the Golan (Avigdor Kahalani)
  
• Thunder Run: The Armored Strike to Capture Baghdad (David Zucchino)
  

***

 

Naval Warfare – WW2

• The Admirals: Nimitz, Halsey, Leahy and King – The Five-Star Admirals Who Won the War at Sea (Walter R. Borneman)
  

***

 

Intelligence Warfare – WW2

• Between Silk and Cyanide: A Codemaker’s War, 1941-1945 (Leo Marks)
  

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Edited April 29, 2013 by Charly_Owl