The Fighting Corsairs

The Fighting Corsairs
Author: Jeff Dacus
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2020-10-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1493055097

From an historian and columnist in Leatherneck and Armor magazines, this is the exciting, personal account of a Marine fighter squadron in the South Pacific during the critical days of 1943 when the tide turned against the Japanese. Based on individual interviews and wartime documents, this is a thrilling narrative of the Marines who lived, and died, during the toughest battles of the entire war. It looks at the war through the eyes of some of the greatest fighter pilots of all time, including Bob Hanson, the “Maharajah of Rabaul” and highest-scoring Corsair pilot in history.

Corsairs and Flattops

Corsairs and Flattops
Author: John P. Condon
Publisher: US Naval Institute Press
Total Pages: 174
Release: 1998
Genre: History
ISBN:

Today, U.S. Marine infantry and armored units can count on timely and effective close air support thanks in part to the intrepid Marine pilots and crews who pioneered carrier-based air support of amphibious landings in the final push to defeat Japan in World War II. This little-known part of the Pacific campaign is explored fully for the first time in this detailed history by one of the program's architects.

Night Cats and Corsairs

Night Cats and Corsairs
Author: Alan C. Carey
Publisher: Schiffer Publishing
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2014-02-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780764343735

The threat of enemy aircraft striking American naval forces at night with impunity during World War II led the Navy to seek fighter aircraft capable of stopping this threat. Trace the history of radar-equipped night fighter aircraft produced for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps by the American aircraft companies Grumman and Vought before the arrival of jets with nocturnal capabilities. World War II squadrons operated night variants of the Vought F4U-2 Corsair and Grumman F6F-3/5N Hellcat while post-war night fighter units were equipped with the Grumman F7F-3N Tigercat and/or Vought F4U-5N/NL. Night Cats and Corsairs contains never before published color and black and white photographs covering the night variants of the F6F Hellcat, F7F Tigercat, F4U-2 and F4U-5N/NL Corsairs.

Corsair Down!

Corsair Down!
Author: Martin Irons
Publisher: Schiffer Military History
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2021-08-28
Genre:
ISBN: 9780764362248

The Vought F4U Corsair was the greatest fighter plane in the WWII Pacific theater. For its pilots, survival was not guaranteed. Enemy planes and antiaircraft fire were dangerous, but aerial mishaps, poor flying, mechanical gremlins, weather, and bad luck took their toll too. American, British, and New Zealander Corsair pilots often found themselves with just seconds to escape. Some disappeared as POWs. A few, such as Major Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, emerged alive at the end of the war. Others had to rely on their training and the means at hand to escape do-or-die situations. Coast watchers, submarines, blimps, and air-sea rescues saved many. Even the French Foreign Legion smuggled a pilot to safety in the most daring Corsair pilot rescue of WWII. Others escaped death initially only to have to fight alongside their rescuers. Included are firsthand accounts from surviving pilots and tales of many of the great WWII Corsair aces.

Whistling Death

Whistling Death
Author: Boone T. Guyton
Publisher: Schiffer Military History
Total Pages: 316
Release: 1994
Genre: History
ISBN:

Whistling Death is the true story, by the test pilot, of the rush to produce the F4U Corsair, the Navy fighter that brought America air superiority over the Japanese Zero in World War II. Here is the crash program - complete with crash landings - powered by the dedicated men and women of the home front who designed and built this revolutionary, tide-turning airplane. Boone T. Guyton, an experimental test pilot at Chance Vought during and after World War II, flew 105 types of aircraft in 45 years as a pilot.

Swashbucklers and Black Sheep

Swashbucklers and Black Sheep
Author: Bruce Gamble
Publisher: Zenith Press
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2012-09-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1610586905

“A stunning portrait of incredibly courageous men and their awesome flying machines.”—Alex Kershaw, author of The Few Marine Fighting Squadron (VMF) 214 is the world’s most famous fighter squadron. Its second wartime squadron commander was the legendary Greg “Pappy” Boyington. Boyington and the squadron were the loose inspiration for the late-seventies NBC television series Baa Baa Black Sheep, which was later syndicated under the name Black Sheep Squadron. Swashbucklers and Black Sheep is a comprehensive illustrated history of the squadron from its formation and first two combat tours on Guadalcanal as the Swashbucklers, which included their transition to the iconic gull-winged Corsair, to the arrival of their second commander, Pappy Boyington, after which they became the Black Sheep. The squadron’s combat over Bougainville and Rabaul and the story of Boyington being shot down are covered, as are the squadron’s exploits in the latter part of the war (while Boyington was a POW), which culminated in the heavy losses suffered aboard the carrier USS Franklin. The squadron’s service in Korea, Vietnam, and the Global War on Terror complete the storied history of VMF 214. In addition to a rich collection of historical photography, Swashbucklers and Black Sheep features combat aviation artwork from four of America’s top aviation artists: John Shaw, Jim Laurier, Craig Kodera, and Bob Rasmussen.

The Black Sheep

The Black Sheep
Author: Bruce Gamble
Publisher: Presidio Press
Total Pages: 562
Release: 2007-12-18
Genre: History
ISBN: 0307416941

With their renowned squadron leader Greg “Pappy” Boyington, Marine Fighting Squadron (VMF) 214 was one of the best-known and most colorful combat units of World War II. The popular television series Baa Baa Black Sheep added to their legend—while obscuring the truly remarkable combat record of the Black Sheep and Boyington. A retired naval flight officer and former historian for the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation, Bruce Gamble provides a highly readable account that serves to both correct and extend the record of this premier fighting force.

Cosmic Corsairs

Cosmic Corsairs
Author: Hank Davis
Publisher: Baen Books
Total Pages: 403
Release: 2020-08-04
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1625797796

NEW FICTION AND CLASSICS OF THE GENRE COLLECTED BY THE EDITORIAL TEAM BEHIND SPACE PIONEERS AND OVERRULED! SPACE PIRATES! Words that conjure up rousing tales of adventure, derring-do, brave heroes battling the scurvy vermin of the galaxy. Those vermin have taken to pillaging cargo ships and, even worse, space liners, relieving the helpless passengers of their valuables, and worse with the comely women passengers, then spacing the lot—unless one or more of the aforementioned brave heroes arrive in the nick of time, and turn the tables, making the spaceways safe again for the innocent and helpless. On the other hand, perhaps the pirate captain is a woman, and it’s the comely male passengers who need rescuing. And on the third hand (we’re talking space pirates here, possibly aliens with four or more arms), perhaps those ships traversing the interstellar void are not so innocent, and the pirates, fighting an evil despotic star empire and defending the freedom of the space lanes, are the good guys and gals. The possibilities are many, and the daring exploits set the blood racing in the veins of any reader with even a trace of buccaneering spirit in their hidden self. So board a battered but spaceworthy fighting starship with such star-spanning and award-winning crewmates as Robert Silverberg, Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette, Larry Niven, Fritz Leiber, and Sarah A. Hoyt, plus James H. Schmitz, James Blish, Gregory Benford, and more, and set sail—er, thrusters—for a universe of freebooting adventure! At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). Praise for previous anthologies edited by Hank Davis: In Space No One Can Hear You Scream: “[T]he 13 tales in this collection blend sf with horror to demonstrate the resiliency of both genres . . . offers strong tales by the genre’s best storytellers.” —Library Journal “[F]irst-rate science fiction, demonstrating how short stories can still entertain.” —The Galveston County Daily NewsM A Cosmic Christmas 2 You: “This creative and sprightly Christmas science fiction anthology spins in some surprising directions. . . . A satisfying read for cold winter evenings . . . a great stocking stuffer for SF fans.” —Publishers Weekly As Time Goes By: “As Time Goes By . . . does an excellent job of exploring not only romance through time travel—relationships enabled or imperiled by voyaging through time—but the intrinsic romance of time travel itself. . . . The range of styles and approaches is as wide as the authors' sensibilities and periods might suggest . . . full of entertaining and poignant stories . . .” —Alvaro Zinos-Amaro, IntergalacticMedicineShow.com About Star Destroyers, coedited by Christopher Ruocchio: “[S]pectacular space battles and alien contacts . . . themes of military ethics, the uses of artificial intelligence, and the limits of the capacity of the human mind. . . . It is the human interactions and decisions that ultimately drive the stories. . . . Will appeal to fans of military and hard science fiction and any readers fascinated by the possibilities of space travel.”—Booklist “[S[tories of giant spaceships at war, at peace, and in the often-gray areas between. . . . A worthy addition to a long tradition of ship-based fiction, and its authors portray captains, arcane astrogators, and civilian child passengers with equal depth. It’s recommended for fans of military SF and space adventure.”—Publishers Weekly “[Y]ou’d probably expect some tight, action-filled space opera stories of giant space battles . . . and there’s some of that. But there are also espionage stories, rescue missions, political conflicts, alternate histories, even a few humorous tales. . . . Each author took the premise in a different direction . . . if I had to identify one common feature to all the stories, it would be that they’re all fun. . . . Like it says, big ships blowing things up. What’s not to like?”—Analog

Kamikazes, Corsairs and Picket Ships

Kamikazes, Corsairs and Picket Ships
Author: Robin L. Rielly
Publisher: Casemate Publishers and Book Distributors
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2008
Genre: World War, 1939-1945
ISBN: 9781932033861

Basing his work on primary sources, including ship and aircraft action reports, ship logs, and personal interviews, Rielly delivers an engrossing narrative of the American assault on Okinawa in spring 1945.