Pacific air: how fearless flyboys, peerless aircraft, and fast flattops conquered a vast ocean's wartime skies

“[An] excellent volume on the navy’s air war in the Pacific during WWII . . . the author has almost certainly created the best one-volume study of the subject” (Booklist). In a grand sweeping narrative, Pacific Air tells the inspiring story of how, despite initial disastrous defeats, a generation of young naval aviators ultimately vanquished a superior Japanese air force and fleet in the Pacific. The instruments of the United States aviators' triumphs were the elegantly designed F4F Wildcat, F6F Hellcat, and the lethal TBF Avenger torpedo bomber. With superbly trained U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aviators at their controls, these planes became the most successful aerial weapons in naval history. A majestic portrait of a proud era from dual perspectives—the inventive minds of young aeronautical engineers and the deadly skills of even younger combat pilots—Pacific Air brings this important yet underappreciated chapter of World War II vividly to life.