Fighter Group: The 352nd "Blue-Nosed Bastards" in World War II - Hardcover

Stout, Lt Col Jay A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0811705773 ISBN 13: 9780811705776

Publisher: Stackpole Books, 2012

Synopsis

Winner of the San Diego Book Award for History.
As described by award-winning author Jay A. Stout, the 352nd Fighter Group was one of the Eighth Air Force's most successful fighter units and counted history's two top-scoring P-51 aces among its ranks.  This book--the most comprehensive work ever to cover the actions of a single USAAF fighter unit--details the air actions of not only the group's notable aces, but also the rank-and-file fliers who carried the bulk of the load.  It describes the 352nd's activities from its formation at the close of 1942, its movement to England and its combat operations flying P-47s and P-51s against the Third Reich.

Although the book covers the unit's actions as a whole, it also follows several pilots in detail.  Rich descriptions of tactics and equipment, personal reflections, letters home, amusing anecdotes and, of course, detailed descriptions of air combat.  Not simply an award-winning historian, Stout draws from his own combat experience as a fighter pilot to make these discussions credible, interesting and real. 

420+ pages, bibliography, index, end notes and two separate photo sections.


Jay A. Stout breaks new ground in World War II aviation history with this gripping account of one of the war's most highly decorated American fighter groups

About this title

About the Author

Jay A. Stout, a retired U.S. Marine Corps fighter pilot, is a senior aviation consultant for a leading defense corporation and has appeared on Fox News as a combat aviation expert. His previous books include Fortress Ploesti (978-1-932033-18-2), Hammer from Above (978-0-89141-871-9), and The Men WhoKilled the Luftewaffe (978-0-8117-0659-9). He lives near San Diego, California.

From the Back Cover

"Jay Stout the historian has teamed up with Jay Stout the fighter pilot to produce a first-class combat history of a first-class World War II fighter group."
--Eric Hammel, author of "The Road to Big Week"

"'Fighter Group' reminds us there is still much to be recorded about the Second World War, and Stout has established a level of expertise that will be hard to match."
--Barrett Tillman, author of "Whirlwind" and "Enterprise"

"A page-turning read about young men in high-speed air-to-air combat. Who better to tell a tale about fighter pilots than a fighter pilot? Jay 'Guinness' Stout is just that and has done just that with 'Fighter Group.' His no-nonsense style of describing aerial combat only makes the incredible flying by the young pilots on both sides that much more realistic."
--Lt. Col. Brick Eisel, author of "Beaufighters in the Night"

From the Inside Flap

In this follow-up to his award-winning Men Who Killed the Luftwaffe, Jay A. Stout focuses on one of the best and most decorated American fighter groups of World War II. Stout combines the storytelling gifts and meticulous research of a seasoned historian with the combat experience of a former fighter pilot to tell the remarkable story of the USAAF's 352nd Fighter Group, the "Blue-Nosed Bastards of Bodney." By war's end, this group of pilots--an assembly of true American characters--had flown 420 missions, logged nearly 60,000 combat hours, destroyed 776 enemy aircraft, and produced 29 aces, including George Preddy, the top scorer in the P-51 Mustang.

Stationed at Bodney, northeast of London, England, for most of the war, the 352nd Fighter Group flew as part of the famed U.S. Eighth Air Force, primarily as escorts for the B-17 and B-24 bombers that pounded Germany. In the process, the group's P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs struck crippling blows against the Third Reich's fighter force, helping to render the Luftwaffe incapable of defeating Allied bombers and protecting the homeland from devastation.

Drawing on interviews with veterans of the 352nd Fighter Group, their letters home, and the unit's after-action reports, Stout reconstructs the experiences of World War II fighter pilots, from boyhood dreams of flight to wild dogfights in which milliseconds made the difference between life and death. This isn't just the story of a single fighter group; it's the story of how the United States won the air war over Europe.

Edition details

• Publisher: Stackpole Books
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0811705773
• ISBN 13: 9780811705776
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 432