Fighter Pilot: The First American Ace of World War II

At the age of twelve, American William R. Dunn decided to become a fighter pilot. In 1939 he joined the Canadian Army and was soon transferred to the Royal Air Force. He was the first pilot in the famous Eagle Squadron of American volunteers to shoot down an enemy aircraft and later became the first American ace of the war. After joining the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1943, he saw action in the Normandy invasion and in Patton's sweep across France. Twenty years later he fought again in Vietnam. Dunn keenly conveys the fighter pilot's experience of war -- the tension of combat, the harsh grip of fear, the love of aircraft, the elation of victory, the boisterous comradeship and competition of the pilot brotherhood. Fighter Pilot is both a gripping story and a unique historical document.

"A personal account of the air war the likes of which will not be seen again."―Air Force Magazine

"Dunn vividly narrates the stirring, hard-living, sometimes riotous existence of the fighter pilot at war."―Air University Review

"A book that can be heartily recommended as exhilarating reading."―Royal Air Force News