WWII: A Reader's Guide to the Air War
Our pick of the best books and memoirs on World War II aviation.
- By Richard P. Hallion
- AirSpaceMag.com, November 01, 2007
The literature on the air war during World War II is voluminous, and one could assemble any number of reading lists depending on the audience and the taste of the recommender. Most readers, though, should find the following titles of interest:
The war opened in 1939 with the German Blitzkrieg on Poland, followed by the “Sitzkrieg” during the fall and winter of 1939-1940, then the assault on Scandinavia, France, the Low Countries, and England. Among the memoirs that cover this period are Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s bittersweet Flight to Arras and Paul Richey’s harrowing Fighter Pilot, which describe the fall of France from the perspective of a French aviator/philosopher and a young Royal Air Force pilot thrown into the optimistically named Advanced Air Striking Force in May-June 1940.
The Battle of Britain has been the subject of innumerable works, but for vividness and a sense of the overall flow of the battle, Derek Wood and Derek Dempster’s The Narrow Margin is excellent for the British side, while Adolf Galland’s The First and the Last offers an intriguing look at the battle from the perspective of a German fighter pilot who later became a senior fighter commander.
As the Battle of Britain wound down, the Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm found themselves fighting a war very different from what prewar planners had foreseen. John Terraine’s A Time for Courage (published in the United Kingdom as The Right of the Line) is an extraordinary—and moving—history of the RAF in the European air war. Many pilot memoirs exist of the war, but several stand out: J.E. Johnson, Wing Leader, about an RAF fighter pilot from the time of the Battle of Britain through the fall of Berlin; Charles Lamb, To War in a Stringbag, the memoir of a Royal Navy torpedo bomber pilot; and Group Captain Basil Embry’s Mission Completed, by one of the most successful bomber pilots of the war. Perhaps the finest of all RAF pilot memoirs is from a Free French pilot who flew with Fighter Command, Pierre Clostermann. His The Big Show is one of the best memoirs from any airman at any time.
As the war unfolded, the role of science and technology became ever more important. R.V. Jones’ The Wizard War (published in the UK as Most Secret War) reads like a thriller: spies, deception, and weapons of mass destruction, all seen through the eyes of Churchill’s chief of scientific intelligence, a man who subsequently influenced the partnership of science and intelligence on both sides of the Atlantic. The air war over Europe and the Pacific was notable for the use of strategic bombing, and four bluntly honest and forthright memoirs from key military commanders are indispensable: Arthur “Bomber” Harris’s Bomber Command, Curtis Lemay’s (with MacKinley Kantor) Mission With Lemay, James H. “Jimmy” Doolittle’s I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, and Henry “Hap” Arnold’s Global Mission.
American fighter pilots distinguished themselves on all fronts during the war, and several memoirs stand out: Edwards Park’s wry Nanette, a whimsical and moving account of a young pilot thrown against the aggressive Zero and Oscar pilots of Imperial Japan in the less-than-stellar P-39 Airacobra; Donald Lopez’ wonderful Into the Teeth of the Tiger, a memoir from a P-40 and P-51 pilot in China who later became deputy director of the National Air and Space Museum; Robert S. Johnson’s Thunderbolt!, a gritty account of the early days of fighter operations by P-47s against the cream of the Luftwaffe; John Foster’s Hell in the Heavens, about a Marine fighter pilot in the Southwest Pacific; and Clarence Anderson’s To Fly and Fight, a Mustang pilot’s memoir of the 1944-1945 European air war.
The development and testing of new airplanes during the war has received too little attention, so test pilot memoirs are particularly welcome. Among the best are Allen Wheeler’s That Nothing Failed Them; Grumman test pilot Corwin “Corky” Meyer’s Corky Meyer’s Flight Journal; German test pilot Hans Werner Lerche’s Luftwaffe Test Pilot (about testing captured Allied aircraft); Me 163 Komet test pilot Wolfgang Spate’s Top Secret Bird; Fleet Air Arm test pilot Eric Brown’s Wings on My Sleeve; and Charles Lindbergh’s The Wartime Journals of Charles A. Lindbergh.
Little has appeared in English from Japanese perspectives on the Pacific Air War, but three gripping memoir/histories are Mitsuo Fuchida, Midway: The Battle That Doomed Japan; Saburo Sakai’s Samurai!, and Jiro Horikoshi’s The Zero Fighter, by that airplane’s designer.
Ernest K. Gann’s Fate is the Hunter relates the little-appreciated air transport side, seen from the perspective of an airline pilot called upon to fly both the North Atlantic and Hump routes in C-47 and C-87 aircraft.
Richard P. Hallion was the Air Force Historian from 1991 to 2002, and is currently the Verville Fellow at the National Air and Space Museum.
Comments (16)
have you heard of a film/video called a fighter pilot s diary ? p 47 pilot narating documentary about his experiences after d day from his diary. about 60 minutes possibly on a&e or history channel 10 years ago give or take. i very much would like to get acopy .
Posted by john bell on August 3,2008 | 01:48 PM
There was a video tape from the late 80's called P-47. I want to say it was a Time-Life video. Cant find the copy right now. If I can I will post it.
Posted by criag davis on August 25,2008 | 10:20 PM
I am trying to fine any information of my uncle, Thomes Prichard, Wing Commander Highly decorated and recived an OBE from the Queen. Any information would be greatfully accepted.
Posted by Frank Oliver on September 27,2008 | 09:56 AM
There is a wonderful book called "The Wrong Stuff" by Lt Col Truman Smith. It details the experiences - the very personal view - of one B-17 co-pilot in 1944. Very interesting book! University of Oklahoma Press 2002. Check it out!
Posted by Merrill B Wallenstein on October 25,2008 | 10:27 PM
On behalf of the elderly sister of Charles Lamb, British bomber/1942/pilot who tragically burned to death, am seeking any info and/or photos of him and/or his squadron/ Polaris Flight Academy/Lancaster-California. His sister has group photo which sadly is in very poor condition ...
Cheers and many thanks from Australia,
Jeannie Keith
email: jeannie_keith2000@yahoo.com
Posted by Jeannie Keith on November 11,2008 | 01:20 AM
War history is understood and appreciated by only a few readers. As the time progresses, this number would further reduce and ultimately, as I see it, the whole experiences and stories would diminish to the level of fairy tales.
It is really unbelievable, the type of situations those youngsters faced on the name of war. A present day airforce veteran like me reads the fact that young boys of 18 years age were flying B24 bombers as captains. And they were doing wonderful job to their nation!
I had read more than 20,000 pages of world warii history with particular reference to air war/POW escapes/U-boat war fare/wwii technologies etc.
Every page of what I read was unbelievable yet true to each and every word. I want to go on reading as long as my eyes allow, the stories of wwii, the people fought for the life of the others in various theatres of war, the outcome of this war and so on.
Surprisingly, no body cares to learn what good the wwii brought to the modern world!
Posted by Murali on January 14,2009 | 09:21 AM
Re John Bell's August 3, 2008, post, go to pages.prodigy.com/fighterpilot/
Posted by Larry Sharp on February 8,2009 | 01:21 PM
My two WWII picks:
Flights of Passage, Samuel Hynes, USMC TBM
Duels in the Sky, Captain Eric M. Brown, RN
WWII 1 v 1 fighter characteristics by a pilot who flew and fought them.
Posted by Roger Brown on May 21,2009 | 09:36 PM
Can some on please tell me what kinds of weapons of mass destruction the ussr had during world war 2?
Posted by mr. bubbles on February 11,2010 | 11:49 AM
I have just read a couple of pieces regarding the nationalities of pilots who flew in the Battle Of Britain. One M. Lemond claims to be the last surving french pilot of that episode. I take exception to that statement for the following reasons. A 17yr old frenchman, namely John Charles Clerc-Scott flew with the RAF 602 squadron in the battle of Britain and was shot down 3 times, once over the Isle of Wight, another time into the English Channel and a 3rd time over ST. LO. Following the war John flew as a test pilot of the Glouscester Meteor for the British, the Mirage for the French, and the first series of fighter jets for the USA.
John is now 86 years old living here in Arizona, and I have known him personally for over 16yrs. His father was awarded the legion of Honor for his service in the 1st World war and was later the Governor of Madagasgar. John was also awarded the french legion of Honor for his service in WW2 and in fact is the youngest Frenchman to receive the award since Napoleon. He still displays his medals in a glass case proudly. I would not be surprised if it is John who is the last surviving French Pilot of the Battle of Britain. Viva Le France.
Posted by Peter Collinson on February 11,2010 | 08:48 PM
Was there a Battle of Britain RAF Pilot Christopher Scott??
Let me know Big thanks!
Posted by christopher Scott on March 6,2010 | 11:09 AM
John Bell--
"A fighter pilot's diary" was a PBS special from a number of years ago I believe. Although I searched PBS.org and can't find a listing. Hope that bit helps.
Posted by Jim D on June 12,2010 | 10:35 AM
I have been trying to locate my real father,Rene Poire a captain in the French Air Force during WWll, whom I never had the chance to meet. My mother was Elsa Rencs and she met my father in Trier near Luxumberg. She was a ballerina. I was born in Trier W. Germany. I believe it was a Catholic Convent Hospital. I understand that my father was born in Oran Algeria and that his family had a plantation there. They never married and I believe that if he saw me, it may have only been once when I was just a baby.
I know that I have family out there, but I really would like to find Rene Poire. Rene and my mother had planned to meet, but my mother got scared and my grandmother Olga and my mother took me and we went by ship to Sydney Australia...I now live in the United States and have been here since I was 15 years old. I am now 63...my birthday is June 9th 1947. If anyone can help me find him I would be most greatful.
Sylvy Smith
206-853-0646
Posted by Sylvy Smith on September 23,2010 | 07:52 PM
Hi,
I am french and seeking information about a free french WW2 pilot named John Charles Clerc-Scott and would like to contact Peter Collinson who know him and wrote about him on February 11 2010.
Can I obtain Peter Collinson mail please
Philippe Levallois
France. ? EDITORS' REPLY: We are unable to reach him directly. Perhaps he will revisit this page and see your comment.
Posted by Philippe Levallois on September 4,2011 | 02:54 PM
Re: John C Clerc-Scott, french fighter pilot in Battle of Britain. It is with great sadness to report that John Clerc-Scott passed away Dec 19th 2011 at age 88.
To M. Philippe Levalois... you can reach me at pkcollinson116@yahoo.com
I would be happy to correspond with you on the life and times of john
Peter Collinson
Posted by Peter Collinson on January 10,2012 | 11:28 AM
Ref:Fighter pilot's diary film/video,8-3-08
Captain Quentin C. Aanenson,P-47 Pilot,USAAC,1921-2008
DVD/VIDEO TITLE:A Fighter Pilot's Story
Three-hour documentary--written,produced,and narrated by
Aanenson--aired on PBS in 1994.
I have VHS format.
Richard Laird,USAR Ret.
Desert Storm
Brookline, MA
Posted by Richard Laird on March 12,2013 | 02:36 AM