Ed Rotondaro
11-10-2009, 09:59 PM
Hi:
I visited the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum over the holidays last year. While looking forward to the gift shop/book store I noticed a book signing and decided to see what was up. The book in question was "Hell Hawks" by Robert Dorr and Thomas Jones. It is the story of the 365th Fighter Group which was part of the 9th Air Force during WWII serving in Europe. Now I had a read a few reviews of the book and while it sounded interesting, it wasn't exactly something I wanted to read. Well only one of the authors, Mr. Dorr was present, but it was fun talking to him about military history so I bought a copy which I got dated and autographed.
Turns out this was a wise decison. The story opens with the invasion of Normandy and the close air support missions flow by the 365th. The unit was equipped with P-47 Thunderbolts and the descriptions of tactical air support are quite gripping. The dangers of flying lower to the ground were responsible for many of the unit's losses. Planes clipped trees, power lines and even hills. The weather conditions were often foggy or rainy which lowered visibility and hampered the P-47s accuracy at bombing.
The 500lb bomb along with the P-47 8 fifty caliber machine guns were the most common weapons used. Apparently while the USAAF used unguided rockets, the 365th didn't or else they so ineffective that the authors didn't bother to describe the use in combat. The veteran pilots had reached a skill level with bombing such they could lob their bombs right in front of or behind tanks and flip them over. They were particulary destructive to locomotives and soft vehicles.
One of the most interesting chapters covers the Ardennes offensive and the Luftwaffe's last great aerial offensive, Operation Bodenplate. It was an attempt to hammer the forward airbases being used by the British and US tactical airgroups. While surprise was achieved, the Germans lost almost as many planes as they destroyed on the ground. Adolph Galland considered it the death knell for the German airforce.
One insight narrative concerned a German fighter pilot shot down by US AA while attacking the 365th during this offensive. The pilot was captured and spoke fluen English. He looked at all the burning P-47s and smashed huts and said to his captors "What do you think of that?" Interestingly enough no pilots or ground crew were killed in this raid. Four days later one of the officers of the 365th brought their prisoner out to the airfield. There lined up where dozens of brand new P-47s in shiny bare metal finishes. They had been shipped up from Marseille and arrived to make good the unit's losses. The American officer said to his captive "What do you think of that?" His German prisone shook his head and said "I now know why Germany will lose this war." The entire mission had accomplished nothing.
If you are interested in tactical air combat, I highly recommend this book. It's well written and fast paced.
I visited the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum over the holidays last year. While looking forward to the gift shop/book store I noticed a book signing and decided to see what was up. The book in question was "Hell Hawks" by Robert Dorr and Thomas Jones. It is the story of the 365th Fighter Group which was part of the 9th Air Force during WWII serving in Europe. Now I had a read a few reviews of the book and while it sounded interesting, it wasn't exactly something I wanted to read. Well only one of the authors, Mr. Dorr was present, but it was fun talking to him about military history so I bought a copy which I got dated and autographed.
Turns out this was a wise decison. The story opens with the invasion of Normandy and the close air support missions flow by the 365th. The unit was equipped with P-47 Thunderbolts and the descriptions of tactical air support are quite gripping. The dangers of flying lower to the ground were responsible for many of the unit's losses. Planes clipped trees, power lines and even hills. The weather conditions were often foggy or rainy which lowered visibility and hampered the P-47s accuracy at bombing.
The 500lb bomb along with the P-47 8 fifty caliber machine guns were the most common weapons used. Apparently while the USAAF used unguided rockets, the 365th didn't or else they so ineffective that the authors didn't bother to describe the use in combat. The veteran pilots had reached a skill level with bombing such they could lob their bombs right in front of or behind tanks and flip them over. They were particulary destructive to locomotives and soft vehicles.
One of the most interesting chapters covers the Ardennes offensive and the Luftwaffe's last great aerial offensive, Operation Bodenplate. It was an attempt to hammer the forward airbases being used by the British and US tactical airgroups. While surprise was achieved, the Germans lost almost as many planes as they destroyed on the ground. Adolph Galland considered it the death knell for the German airforce.
One insight narrative concerned a German fighter pilot shot down by US AA while attacking the 365th during this offensive. The pilot was captured and spoke fluen English. He looked at all the burning P-47s and smashed huts and said to his captors "What do you think of that?" Interestingly enough no pilots or ground crew were killed in this raid. Four days later one of the officers of the 365th brought their prisoner out to the airfield. There lined up where dozens of brand new P-47s in shiny bare metal finishes. They had been shipped up from Marseille and arrived to make good the unit's losses. The American officer said to his captive "What do you think of that?" His German prisone shook his head and said "I now know why Germany will lose this war." The entire mission had accomplished nothing.
If you are interested in tactical air combat, I highly recommend this book. It's well written and fast paced.