US Marine Corps Fighter Squadrons of World War II

By Barrett Tillman

The classic 1951 movie Flying Leathernecks starring John Wayne immortalized the USMC pilots who had fought in the skies over Guadalcanal and the Solomons.

The US Marine Corps has a long and proud heritage of aviation excellence, celebrating its centenary in 2012. While "flying leathernecks" made their mark in both world wars, Korea, Vietnam and more recently throughout the global war on terrorism, it was during World War II that they captured the hearts and minds of the public with their daring exploits. This is the first book to detail the legendary actions of famous fighter aces such as Medal of Honor winner John L Smith, Greg "Pappy" Boyinton, Marion Carl, Joe Foss, and many more. Barrett Tillman combines expert research into the history and organization of the Marine Fighter Squadrons with dramatic accounts of deadly dogfights.


From the Hardcover edition.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: May 20, 2014
• ISBN: 9781782009542

Barrett Tillman

Barrett Tillman is a widely recognized authority on air warfare in World War II and the author of more than forty nonfiction and fiction books on military topics. He has received six awards for history and literature, including the Admiral Arthur Radford Award. He lives in Mesa, Arizona.

Reviews for US Marine Corps Fighter Squadrons of World War II

[shrike58 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Considering that this booklet is over twenty years old it's held up quite well and is still worth reading. That such is the case is mostly due to the author going out of their way to debunk some of the war-time propaganda that touted the Sunderland, and is honest about its limitations. About the only point that I stubbed a metaphorical toe on was when Lake was a bit too jocular about how bad canned food would get you a woman for the night in Madagascar in 1943, not thinking that there was war-induced famine in British-controlled Africa too.