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Your favorite Fighter Pilot books?


Charly_Owl

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Terrific list! I´ve read most of the books on your list, and you made some damn fine choices! :thumbup:

 

What did you think of "A Higher Call"? Did it make you misty-eyed as well?

 

Oh, and I didn´t know you are interested in the area of Infantry and Armored warfare. In that case I can make some suggestions as well:

 

 

 

Speaking of "Tigers in the Mud", did you know that Otto Carius is still alive? After the war he became a pharmacist and opened up his own pharmacy in 1956. Guess how he named his new business...

 

Tiger-Pharmacy!

 

Yup, I kid you not. Best of all, he is still working there to this very day, although he did officially sell the pharmacy in 2011 to a friend of his, who is also a pharmacist. You can just walk in there, shake his hand and buy a copy of his book right then and there. He will even sign it for you free of charge.

And now here is the real kicker: You can even order the book from him directly via email. He charges 21.40 Euro for the book itself plus shipping and handling to wherever in the world you want it to be sent to, and not only will he sign it, he also puts in a personal dedication if you wish so.

But wait, there´s more: If you order now, we´ll also throw in this... umm, sorry, got carried away there... ;) However, there actually is more indeed: If you order directly via Mr. Carius, he doesn´t ask for advance payment or credit card details or whatever. As soon as the order comes in, he sends the book out, accompanied by a good oldfashioned invoice. Can you believe it? He was once asked about this practice, and he just said "I trust my customers to be people of honor, and I have yet to be disappointed".

 

So yeah, anyway, check out the website of his pharmacy: www.tiger-apotheke.de

It´s all in german only, but it should be easily navigable anyway.

 

If you want to order from him directly, he asks to write an email (english is fine) to either kontakt@tiger-apotheke.de or helmut_goeddel@yahoo.de in which you state the number of books you want, what kind of personal dedication you want (if any) and of course the shipping address.


Edited by Cookie

- Two miles of road lead nowhere, two miles of runway lead everywhere -

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Cookie:

 

I didn't know anything about that Otto Carius fella until now. Quite a story! He seems a pretty nice guy. Back home, WW2 vets in my family came back completely mad (or not at all), so I never had the chance to properly thank veterans for their service. My father told me of this guy who came back from the war in his village when he was a kid. He would mumble to himself all the time, scream during the night and cry at the most random moments. He tried to write a book about his experience, but the only thing he could do was a couple of unreadable pages (he hardly knew how to write).

 

War is hell :(

 

Truth be told, I didn't get to read "A Higher Call" yet. I'm a very slow reader, and I intend to enjoy all these books to the fullest :) I'm currently struggling with Robert Shaw's "Fighter Tactics". The book gets very technical real fast, and I'm not entirely familiar with all the terms. 'Reminds me of my engineering books, which is a good (or bad :) ) thing.

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I've only bought two and they were both excellent: Scream of Eagles and Pak Six.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Scream-Eagles-Dramatic-Account-Fighter/dp/0743497244

 

http://www.amazon.com/Pak-Six-A-True-Story/dp/0515090050/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

 

I've not found a book written by pilots or grunts from current war that can hold up to those two books or a few other ones from that era. I couldn't even finish viper in the storm and I really wanted to read it because of all the rave reviews by fellow simmers.

ED have been taking my money since 1995. :P

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Of the books I have read within the last few months (I read A LOT, usually several books a week), these are the ones I can recommend (in no particular order, and some may already have been mentioned):

 

 

So yeah, that list should keep you busy for a while. When you´re done with it let me know, I also have a couple hundred classics everyone interested in aviation should have read, plus a whole bunch of books written in German in case you understand it (mostly WW2 memoirs by pilots, grunts and tankers).

 

Awesome list cookie thanks for providing it!

 

I would only add Danger Close by author Steve Call

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Cookie:I didn't know anything about that Otto Carius fella until now. Quite a story!

Oh, really? He´s one of the top scoring panzer aces, having killed in excess of 150 enemy tanks and an unknown number of other armored vehicles. That puts him in a line with aces like Michael Wittmann, Johannes Bölter or Kurt Knispel. He´s also one of the very few recipients of the Knight´s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (for extreme battlefield bravery). That guy has quite literally been through hell and back, which just makes it even more astonishing when you see what a humble and unassuming person he is today.

 

Back home, WW2 vets in my family came back completely mad (or not at all), so I never had the chance to properly thank veterans for their service. My father told me of this guy who came back from the war in his village when he was a kid. He would mumble to himself all the time, scream during the night and cry at the most random moments. He tried to write a book about his experience, but the only thing he could do was a couple of unreadable pages (he hardly knew how to write).
My grandparents passed away just recently, and they wouldn´t tell a single thing about the war just until their last few years, and even then it took them several sessions to speak about certain things.

 

My one grandpa was fighting in Russia, and he was wounded several times, yet always thrown back into the grind. He said their biggest fear was becoming POWs, because the Russians weren´t exactly known for treating their prisoners too well. Of course he did become a POW eventually, and he never talked about that in detail other than saying it was sometimes even worse than the war itself. He actually managed to escape together with four other guys when they were all transferred to another camp, and they started to treck west until they reached Germany. It took them a little over two years (!), walking only during the night and sleeping in shifts during the day while hiding somewhere. Getting caught would have meant instead execution on the spot, and they endured this for more than two years. He said they were so incredibly hungry, they ate everything from tree bark to bugs. Totally boggles your mind.

 

During his time in the camp he learned about the "Einsatzgruppen" and how they rampaged behind the front line, but he shrugged it off as propaganda. He said no honorable soldier would behave like that, it was just totally out of the question.

Only later, back in Germany, he learned that all those atrocities were actually true, and he said he felt both ashamed and betrayed. Ashamed because they always treated the civilian population with respect, bought food from them (stealing from them was actually punished quite harsh) and paid them for working in the rear areas. He said they were just innocent civilians, harming noone and how they actually greeted the German troops as liberators from Stalin. He was sick to the bone when he learned how the Einsatzgruppen actually indiscriminately rounded them up and shot them just a few weeks after the main line moved through. He said it made no sense whatsoever and accomplished nothing but turning friendly people into hating enemies.

He felt betrayed because he was fighting in an honorable way for a country that did all these dishonorable things. He was mad at Hitler for betraying him this way, for taking away his pride and his honor. It was the lowest point in his life, and he said he has never been more ashamed to be German than when he learned about these atrocities.

 

He was actually very upset with me when I decided to serve.

 

My other grandpa was fighting the Americans in Normandy (not on the very beach itself though) and was actually captured during what later became known as the Falaise Pocket. He too was wounded several times, one wound in particular (a gunshot to the abdomen) was so bad, they were sure he would die. Somehow he pulled through though, only to be sent back to fight again.

He said fighting against the Americans was kinda strange. Their soldiers were overly cautious and rarely took a risk. Instead, when a dangerous situation presented itself, they just poured in material until every last bit of resistance was drowned in that mass of material. I remember my grandpa saying "our tanks ran out of ammo before the Americans ran out of tanks".

He also said that the lack of aerial support by the Luftwaffe was a serious kick to their morale. The word was "if the aircraft is silver, it´s American. If it´s green, it´s British. If it´s invisible, it´s ours". He said he knew the war was lost when allied pilots had enough time at their hands to target even single individuals walking along a road in the countryside.

 

When he did become a POW, he was surprised at how well he was treated. He wouldn´t have expected it, especially since they were fighting until the very last moment. He said they did suffer from hunger during the first few weeks of their captivity, but they all accepted that as normal, given the overall chaos and the large number of troops imprisoned. Later on he was sent to a camp in the US and worked on a farm during the day. He said it didn´t feel like being a POW at all and he was actually kinda sad when he was sent back home.

 

War is hell :(
Yup. There are no winners in war.
Edited by Cookie

- Two miles of road lead nowhere, two miles of runway lead everywhere -

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Hey, Cookie, I was wondering if you had any suggestions about the Battle of Kursk (german and/or soviet perspective)? I've found many books on amazon but I can't pick one without hesitating. Some books are either historically inaccurate, others are simply a bunch of places and numbers thrown at you (i.e. "Company X attacked Y. They lost Z tanks. ")... I'm having trouble finding "the right book". Any ideas?

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Fighter combat tactics and Maneuvering Robert Shaw.:thumbup:

There are 2 categories of fighter pilots: those who have performed, and those who someday will perform, a magnificent defensive break turn toward a bug on the canopy. Robert Shaw

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  • 2 months later...

Just finished Warthog by William L Smallwood. And by god it's a jolly good read. Need a bit of a break from flying books at the mo so reading Stephen Clarkes The Merde Factor. Rather amusing but you're best reading the series

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Both Ed Macy's books are excellent reads. Especially when he talks about his training using separate eyes to read instruments and the monocle thingy and his wife sakes him if he can read two books at once using each eye - he does. Weird

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Here's my list I posted at lockonforum.de

Just ignore the German comments, I was too lazy to delete them. :D

 

I basically ignored everything before Korea, since I am not too interested in books about WW2, although I own some of them.

 

Some of them were already mentioned in this thread but some weren't so I decided to post the whole list. I have only read some of them (yet), so these are not recommendations but just a list of books that I know exist.

Actually there are some mentioned in this thread that I have not on my list, I will add them I guess...

 

1. Commander Nigel "Sharkey" Ward: "Sea Harrier over the Falklands" -> gelesen, ist gut

2. William L. Smallwood: "Warthog: Flying the A-10 in the gulf war" -> gelesen, ist gut

3. Christopher Haave: "A-10s Over Kosovo" -> gelesen. ist gut. Anfang ist bissl schwach aber legt dann zu.

4. William L. Smallwood: "Strike Eagle: Flying the F-15 in the gulf war" -> gelesen, ist gut

5. Keith Rosenkranz: "Vipers in the Storm: Diary of a Gulf War Fighter Pilot" -> hab ich, aber noch nicht angefangen zu lesen

6. Ed Rasimus: "When Thunder Rolled: An F-105 Pilot over North Vietnam" -> gelesen, ist gut.

7. Jack Broughton: "Thud Ridge" -> bestellt

8. William B. O'Connor: "Stealth Fighter"

9. Wayne A. Warner: "One Trip too many"

10. Edward T. Gushee: "52 Charlie"

11. David Sears: "Such men as these"

12. Howard C. Johnson: "Scrappy"

13. Mostly True (Koenig): "First Love"

14. Michael Franzak: "A Nightmare's Prayer"

15. Jerry W. Cook: "Once a Fighter Pilot"

16. Robert Gandt: "Bogeys and Bandits"

17. Philip Handley: "Nickel on the Grass"

18. Dan Hampton: "Viper Pilot"

19. Robert K. Wilkcox: "Wings of Fury" -> bestellt

20. Robert K. Wilkcox: "Scream of Eagles"

21. Marshall Michel: "Clashes"

22. Rick Newman, Don Shepperd: "Bury us upside down"

23. Don Shepperd: "Misty" -> bestellt

24. Ed Rasimus: "Palace Cobra" -> bestellt

25. Ken Bell: "100 Missions North"

26. Robert F. Kirk: "Warriors at 500 knots"

27. Mike McCarthy: "Phantom Reflections"

28. Ross C. Detwiler: "The Great Muckrock and Rosie"

29. Billy R. Sparks: "Takhli Tales"

30. Santiago Rivas: "Wings of the Malvinas"

31. Ernest K. Gann: "Black Watch"

32. Stephen R. Gray: "Rampant Raider"

33. Robert K. Wilkcox: "Black Aces High"

34. Marshall Harrison: "A Lonely Kind of War"

 

Helicopter:

 

1. Ed Macy: "Hellfire"

2. Ed Macy: "Apache"

3. Charlotte Madison: "Dressed to Kill"

4. Robert Mason: "Chickenhawk"

5. Chuck Carlock: "Firebirds"

6. Tom Marshall: "Price of Exit"

7. Mark Hammond: "Immediate Response"

8. Hugh Mills: "Low Level Hell"

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Helena Schrader: Chasing the Wind: A Story of British and German Pilots in the Battle of Britain

 

Tom A. Johnson: To the Limit: An Air Cav Huey Pilot in Vietnam

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  • 3 years later...
"Viper Pilot" Lt. Col. Dan Hampton

 

Probably not the most accurate of books, but I do enjoy the author's humor.

 

Outstanding book. I recommend his latest books too. I always thought he did/does an outstanding job of making you really feel like your in the cockpit with him and the lifestyle of being an F-16 Pilot.

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Outstanding book. I recommend his latest books too. I always thought he did/does an outstanding job of making you really feel like your in the cockpit with him and the lifestyle of being an F-16 Pilot.

 

Agreed, I think I've read all his books. I quite like his writing style, fairly casual and humorous, enjoyable to read.

 

The Hunter Killers is probably one of my favorites, Its about the first Wild Weasels in Vietnam. Lords of the Sky is quite god as well, encompassing almost every era of combat flight "From the Red Baron to the F-16" If you interested in something different, his novel The Mercenary is an interesting fictional story, Although be warned theres actually very little flying in that book.


Edited by Mtnbiker1998

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This one is also a very good read, related to the vietnam era:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Fighter-Pilot-Memoirs-Legendary-Robin/dp/0312569513

 

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Speaking of "Tigers in the Mud", did you know that Otto Carius is still alive? After the war he became a pharmacist and opened up his own pharmacy in 1956. Guess how he named his new business...

 

Tiger-Pharmacy!

 

Amazing story .. I'd like to read the book, so I will order it in Kindle version

 

... unfortunately, it seems that Mr. Carius passed away during 2015 ... here is a video with an interview of him:

 

v8aWqZHWyos

 

:(

 

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My favs

 

"The Big Show" WW2 Clostermann, Spitfire and Tempest pilot ww2. I must have read it 7-8 times.

 

"Fighter Pilot: The Memoirs of Legendary Ace Robin Olds," WW2, Cold War, Vietnam. well written about a legend- entertaining both on the ground and in the air.

 

Both mentioned above, but worth repeating:)

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  • 2 weeks later...
This one is also a very good read, related to the vietnam era:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Fighter-Pilot-Memoirs-Legendary-Robin/dp/0312569513

 

It's too bad that I didn't know who he was forty years ago. It wasn't until I read a biography of him...

 

https://www.amazon.com/Boyd-Fighter-Pilot-Who-Changed/dp/0316881465/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

 

...that I realized that I went to high school with his kids and he lived in the same apartment complex.

 

:doh:

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It's too bad that I didn't know who he was forty years ago. It wasn't until I read a biography of him...

 

https://www.amazon.com/Boyd-Fighter-Pilot-Who-Changed/dp/0316881465/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

 

...that I realized that I went to high school with his kids and he lived in the same apartment complex.

 

:doh:

 

Now that is cool. :thumbup:

 

This was a great read, I really enjoyed it. :)

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These are my recent favorites and all of them are really good IMHO.

 

The first on the development of Wild Weasels has many great stories and interesting technical notes concerning RADAR, ECM, and SAMs. It is excellent and I highly recommend it.

 

51zlpiIDvQL.jpg

 

https://www.amazon.com/Hunter-Killers-Extraordinary-Maverick-Dangerous-ebook/dp/B00NLMC92Q/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1491963630&sr=8-2&keywords=Dan+Hampton

 

The same author's first book is also very good, recounting his adventures as a F-16C and CJ pilot (primarily as a wild weasel). It is a bit self ingratiating at times, but within the bell curve for a fighter pilot. :)

 

519kfGRsPPL.jpg

 

https://www.amazon.com/Viper-Pilot-Memoir-Air-Combat-ebook/dp/B007HBTAP6/ref=pd_sim_351_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=WCH9CD4XKCWE7X2BZ7QM

 

For USN and Tomcat enthusiasts, Dave "Bio" Baranek's books are also excellent with great insight into USN operations. Fewer technical details are given, but still a great and quick read.

 

510Q%2BeqDx3L.jpg

 

https://www.amazon.com/Topgun-Days-Dogfighting-Cheating-Hollywood-ebook/dp/B00HQLZVYQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1491963874&sr=1-1&keywords=Top+GUn+days

 

Before Top Gun Days (the prequel of sorts) is also a quick and fun read that discusses USN NFO training and some stories on the F-14A.

 

51uZ0v-DScL.jpg

 

https://www.amazon.com/Before-Topgun-Days-Fighter-Instructor-ebook/dp/B01C6D0L20/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1491963943&sr=1-1&keywords=Before+Top+GUn+days

 

Also, I highly, highly recommend Audible to those of you with any kind of daily commute. I otherwise get through books slowly due to a lack of free time, now with audible I am getting through a book like these every 10 days or so! Note, my daily total commute time is around 1:45 min/day (traffic is tough in the SF Bay Area). It really makes the time go quickly and productively. If you have any interest, give it a try. It has been awesome and all of the above books are available on Audible (or were recently).

 

-Nick

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51zlpiIDvQL.jpg

 

519kfGRsPPL.jpg

 

 

I second these in addition to :

 

Fighting the Flying circus

Magnum!

Blackcat 21

GutsNGunships

Apache

To the limit

The mercenary (fictionalised, also by Dan "two dogs" Hampton)

I flew for the Führer (Knoke)

The first and the last (Galland)

Mig menace over korea

Da nang diary

 

 

youll notice I'm focused on choppers, wild weaseling, afac, ww2, nam.. good mix.

if OV-10 bronco was a dcs module you know I'd steal in a heartbeat..

image.thumb.png.fc6a457885169583f3aa3681afd5ebdb.png


Edited by WildBillKelsoe

AWAITING ED NEW DAMAGE MODEL IMPLEMENTATION FOR WW2 BIRDS

 

Fat T is above, thin T is below. Long T is faster, Short T is slower. Open triangle is AWACS, closed triangle is your own sensors. Double dash is friendly, Single dash is enemy. Circle is friendly. Strobe is jammer. Strobe to dash is under 35 km. HDD is 7 times range key. Radar to 160 km, IRST to 10 km. Stay low, but never slow.

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Not Aircraft related but a excellent read.

 

Dog company - The Boys of Pointe du Hoc

 

The Rangers who accomplished D-days toughest mission and led the way across Europe.

 

Patrick K. O'Donnell

 

It took two pages and I was hooked!

"Yeah, and though I work in the valley of Death, I will fear no Evil. For where there is one, there is always three. I preparest my aircraft to receive the Iron that will be delivered in the presence of my enemies. Thy ALCM and JDAM they comfort me. Power was given unto the aircrew to make peace upon the world by way of the sword. And when the call went out, Behold the "Sword of Stealth". And his name was Death. And Hell followed him. For the day of wrath has come and no mercy shall be given."

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