Arguably the most important piston-engined single-seat fighter design ever to see service with the US Navy and Marine Corps, the aesthetically inelegant F4F Wildcat achieved much acclaim during its bloody frontline career. Thrown into combat at Coral Sea, Midway and Guadalcanal, the handful of Wildcat units of the Navy and Marine Corps took on large numbers of fighters and bombers and came out victorious. On the European front, the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm also put the fighter to effective use from escort carriers, protecting Atlantic convoys from Luftwaffe attacks.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Informative:
Very good information on this aircraft and very usefull as background knowledge for one of my book projects
A professional and useful reference:
Tillman does his usual superb job. He knows more about naval aviation history than anyone. I bought the book as a reference, but anyone will find it easily readable as well as complete. Superb illustrations as well.
A Most Unlikely Candidate to Help Win a War:
If you don't know about the Osprey "Aces" series, it is a set of paperback books describing in great (and sometimes arduous) detail just about every sortie and every aviator who ever shot down another in the title aircraft. Lots of little B&W photos in the margins, these books aren't for everyone. In fact, when I picked up my first few, they went unread for many months.
Then, when I tired of the picture books with nothing to say and the "history" mags with their usually-uninspired writing and lack of... more info
