Winged Victory: The Army Air Forces in World War II

by Geoffrey Perrett

Presents a definitive, one-volume history of the great aerial campaigns of World War II, discussing the key air battles in the Pacific and European theaters, important military leaders and aviators, technological advancements, and other aspects of air combat. Reprint. 15,000 first printing.

Genres: History, Military Fiction, World War II, Aviation, Military History, Nonfiction

592 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Geoffrey Perrett is an author who writes about American history. His work focuses primarily upon the political dynamics that influence strategic and tactical military decisions, as well as broader political themes. He has published over thirteen books dealing with a variety of topics, among them the U.S. Presidency - including several biographies of iconic Presidents such as John F. Kennedy and Ulysses S. Grant - leading American military commanders such as Douglas MacArthur, and pivotal American military engagements.

Perrett was born in the UK and went on to serve in the U.S. Army for 3 years. Later he studied at Long Beach City College and then obtained his undergraduate degree summa cum laude from the University of Southern California in 1967. He was also elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He obtained his postgraduate degree from Harvard University in 1969 and then studied law at the University of California at Berkeley.

Reviews

[KOMET · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book offers the reader a fully comprehensive and easily readable history of how U.S. Army aviation developed between the wars (under the leadership of officers like Billy Mitchell, Oscar Westover, Frank Andrews, Henry "Hap" Arnold, and Carl Spaatz) to become the most powerful air force on earth during World War II.

[Ken Cartisano · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is a wonderful book for those who have an interest in either History, aircraft or WWII. Most of us don’t realize how new and unique aircraft technology really is. At the turn of the twentieth-century there were none, at the end of WWI they were flimsy double-winged ‘death-traps’ and certainly ill-designed or equipped for any military purpose other than reconnaissance.

Twenty-years later, the plane was being utilized by the Axis powers to cow entire countries into submission.
Yet still in their infancy, the majority of military minds lacked the mental flexibility to see, let alone apply aircraft as a significant military force in any circumstance, thereby opposing its use, funding and deployment at every opportunity.

But there were exceptions. FDR was one of them, Hap Arnold another.

This book is a blunt but detailed account of the critical role played by the Army Air Force in the outcome of World War Two and the means by which, through its own merit and the determination of a handful of visionary men and women, it grew into the single most consequential factor in the largest and most devastating war in human history.

The author explains the history of the aircraft, their design, manufacture, deployment and attrition rate, in both men and materiel, as well as the numbers of planes and sorties the allies began to deploy. There are a lot of numbers in this book, but you don’t have to remember them, they are there to astound you, and they will.

An equally compelling aspect of this book is the stories of the pilots, the commanders, the designers and test pilots, and the hundreds of thousands of volunteers: People who were willing to get in them and learn to fly—and die, for any reason at all. Or none. This is their story too.

But their story wouldn’t be relevant if not for a truly devout core of pilots and commanders who nurtured the fledgling Army Air Force from its modest inception, until two years after the war, when it became its own branch of military service, the United States Air Force.

[David Bentley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is exceptional and has been the cornerstone of my library on the air campaigns in WWII.
What Perret manages to do is tell the human story along with the technical progression of air power in the USAAC/AAF during WWII.

I have been reading, collecting and using sources like this for over 40 years and Winged Victory is one of those books, that when you come across a newer well researched work or official papers from the times, inevitably lines up perfectly or even introduces little known facts.

An example is the story of how Maj Gen Barney Giles receives the credit for the range extension of US fighters that was crucial to the US bombing campaign in 1944-45 rather than the real hero, Brig Gen William Kepner who pursues this course even at the risk of charges being laid against him by Wright Field for 'interfering with the specifications of an airplane'. It is this kind of human connection and background story that makes this book so much more than a collection of technical details and war stories.

My very well thumbed copy was printed in 1993 and yet having just read James Holland's 'Big Week' (2018) all the the facts dovetail beautifully.

You can't ask for more. I have recommended this book to many of my undergraduate students who are studying the evolution of military aviation and air power and I pull it out about once every 6 months and read it from cover to cover.

It is written so well, it never gets old..

An outstanding work.

[Norman Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was impressed by this book while looking at it in the store; it contained maps of the Pacific theatres as well as the European, and so would cover more than the usual history of bombing in Europe.

Having read it, it does concentrate on the European theatres more than the Pacific ones, but all in all, it provides a more comprehensive history than many. Not complete in every way, though - the Aleutians are mentioned maybe once, and the "Pineapple Air Force" the same. But still, this isn't an official history and so the author could choose what to include and what to leave out.

This is a senior-level book as well. There are a few anecdotes about individual pilots and crewman, probably none about ground crew, and lots and lots about various Colonels and higher.

The style of the writing is quite engaging, with vivid descriptions that would not normally enter into more "official" histories. Even though I had little knowledge of the US air war, I was able to enjoy and follow the unfolding of events. I can now change "had a little knowledge" to "have a little knowledge".

The strength of the book, for me, is that it provided a very broad and clear overview of the air war, with enough descents into operational details to illustrate what was happening. With good writing and clear presentation, I found this to be a very effective history.

[Arnold · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extensive history of US Army aviation in WWII, this book takes a broader view than Masters of the Air, the bomber-focused book that I read recently. Winged Victory does a good job of mixing high-level stuff involving generals with the on-the-ground (or in-the-air) reality for individual soldiers. I especially appreciated the details about some of the war’s lesser known theaters, such as in the Philippines and elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

[Paleoanthro · Rating 3 out of 5]

A remarkably researched and thorough single-volume history of the United States Army Air Force in WWII. Perret looks, not just at the actions and battles, but also the people, planes, and strategies of the USAAF during WWII. Highlighting its success and failures, this volume provides the reader with a remarkable history of air power that lead to the independent USAF following WWII.

[Jeff Slipper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitive.

[Fred Remer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read many books on the history of the air war during WW2. This book is comprehensive in that it provides the development of that strategy and the people that made it.

[Beth/Chuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of information about the Military aviation leaders, not just who they were, but also the decisions they made, both right and wrong. Also, who got along with whom, and who didn't. I learned something new in each chapter.