Victory Roll:: The American Fighter Pilot and Aircraft in World War II

by William B. Wolf

He was selected from the cream of American youth, with admission standards much more restrictive than any other branch of the military. Well-trained pilots flying superior new fighter aircraft against an enemy, losing its best pilots and unable to afford the luxury of extended training, brought about the inevitable defeat of the Axis air forces. This is their story.

456 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Marc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author William Wolf, who proclaims to have the largest library of World War II aviation books, has written a book filled with loads of information on American pilots, planes and aerial combat in World War II. It details the top aces of each of the American services (USAAF, USN & USMC), what planes they flew, and various parts of their combat careers. The book also discusses American combat aircraft in detail, how they differed in equipment, armament and performance, and how they compared to some of their Axis counterparts. Chapters on nighttime combat, pilots who achieved "Ace in a Day" status (5 or more confirmed victories in a single day), Americans flying for other countries, and individual markings/insignia are some other aspects of the American fighter pilot experience which Wolf covers in various detail. Some of the most interesting parts of the book are the experiences of various American pilots and how it was to fly the planes which made up the American arsenal throughout the war, especially those which were only minor participants in the war. Unfortunately, this is one area of the book which could have used some editing as there is a fair amount of repetition in the pilot recollections.

While this book is definitely a trove of information, it suffers from the same thing as many other books by the publisher, Schiffer Publishing: it desperately needs a knowledgeable editor and/or proofreader. There are mistakes in unit, ship and enemy aircraft identification, incorrect dates, grammatical and spelling errors, typos and formatting errors in charts, and incorrect information about happened to several American warships. On top of all this, there is a fair amount of repetition in the narration which probably could have been cleaned up with some good editing.

I'd lean towards giving this book 3.5 stars, but Goodreads doesn't allow half stars, so this one gets rounded down to 3 stars.