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Winged Victory; The Army Air Forces in World War II
From Publishers Weekly With verve and elan, Perret ( There's a War to Be Won ) presents the epic narrative of American air power in the Second World War. On one level, he chronicles the work of energetic, single-minded military men--Henry "Hap" Arnold, Carl Spaatz, George Kenney and Curtis LeMay--with powerful civilians such as Robert Lovett (clarifying his role in linking the aviation industry with the Army Air Corps) and industrialist Donald Douglas, manufacturer of some of the warplanes that made up the great U.S. air armada. The book also covers wartime research & the evolution of engines, armament, armor plating, fuel tanks, gun sights, bomb sights and, above all, the testing and operational deployment of American warplanes. These planes included the P-38, P-39, P-40, P-47 and P-51 fighters and the B-17, B-24, B-25 and B-29 bombers. Each plane was distinctive in capability and characteristics, and Perret defines the differences in detail. Finally, his book offers vivid personal accounts by former pilots, bombadiers and turret gunners that convey the exhilaration and terror of aerial combat. Photos.
549 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 10, 2015
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.
October 23, 2021
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.
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.
October 11, 2023
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.
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.
August 7, 2019
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.
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.
March 31, 2022
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.
May 5, 2019
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.
June 24, 2018
Definitive.
December 29, 2024
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.
November 6, 2007
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.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews