Professional reading.

Wolf, William. Victory Roll! The American Fighter Pilot and Aircraft in World War II. Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., 4880 Lower Valley Rd., Atglen, PA 19310-9717. 2001. 464 pp. I11. $59.95.

This huge, ambitious history has many good points that override its hefty price. The author describes not only the careers of American fighter pilots during the war, but also their training, aircraft development and production, squadron deployment practices and adversaries. The photos and text comprise a fascinating look at the fighter pilots of all U.S. services, with a focus on aces. The foreword is by Marine Major General Marion Carl, who died in 1998, and there are inputs from other aces who describe their aircraft and engagements.

The book begins with prewar Army training and a discussion on safety, including mishap rates. Dr. Wolf discusses developments in Japan but seems ignorant of the fact (page 19) that both the Imperial navy and army air arms had only a few flying officers. Most of the fighting and successes were contributed by enlisted pilots, including many junior ranks, such as seamen and corporals.

Besides the regular spelling errors and lack of style continuity typical of this publisher, there are occasional mistakes in the narrative's facts. On page 220 in a table labeled "F6F Hellcat Aces," he indicates that then-Lieutenant Edward "Whitey" Feightner got five kills with VF-10 when, in fact, this nine-kill ace shot down four Japanese aircraft in F4F Wildcats with VF-10, and five more in Hellcats while assigned to VF-8 aboard Bunker Hill (CV 17).

Dr. Wolf gives widespread discussion to the careers of Allied and German aces, noting that the top five Luftwaffe aces flew combat for five years and scored a combined total of 1,453 kills, while the top five American aces shot down only 167 enemy aircraft in total. Of course, the U.S. didn't fly its combat crews until they were either killed or the war ended.

Other unusual, interesting chapters include discussions of aces in other air forces flying American-built aircraft, such as the Chinese in P-26s and P-43s. There are sections describing first kills in specific types of fighters, scores by aces in different wars and American aviators flying for other countries. For instance, the first kill for an American-flown P-51 came over Dieppe in 1942 when Hollis Hills scored against an FW-190 in an RAF Mustang. Hills later returned to the U.S. Navy and scored four more kills in Hellcats. One of the photos of Hills shows him as a commander, but the caption ranks him as a lieutenant.

This book is a truly amazing effort and is the best all-inclusive encyclopedia of American fighter aces I have seen.

By Cdr. Peter B. Mersky, USNR (Ret.)