One-Man Airforce [Illustrated Edition]

Nonfiction, History, Germany, European General, Military, United States
Cover of the book One-Man Airforce [Illustrated Edition] by Major Don Salvatore Gentile, Lucknow Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Major Don Salvatore Gentile ISBN: 9781782894483
Publisher: Lucknow Books Publication: August 15, 2014
Imprint: Lucknow Books Language: English
Author: Major Don Salvatore Gentile
ISBN: 9781782894483
Publisher: Lucknow Books
Publication: August 15, 2014
Imprint: Lucknow Books
Language: English

Illustrated with 14 photos of the Author and the Aircraft he flew.
Gentile was born in Piqua, Ohio. After a fascination with flying as a child, his father provided him with his own plane, an Aerosport Biplane. He managed to log over 300 hours flying time by July 1941, when he attempted to join the Army Air Force.
The U.S. military required two years of college for its pilots, which Gentile did not have, so he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and was posted to the UK in 1941. Gentile flew the Supermarine Spitfire Mark V with No. 133 Squadron, one of the famed "Eagle Squadron" during 1942. His first kills (a Ju 88 and Fw 190) were on August 1, 1942, during Operation Jubilee.
In September 1942, the Eagle squadrons transferred to the USAAF, becoming the 4th Fighter Group. Gentile became a flight commander in September 1943, now flying the P-47 Thunderbolt. Having been Spitfire pilots, Gentile and the other pilots of the 4th were displeased when they transitioned to the heavy P-47. By late 1943, Group Commander Col. Don Blakeslee pushed for re-equipment with the lighter, more maneuverable P-51 Mustang. Conversion to the P-51B at the end of February 1944 allowed Gentile to build a tally of 15.5 additional aircraft destroyed between March 3 and April 8, 1944. After downing 3 planes on April 8, he was the top scoring 8th Air Force ace when he crashed his personal P-51, named "Shangri La", on April 13, 1944 while stunting over the 4th FG’s airfield at Debden for a group of assembled press reporters and movie cameras. Blakeslee immediately grounded Gentile as a result, and he was sent back to the US for a tour selling war bonds. In 1944, Gentile co-wrote with well-known war correspondent Ira Wolfert One Man Air Force, an autobiography and account of his combat missions.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Illustrated with 14 photos of the Author and the Aircraft he flew.
Gentile was born in Piqua, Ohio. After a fascination with flying as a child, his father provided him with his own plane, an Aerosport Biplane. He managed to log over 300 hours flying time by July 1941, when he attempted to join the Army Air Force.
The U.S. military required two years of college for its pilots, which Gentile did not have, so he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and was posted to the UK in 1941. Gentile flew the Supermarine Spitfire Mark V with No. 133 Squadron, one of the famed "Eagle Squadron" during 1942. His first kills (a Ju 88 and Fw 190) were on August 1, 1942, during Operation Jubilee.
In September 1942, the Eagle squadrons transferred to the USAAF, becoming the 4th Fighter Group. Gentile became a flight commander in September 1943, now flying the P-47 Thunderbolt. Having been Spitfire pilots, Gentile and the other pilots of the 4th were displeased when they transitioned to the heavy P-47. By late 1943, Group Commander Col. Don Blakeslee pushed for re-equipment with the lighter, more maneuverable P-51 Mustang. Conversion to the P-51B at the end of February 1944 allowed Gentile to build a tally of 15.5 additional aircraft destroyed between March 3 and April 8, 1944. After downing 3 planes on April 8, he was the top scoring 8th Air Force ace when he crashed his personal P-51, named "Shangri La", on April 13, 1944 while stunting over the 4th FG’s airfield at Debden for a group of assembled press reporters and movie cameras. Blakeslee immediately grounded Gentile as a result, and he was sent back to the US for a tour selling war bonds. In 1944, Gentile co-wrote with well-known war correspondent Ira Wolfert One Man Air Force, an autobiography and account of his combat missions.

More books from Lucknow Books

Cover of the book One Man’s War — The Diary Of A Leatherneck by Major Don Salvatore Gentile
Cover of the book Toward Morning by Major Don Salvatore Gentile
Cover of the book Among the Valiant by Major Don Salvatore Gentile
Cover of the book Holocaust At Sea: The Drama Of The Scharnhorst by Major Don Salvatore Gentile
Cover of the book Alamein to Zem Zem [Illustrated Edition] by Major Don Salvatore Gentile
Cover of the book United States Army in WWII - the Mediterranean - Sicily and the Surrender of Italy by Major Don Salvatore Gentile
Cover of the book Plane Tales From The Sky by Major Don Salvatore Gentile
Cover of the book The Man Who Started the War by Major Don Salvatore Gentile
Cover of the book The Dynamics Of Doctrine: The Changes In German Tactical Doctrine During The First World War [Illustrated Edition] by Major Don Salvatore Gentile
Cover of the book Active-Service Diary - 21 January 1917-1 July 1917 by Major Don Salvatore Gentile
Cover of the book Japan’s Decision For War In 1941: Some Enduring Lessons by Major Don Salvatore Gentile
Cover of the book The Ranger Force At The Battle Of Cisterna by Major Don Salvatore Gentile
Cover of the book The Dark Invader by Major Don Salvatore Gentile
Cover of the book Analysis Of German Operation Art Failures, The Battle Of Britain, 1940 by Major Don Salvatore Gentile
Cover of the book MY .75 —Reminiscences Of A Gunner Of A .75 Mm. Battery In 1914 by Major Don Salvatore Gentile
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy