Dogfight over Tokyo : the final air battle of the Pacific and the last four men to die in World War II

Dogfight over Tokyo The final air battle of the Pacific and the last four men to die in World War II

John F. Wukovits, 1944-

Book - 2019

"From an expert in the Pacific theater of World War II comes the tragic story of the pilots who fought the last fight of the war during the first hour of peace. When Billy Hobbs and his fellow Hellcat aviators from Air Group 88 lifted off from the venerable Navy carrier USS Yorktown early on the morning of August 15, 1945, they had no idea they were about to carry out the final air mission of World War II. Two hours later, Yorktown received word from Admiral Nimitz that the war had ended and that all offensive operations should cease. As they were turning back, twenty Japanese planes suddenly dove from the sky above them and began a ferocious attack. Four American pilots never returned--men who had lifted off from the carrier in wartim...e but were shot down during peacetime. Drawing on participant letters, diaries, and interviews, newspaper and radio accounts, and previously untapped archival records, historian and prolific author of acclaimed Pacific theater books, including Tin Can Titans and Hell from the Heavens, John Wukovits tells the story of Air Group 88's pilots and crew through their eyes. Dogfight over Tokyo is written in the same riveting, edge-of-your-seat style that has made Wukovits's previous books so successful. This is a stirring, one-of-a-kind tale of naval encounters and the last dogfight of the war--a story that is both inspirational and tragic."--Jacket flap.

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Subjects
United States. > Navy. > Carrier Air Group 88.
World War, 1939-1945 > Aerial operations, American.
World War, 1939-1945 > Campaigns > Pacific Ocean.
World War, 1939-1945 > Naval operations, American.
Published
New York, NY : Da Capo Press 2019.
Language
English
Main Author
John F. Wukovits, 1944- (author)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
xiv, 322 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, map, portraits ; 24 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 275-308) and index.
ISBN
9780306922053
  • Preface
  • Chronology
  • Part I. To the War
  • Chapter 1. "And Then Came the War": Training for Combat, 1943-1944
  • Chapter 2. "Kids Jerked Right Out of High School": Air Group 88 Takes Form, 1944
  • Chapter 3. "Moved, Always West, Toward the Combat Zone": To the Pacific, February-June 1945
  • Chapter 4. "An Aircraft Carrier Is a Noble Thing": Air Group 88 Joins the Yorktown, June-July 1945
  • Part II. The July 1945 Battles
  • Chapter 5. "Today Our Group 88 Starts Raising Hell with the Japs": Preparation for Battle, July 10, 1945
  • Chapter 6. "Carrier Pilots Were the Best in the World": The First Attack, July 10, 1945
  • Chapter 7. "Somebody Said We Are to Hit Hokkaido": North to Hokkaido, July 14-15, 1945
  • Chapter 8. "Stay Away from Kure": Finishing the Imperial Japanese Fleet, July 18-30, 1945
  • Part III. To War's End
  • Chapter 9. "The Navy Would Be in to Get You": The July 1945 Air Sea Rescues
  • Chapter 10. "Fighting a War That Had Already Been Won": August 1-14, 1945
  • Chapter 11. "Failed to Return with This Flight; Shot Down Over Target": August 15, 1945
  • Chapter 12. "Two Only of the Six Returned": The Aftermath
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
  • Index
  • Map: Air Group 88 Off Japan
Review by Kirkus Book Review

A new World War II history from a stalwart in the genre.Plenty of niches remain to be explored in WWII history; Wukovits (Soldiers of a Different Cloth: Notre Dame Chaplains in World War II, 2018), who specializes in finding them, has found another. Military buffs will be grateful. The author begins with accounts of two promising young menBilly Hoggs, a bright farmer's son, and Eugene Mandeberg, a scholarly city dwellerwho responded to American entry into the war by volunteering as naval aviators. After more than a year of highly technical and dangerous training, their unit arrived off the coast of Japan in July 1945. By then, no one doubted that the Allies had won, but since enemy leaders continued to proclaim that they would fight to the death, American forces concentrated on softening up Japan for a massive invasion scheduled for the end of the year. This was extremely dangerous work. Japan's once-vaunted air force barely existed, but anti-aircraft defenses were stronger than ever. Wukovits delivers gripping nuts-and-bolts descriptions of the group's missions over the following month. The atomic bomb destroyed Hiroshima on Aug. 6. The soldiers on the aircraft carrier in the area heard the news a day later and drew the obvious conclusion; no one was happy when their commander, William Halsey, announced that strikes would continue as long as Japan held out. Two more men died before the Aug. 15 mission. Japan officially surrendered two hours after it left, and it was called back. During the return, 20 Japanese fighters attacked suddenly, shooting down four American planes before being driven off. Inevitably, this cast a pall over the carrier's victory celebrations. The survivors and the men's families never forgave Halsey, but the incident faded from history until Wukovits, author of a Halsey biography, discovered enough material about two of the fliers to tell their stories.An expertly researched addition to the military history/biography genre. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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