Aces: True Stories of Victory and Valor in the Skies of World War II

Aces is a celebration of the bold fighter pilots who earned the accolade and joined the ranks of flying aces during World War II aviation combat.

Since World War I, fighter pilots have been seen as a breed apart, fighting their battles high above the mud and muck of the battlefields--"knights of the air." During World War II, tens of thousands of aircraft engaged in deadly dogfights in the skies over Europe, North Africa, and the Pacific. In this hellish battle for survival, hundreds of pilots claimed five or more victories to become aces. These are their stories.

This informative history book includes a wealth of biographies of WWII's most daring aerial knights. Each major country in the war (and some of the minor ones) had Aces. You can learn about where they came from, who they fought for, who they were outside the cockpit, and see their brave young faces that were ready for whatever the war threw at them. Packed with rare historical photos as well as modern images to see how their work impacted history, Aces paints a full picture of these featured flyers.

Among aviation warfare, the title of "ace" sets some above the rest. While it technically marks the pilots as having five enemy kills in aerial combat, it means a lot more than that in military circles. On the battlefield, they were enemies, diametrically opposed, but when they were firmly planted on the ground, they were respected colleagues.

Learn all about the daring men of valor from:

• US Army Air Forces, US Navy, and US Marines
• British Commonwealth
• Germany
• The Soviet Union
• Poland
• Japan
• Italy
• France
• And other Allied and Axis forces

This fascinating account of the greatest pilots of World War II is a great gift for the history buff in your life and an excellent way to fall into history.

Author: Bill Yenne
Publisher: Chartwell Books
Published: 10/13/2020
Pages: 240
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 2.86lbs
Size: 11.00h x 8.90w x 0.90d
ISBN13: 9780785838340
ISBN10: 0785838341
BISAC Categories:
- History | Military | Aviation & Space
- History | Wars & Conflicts | World War II | General
- Biography & Autobiography | Military

About the Author

Bill Yenne is the author of more than three dozen nonfiction books on historical topics. His books on aviation and military history have included Area 51 Black Jets--which T. D. Barmes, formerly with NASA High Range and Area 51 Special Projects, described as "not a book that the reader will lay down and not finish. It holds one's interest from front to back." Yenne has also contributed to encyclopedias of World War I and World War II and has been featured in several documentaries that have aired on the History Channel, the National Geographic Channel, the Smithsonian Channel, and ARD German Television. The Wall Street Journal notes that Yenne writes "with a cinematic vividness." Yenne has also authored ten novels and has penned several books on beer and brewing history.