Aviation Book Recommendations
Discussion
LimaDelta said:
This has been on my bookshelf for years, and despite being an Engineer myself I seem to have avoided reading it. Must try harder.
A good book.Here's a taster for the man and his achievements
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by4lH2whhjk
Just saw this thread and thought I could humbly add a few ones and second also on some others. I am a pilot and an avid reader of books about aviation.
- Chickenhawk is definitely in your field as the Viet nam war was 50 years ago and not much technology. I remember a funny part in it where they tell how the birds pilots had some fighter jocks as passengers and made sure they scare them by flying in formation 3 feet above a river, surrounded by trees.
I recommend to study in fact the other side ie the books about and from German or Japanese pilots as they give a the same time a different and somewhat same view about the air war. I find that a lot of books written in the US about their Aces too much centered about them and how awesome they were.... Just my opinion.
- Stuka Pilot (Rudel) Memoires: As said above you would not believe it when you read it. 2500 combats missions, 500 tanks destroyed, 1 battleships and a couple of cruisers sunk, shot down 8 times (but never by a fighter, in fact he shot down 11 of them, making him an Ace), lost a leg to an AA shot and survived the war. The guy was considered a bad pilot when he started ...
- I was a Kamikaze (Ryuji Nagatsuka) Memoires: A pilot telling how he went from Litterature student to Kamikaze pilot (obviously he failed). Really interesting about the how these guys thought and how humans they were.
- Samurai (Saburo Sakai) Memoires: Second best scoring japanese pilot (68 kills), Also super interesting about the war from the Japanese side, the hierarchy in the Japanese army and also he was drafted to a Kamikaze.
- The Star of Africa: The Story of Hans Marseille. Biography. Perhaps the most easy to read book about this young rebellious pilot who was probably the best ace that ever lived (reckoned by fighters pilots of the time, not armchair strategists like me
)as most of his kills (158) were against good western pilots and covering 3 years. There are some very interesting parts where he meets Goering, Mussolini, Hitler and cannnot hold his tongue.
- The first and the Last (Galland) Memoires. Another of the greatest as youngest general in the Wehrmacht (that includes the Luftwaffe). 108 kills. A really interesting books as there are plenty of pilots' stories as well as some analysis about how to fight the air war against the bombers.
- Chickenhawk is definitely in your field as the Viet nam war was 50 years ago and not much technology. I remember a funny part in it where they tell how the birds pilots had some fighter jocks as passengers and made sure they scare them by flying in formation 3 feet above a river, surrounded by trees.
I recommend to study in fact the other side ie the books about and from German or Japanese pilots as they give a the same time a different and somewhat same view about the air war. I find that a lot of books written in the US about their Aces too much centered about them and how awesome they were.... Just my opinion.
- Stuka Pilot (Rudel) Memoires: As said above you would not believe it when you read it. 2500 combats missions, 500 tanks destroyed, 1 battleships and a couple of cruisers sunk, shot down 8 times (but never by a fighter, in fact he shot down 11 of them, making him an Ace), lost a leg to an AA shot and survived the war. The guy was considered a bad pilot when he started ...
- I was a Kamikaze (Ryuji Nagatsuka) Memoires: A pilot telling how he went from Litterature student to Kamikaze pilot (obviously he failed). Really interesting about the how these guys thought and how humans they were.
- Samurai (Saburo Sakai) Memoires: Second best scoring japanese pilot (68 kills), Also super interesting about the war from the Japanese side, the hierarchy in the Japanese army and also he was drafted to a Kamikaze.
- The Star of Africa: The Story of Hans Marseille. Biography. Perhaps the most easy to read book about this young rebellious pilot who was probably the best ace that ever lived (reckoned by fighters pilots of the time, not armchair strategists like me
)as most of his kills (158) were against good western pilots and covering 3 years. There are some very interesting parts where he meets Goering, Mussolini, Hitler and cannnot hold his tongue. - The first and the Last (Galland) Memoires. Another of the greatest as youngest general in the Wehrmacht (that includes the Luftwaffe). 108 kills. A really interesting books as there are plenty of pilots' stories as well as some analysis about how to fight the air war against the bombers.
Krikkit said:
Not much of an engineer by Stanley Hooker is a good choice as well, although more from the technical side.
CrutyRammers said:
Got "First Light" for christmas. It is without doubt one of the best books I have ever read, totally recommended.
I can definitely recommend those two!Also, a brand new one hot off the press:
Further to my previous post, I've been on an aviation slant in my reading recently, with this little trio.
On the left, one Ive just finished (only 3 years after a PH Secret Santa bought it for me!). Its a bit of a strange book - one the one hand, it's got the occasional interesting observation, anecdote and tale - but on the other hand, a lot of it is basically a lot of combat reports of who took off on what date, and what they shot down, all presented as a story. Overall, its probably interesting to a serious combat statistics buff but it's not quite engaging enough for a general enthusiast like me.
In the middle, a very absorbing book I'm currently halfway through. A personal account of the training on, and operation of, the aircraft in the UK and in Germany during the cold war, it's written in a very engaging way and is full of both humorous and eyebrow-raising stories from along the way.
I was lucky enough to meet the author through my association with a restored Phantom owned by a friend, and he's a very pleasant and interesting chap in real life too, definitely the sort of bloke you could have a long chat with over a pint.
Thirdly, on the right, one that arrived today. I've been after this for a while, and it has recently come back into print. No doubt this is as it is mentioned a lot in Empire of the Clouds, another book already recommended, and it is highly rated as a brutally honest but also quite dry-witted and sarcastic read. Written by Bill Waterton, legendary Gloster test pilot, it's an autobiographical critique of the then-declining British aircraft industry and how management couldn't see the inevitable coming, interspersed with many tales of how the test aeroplanes nearly killed him. Reputedly it cost him his job as an newspaper aviation correspondant - a job he'd been relegated to after his opinions had already got him fired from Gloster.
I shall soon see if it lives up to the hype, but I don't think I'll be disappointed based on the few pages I've flicked through!
On the left, one Ive just finished (only 3 years after a PH Secret Santa bought it for me!). Its a bit of a strange book - one the one hand, it's got the occasional interesting observation, anecdote and tale - but on the other hand, a lot of it is basically a lot of combat reports of who took off on what date, and what they shot down, all presented as a story. Overall, its probably interesting to a serious combat statistics buff but it's not quite engaging enough for a general enthusiast like me.
In the middle, a very absorbing book I'm currently halfway through. A personal account of the training on, and operation of, the aircraft in the UK and in Germany during the cold war, it's written in a very engaging way and is full of both humorous and eyebrow-raising stories from along the way.
I was lucky enough to meet the author through my association with a restored Phantom owned by a friend, and he's a very pleasant and interesting chap in real life too, definitely the sort of bloke you could have a long chat with over a pint.
Thirdly, on the right, one that arrived today. I've been after this for a while, and it has recently come back into print. No doubt this is as it is mentioned a lot in Empire of the Clouds, another book already recommended, and it is highly rated as a brutally honest but also quite dry-witted and sarcastic read. Written by Bill Waterton, legendary Gloster test pilot, it's an autobiographical critique of the then-declining British aircraft industry and how management couldn't see the inevitable coming, interspersed with many tales of how the test aeroplanes nearly killed him. Reputedly it cost him his job as an newspaper aviation correspondant - a job he'd been relegated to after his opinions had already got him fired from Gloster.
I shall soon see if it lives up to the hype, but I don't think I'll be disappointed based on the few pages I've flicked through!
In my service career, I fitted and removed ejection seats, I was shown this book, https://www.amazon.co.uk/Into-Silk-Ian-Mackersey/d... It was for me a fantastic book, there are some incredible tales of aircrew getting out of stricken aircraft.
steve j said:
In my service career, I fitted and removed ejection seats, I was shown this book, https://www.amazon.co.uk/Into-Silk-Ian-Mackersey/d... It was for me a fantastic book, there are some incredible tales of aircrew getting out of stricken aircraft.
You might like 'The Man in the Hot Seat' by Doddy Hay: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Man-Hot-Seat-Doddy-Hay/dp...http://www.britishjets.net/wps/jetpages.nsf/pages/...
Simpo Two said:
You might like 'The Man in the Hot Seat' by Doddy Hay: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Man-Hot-Seat-Doddy-Hay/dp...
http://www.britishjets.net/wps/jetpages.nsf/pages/...
Fascinating stuff.http://www.britishjets.net/wps/jetpages.nsf/pages/...
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