Spitfire Wingman

Spitfire Wingman by Col. James R. Haun

About The Book:

Climb into the cockpit of an 80-year aviation adventure, told by the bold character who lived it. More than the memoir of an aerobatic master born to fling his body through cloudbanks, Spitfire Wingman from Tennessee offers a unique bird's-eye perspective on events and personalities of WWII and the Cold War. His desire to fly fighters won him a stint as famed New Zealand ace Johnny Checketts' wingman. Personal encounters with Patton, Vandenberg, Yeager, Truman and Nixon are replayed with perception and wit. While jockeying P-40s, P-51s, and P-47s, he was privileged to see the war both from twenty thousand feet and as Staff Officer at 9th Air Force Headquarters in Brussels, where he watched 'the Brass' play chess with armies on two world fronts. A stripped-down Thunderbolt fighter-bomber became his personal 400-mph runabout.

Beginning with fragile fabric-covered biplanes, the Colonel bears hands-on nostalgic witness to historic transformations steering manned flight from art toward automated science. Starting out as the Memphis 'Boy Wonder' who built his first airplane in 1933 by adapting a motorcycle engine, this gifted flyer takes you on an intimate inside journey from barnstormer to dog-fighter, to threading the Himalayan 'Hump,' to Berlin Airlift commander, then on to Presidential Squadron leader - finally becoming Chief Pilot of the Military Air Transport Service. Balancing dry humor with just enough technical detail to please aviation buffs, this self-revealing autobiography thunders on all twelve cylinders with sky-sweeping appeal. 

My Thoughts: 

I love this book. I think the author really does an excellent job of making history personal. The life story of this man can be summed up in one word: Amazing! I love the layout of this book. It is a nice size and the pictures are awesome. I love military memoirs, and this one does not disappoint. I plan the save and cherish this book and show it to my children when they are old enough to understand it.

Available for Kindle HERE.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author's family. All thoughts and opinions are my own.