Barrett Tillman

Osprey Publishing

ISBN 1 85532 486 5

96 pages

Approximately $16.00 - $18.00 (U.S.)

This was one of the earliest of the Osprey Aerospace "Aces" Series. In fact it is No. 3. Like all the other books in the series, it features both a fine pictorial representation of the aircraft via many fine photographs, photos of the men themselves, and 43 profiles of the Wildcats flown by the aces, along with a few fine portraits. It is written by one of the pre-eminent U.S. Naval aviation historians in the world, Mr. Barrett Tillman.

The F4F Wildcat was the first naval fighter to hold the line against the Japanese onslaught in World War II. Saburo Sakai, in his biography Samurai even told how excited he was after hearing about action in the Coral Sea, that he may get to test his mettle against the US Navy pilots, and their aircraft. First flying as a prototype in September of 1937, the Grumman F4F Wildcat, and it's General Motors built counterpart the FM-2 have the distinction of being not only one of the finest aircraft produced in World War II by the United States, but being a fighter that served from the opening day of December 7, 1941, through VJ Day on September 15, 1945. Given the way technology advanced in those critical years of aviation history, that is quite an accomplishment.

The book itself is a good easy read, packed with a lot of good factual information not only on the aircraft, but also on the pilots that made the Wildcat so famous. There is an extended section on Medal of Honor Winner Joe Foss who is an individual to be honored in any time for all his accomplishments regardless of his wartime record, and even a section dealing with the aircraft in the hands of the Royal Navy during WWII as the Grumman Martlet. One wonders what those pilots felt taking the aircraft against Hitler's vaunted Luftwaffe. The Martlet section features a photograph of Captain Eric Brown, the famous British Test Pilot, flying perfect formation in the lead aircraft of a British VIC. UPSIDE DOWN! That photo to this humble reviewer is worth the price of admission.

Mr. Tillman in his usual thorough style includes numbers on hand, squadron orders of battle, and type differences to include weaponry. One aspect of his writing I personally enjoy is Mr. Tillman is not afraid to "lay it on the line", and give an evaluation of the aircraft against it's peer group. This sets his books apart in the series, and gives a much-needed perspective to what has been related in the previous pages.

As with all the books in the Osprey Aviation, and Aerospace Series, the book features 43 profile plates, excellent cover artwork, and good explanations of each of the plates. It also includes 1/72 scale line drawing for the modeler. I highly recommend this book be added to any aviation enthusiast's collection. It is a book for the modeler, the professional, and weekend historian, or anyone interested in just how regular men could rise above themselves to the occasion, and become heroes.