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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 940
EAN num: 9781574888447
ISBN number: 1574888447
Label: Potomac Books Ltd.
Manufacturer: Potomac Books Ltd.
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 430
Printing Date: September 30, 2005
Publishing house: Potomac Books Ltd.
Age index: Young Adult
Sale Popularity Level: 242586
Studio: Potomac Books Ltd.
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Product Description:
In 1941, before America entered World War II, determined young LeRoy Gover signed on with Britain’s Royal Air Force to fly the plane of his dreams, the fast, sleek Spitfire. When America joined the fight, he transitioned to the powerful P-47 Thunderbolt. Former USAF pilot and aviation historian Philip D. Caine has skillfully selected from the young flyer’s letters and diary entries to create a vivid portrait of the kind of man who helped win the war. A story of great courage, Spitfires, Thunderbolts, and Warm Beer is a testament to the many other brave men who served.
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Rated by buyers 
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I found this book interesting for about the very first half. It is interesting to hear how Leroy Grover got into the RAF will no military training. The book is disappointing though in the lack of in depth combat action. I was reading the book waiting for Leroy's very first combat and he doesn't even include his very first kill in his diary. The author has to tell us about it after the diary entry for the day of Leroy's very first kill. I expected something much more descriptive about Leroy's very first combat. I just didn't get the feeling that Leroy was an agressive fighter pilot. He encounters a HE III on a training flight. He is flying a fully armed Spitfire and meets a single unescorted German bomber. Leroy says he didn't feel experienced enough yet to tackle the German bomber yet he had 800 flying hours, although none of that was combat time. Leroy was also in England and flying either for the RAF or the U.S. for two years, yet his score was only 4 victories. It just didn't seem like Leroy had the fighter pilot persona to meet the enemy and shoot him down, at least not the way this book is written. Most of the book covers going into London or some town or village and socializing. Leroy Grover was alive when this book was written. I can't understand why this book wasn't written as a very first person account since the author could talk to Mr. Grover and verify and update any events that had taken place. I think there is more to the story of Leroy Grover's involement in WWII but this book doesn't reveal that very well. I would recommend, Fly for Your Life, Reach for the Sky, The First and the Last, Thunderbolt, and Gunther Rall's book, I can't remember the title. I found these books much more interesting.
Rated by buyers 
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A friend who was reading this book told me about it and rather than wait for him to finish, I was fortunate enough to find a hard cover edition available on Amazon a week or so ago. Being fascinated with stories such as this and flying in general I decided I wanted a copy for my own. I'm glad I did.
LeRoy Gover is an authentic American hero who, in his early twenties decided he wanted to become a military fighter pilot. It is May of 1941. Gover has been a pilot of his own and other aircraft for nearly seven years and has accumulated 800 hours of flying time. He lacked any college education however, which was a requirement to join the Army or Navy pilot training. The RAF had no such requirement. If you had two hundred hours as pilot in command and could pass a physical, the RAF was interested in training American and Canadian pilots to bolster the RAF which was involved with the Battle of Britain at the time.
Gover and a few friends are accepted, receive basic training in Canada and eventually ship to England in a convoy which may have been as harrowing as many of the experiences he would eventually have as an RAF and US fighter pilot.
His story is told from letters and dairies as well as some interviews as Grover was alive at the time the book was published and from them we get a glimpse of three fascinating years in the history of WW2 and the air war in Europe.
These young men lived constantly with the pressure of combat flying and the dangers of being in wartime England, yet Gover's telling of the experience makes it sound like the old joke about what it is like to be an airline pilot...hours and hours of sheer boredom interrupted by moments of sheer terror. He describes more than the flying. There is also the comradship, being assimilated into the life and culture of wartime England and the carefree way they sought release with parties, alcohol, movies and some very friendly English women.
Almost casually as one reads of the experiences it starts to dawn on the reader than young Grover is an exceptional pilot and exceptionally fortunate, as well. Thirteen men graduated with him in his training class. He and another are the only survivors. After one hundred and fifty three missions, he had acquired the Silver Star, three DFC's and eight air medals. He shot down four Germans for sure, had three probables and damaged seven others.
After finally returning to the US after three years in combat he remained in the Air Force until 1961, retiring with the rank of Colonel. He continued to fly following retirement and it is reported that as of the writing of the book he had twenty eight thousand hours of flying time and probably more time in fighter aircraft than any person alive.
But this books charm is not in the accomplishments of this remarkable individual. It is in the landscape of the time painted by Gover's words.
They span the years and one can hear the sound of the Merlin engines and feel the concussions of the German bombs falling on the English countryside. If this appeals to you...you need to find a copy.
Rated by buyers 
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It's not often you get to read the very inner thoughts of a fighter pilot but this book allows the reader just that. Leroy Gover, whose combat career of 159 missions is the subject of this book, habitually kept a diary and this, coupled with excerpts from his letters home and candid interviews with the author, really makes this memoir feel as though you're relaxing in the mess while Gover talks to you.
A California kid, Gover learnt to fly before he could drive and was an experienced flyer at the time he decided to volunteer for service in the RAF. This was before the US entered the war and is an early indication of the type of person Gover is. After training, where his enthusiasm for flying new aircraft is evident, he and his classmates embarked on a long, sometimes hazardous journey to Canada and then by convoy (the hazardous bit!) to England. Within days, perhaps hours, of landing in England, Gover is amazed and humbled by the spirit and resilience of the English civilians and this is a theme that continues throughout the book. We follow him through OTU (Operational Training Unit) where he finally gets to fly his dream aircraft - the Spitfire. He is then posted to 66 Sqn and comences flying fighter sweeps, convoy escort etc.
Gover, although aware of his abilities as a flyer, knows he has to be good at what he does to have a greater chance of survival. Through his writings and the author's clarifications and additional information, Gover comes across as a humble, yet ambitious fighter pilot. He knows he isn't invincible and more than once he doubts if he'll ever return home. He never ceases to be amazed at the situations he gets into and his love affair with the Spitfire, and the city of London and girls when on leave, is very evident.
America's entry into the war eventually sees Gover joining the US Army Air Force and eventually converting to P-47s with the newly formed 4th Fighter Group which was destined to become one of the most famous of all American fighter groups. Here, I believe, is where his personality and combat experience come to the fore. He quickly becomes an excellent leader who keeps an eye on the men who fly behind him on formation. He feels their loss greatly, as he does throughout his time in England when friends are killed.
Reading this book is like talking to an old friend who has been away for a few years. It is a candid, sometimes amusing, always eye-opening look at how these men made it through day-by-day. Once a day was over, they were always ready to put it all on the line the next.
Rated by buyers -
This book gives you a good balance of what life was like. The fighting and living before and after America arrived on mass. It also compares the strength's and weakness of both planes and how they completed similar jobs but were built on completly different theories. Good book reccommend to people who enjoyed very first light or spitfire offensive.
Rated by buyers -
Although history and aviation buffs will definitely enjoy this book, there was so much more to it. This book really makes you think about the value of life. Many, many people died in this book, from training accidents, falling off boats in the ocean, getting hit by "friendly fire", as well as getting hit in combat. Yet nobody complained. Lives were expendable for the cause. And for some pilots, just the act of flying was worth dieing for. The act of living seemed to become more important, and people seemed to live life to the fullest in spite of the troubling times.
Don't get me wrong, this wasn't some deep, intense book. It was also very entertaining. I learned a lot about early aviation, and the early part of the war between England and Germany. But at the end of it I got a much better inside view about what it was like to live during World War II, and to enjoy the life we're given.
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