WWII pacific theater aircraft

I agree with Blackwolf. I find lots of good reference material at Borders and B&N. I found "World War II U.S. Navy Air Combat" by Robert Lawson and Barrett Tillman. It is ALL color photos of WWII Navy aircraft. I love anything Tillman writes.

QUOTE: Originally posted by Gus. Well, I've always thought that the internet is the best place for research. But one place I know that does NOT have any good books is bookstores like B&N and Borders. Your best places are probably going to be online stores so dont waste your time driving places.

Where do you live, Gus? I'm from Western New York and our Barnes & Noble here is pretty okay for this kinda stuff and our Borders ROCKS!!!

For military books in general and military aviation specifically, the local Borders puts most of my local hobby shops to shame, and gives our best shop (Ace Hobby) a run for it's money. Actually, overall, I'd have to say Borders edges Ace out. But only just!

Also, for the relative size of it's Military History section, our Borders compares favorably with the likes of the bookshops at the USAF Museum and the Smithsonian.

Ratboy,

As to specific books, there are many out there but here's a couple of my personal faves.

WWII Pacific War Eagles - China/Pacific Aerial Conflict in Original Color by Jeff Ethell & Warren Bodie



I'm a huge proponent of anything with Jeff Ethell's name on it. (Or Warren Bodie!)

You can find this book rather inexpensively at Amazon.com.

Carrier Air War - In Original WWII Color by Robert Lawson & Barrett Tillman



You can also find this one cheap at Amazon.com.

Both of these books are absolutely excellent volumes, and in full color as the titles suggest.

Another favorite of mine is actually a few series published by Osprey which you can check out at their website.

Once you get to the site, select WW2 on the left and you'll see Aviation on the upper left. The really good series are:

Aircraft of the Aces
Aviation Elite Units
Combat Aircraft

As far as I know, Aviation Elite Units doesn't have any titles dealing with Pacific theatre aircraft, but the other two have several relevant titles between them. These books are geared more towards the history of the subject matter and colors & markings (if you like profiles) and have little to nada in the way of detail shots of cockpits and such. But they contain alotta good photos, nonetheless.

For detail shots, there are many good books out there; Squadron's Walkaround and Detail & Scale being two of the more prominent series. You can find these at Squadron.com.


Fade to Black...

Thanks plastic people. I looked at a few of the sites before and just thought I might be missing a few good sites also. I will check back later.
As a great actor once said TTFN

Well, I've always thought that the internet is the best place for research. But one place I know that does NOT have any good books is bookstores like B&N and Borders. Your best places are probably going to be online stores so dont waste your time driving places.

Barret Tillman has a number of excellent books on the subject that are still available. The late Jeff Ethell had several as well, and some of those can still be found. Good luck, and welcome back to the fold. - Ed

Here are a couple links to start with.
http://www.angelfire.com/fm/compass/1aircraft.htm
http://www.geocities.com/guy_conquest/airwar/