Title Officers in flight suits : the story of American Air Force fighter pilots in the Korean War / John Darrell Sherwood

Published New York : New York University Press, ©1996

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Description 1 online resource (xiii, 239 pages) : illustrations, maps Contents Introduction -- An absence of ring-knockers : the social background and education of flight suit officers -- Stick and rudder university : training and the creation of the flight suit officer -- MiG alley : air-to-air combat in Korea -- Headhunters and fighting cocks : the fighter-bomber in Korea -- Thunderboxes and sabre dancers : base life and recreation in the Korean War -- Life after Korea -- Epilogue Summary The United States Air Force fought as a truly independent service for the first time during the Korean War. Ruling the skies in many celebrated aerial battles, even against the advanced Soviet MiG-15, American fighter pilots reigned supreme. Yet they also destroyed virtually every major town and city in North Korea, demolished its entire crop irrigation system and killed close to one million civilians. The self-confidence and willingness to take risks which defined the lives of these men became a trademark of the fighter pilot culture, what author John Darrell Sherwood here refers to as the flight suit attitude. In Officers in Flight Suits, John Darrell Sherwood takes a closer look at the flight suit officer's life by drawing on memoirs, diaries, letters, novels, unit records, and personal papers as well as interviews with over fifty veterans who served in the Air Force in Korea. Tracing their lives from their training to the flight suit culture they developed, the author demonstrates how their unique lifestyle affected their performance in battle and their attitudes toward others, particularly women, in their off-duty activities Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 221-227) and index Notes Print version record Subject United States. Air Force -- History. SUBJECT United States. Air Force fast Subject Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Aerial operations, American Fighter pilots -- United States. Fighter planes -- United States -- History HISTORY -- Military -- Korean War. Military operations, Aerial -- American Fighter pilots Fighter planes United States Genre/Form History Form Electronic book ISBN 0585324204 9780585324203 9780814788875 0814788874 0814780385 9780814780381

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