Check Six!: A Thunderbolt Pilot's War Across the Pacific
Hardcover – July 19, 2015
Description
“ Check Six! is the riveting personal story of James C. Curran’s adventures flying the P-47 Thunderbolt in combat in the Pacific Theater during World War II; it is the kind of book that makes you proud to be an American… a wonderful, fast-paced read, and I highly recommend it for any World War II aviation enthusiast.” Military Review "For any student of the air war in the Pacific, this is a useful work." Air Power History "… [a] lively, engaging memoir." The Aviation Historian " … fascinating reading… " Aviation Book Reviews Terrence G. Popravak, Jr. was born in Chicago, Illinois, and served in the US Air Force for nearly 24 years at Stateside bases and overseas, retiring in 2010. He is a volunteer historian with the Oregon Air National Guard’s 142nd Fighter Wing and frequently writes on the unit’s history, in addition to writing several aviation/military history web logs.
Features & Highlights
- There were no mission limits for a pilot in the Pacific during World War II; unlike in Europe, you flew until it was time to go home. So it was for James “Jug” Curran, all the way from New Guinea to the Philippines with the 348th Fighter Group, the first P-47 Thunderbolt outfit in the Pacific. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Curran volunteered to try flying in the blue yonder, and trained as an Army fighter pilot. He got his wish to fly the P-47 in the Pacific, going into combat in August 1943, in New Guinea, and later helping start the “Black Rams” fighter squadron. The heavy U.S. Thunderbolts were at first curious to encounter the nimble, battle-hardened Japanese in aerial combat, but soon the American pilots gained skill of their own and their planes proved superior. Bombers on both sides could fall to fighters, but the fighters themselves were eyeball to eyeball, best man win. Check Six! is an aviation chronicle that brings the reader into flight, then into the fight, throughout the Pacific War and back. This work, from someone who was there, captures the combat experience of our aviators in the Pacific, aided by pertinent excerpts from the official histories of units that “Jug” Curran flew with.It is a tale of perseverance, as Curran flew over 200 combat missions, and with the men of the 348th Fighter Group proved the Thunderbolt’s great capability as they battled their way against a stubborn and deadly foe. This work increases the body of knowledge on the critical role of aviation in the Pacific War, as U.S. fighter pilots took the lead in our counteroffensive against the short-lived island Empire.
- Table of Contents
- DedicationForewordPrefaceAcknowledgementsIntroductionPart I – Getting to the WarChapter 1. The War BeginsChapter 2. Pilot Training Chapter 3. The Long Journey to the PacificPart II – War in the PacificChapter 4. Into CombatChapter 5. R&R in AustraliaChapter 6. Fighting WestwardChapter 7. WakdeChapter 8. With the Black RamsChapter 9. LeyteChapter 10. Into DecemberChapter 11. TanauanChapter 12. San MarcelinoPart III – Pacific Aftermath Chapter 13. Going HomeChapter 14. Home from the WarChapter 15. Flying AgainEpilogueAppendicesAppendix 1. USAAF Pilot’s Issue Flying GearAppendix 2. Pidgin English Phrases used in SWPAAppendix 3. Credit for Destruction of Enemy Aircraft, 25 October 1943Appendix 4. 348th Fighter Group Air Combat Intelligence Report, 2 February 1944 Appendix 5. 341st Fighter Squadron Statistical Data for May, 1944Appendix 6. Notes from Charles Lindbergh Lecture on P-47 OperationsAppendix 7. 460th Fighter Squadron Monthly “A” to “L” Report for November, 1944Appendix 8. Unit Narrative Combat Report, 10 December 1944Appendix 9. Press Release by Fifth Air Force to All Correspondents, Circa May, 1945Appendix 10. Combat Zone Missions of James C. Curran, July, 1943 to April, 1945Appendix 11. Awards and Decorations of James C. CurranAppendix 12. Poem dedicated to the 341st Fighter Squadron Appendix 13. A Brief History of the 460th Fighter SquadronAppendix 14. 460th Fighter Squadron Combat Losses in World War IIGlossaryBibliographyIndex
