Thomas McKelvey Cleaver's Books

I Will Run Wild

The Pacific War from Pearl Harbor to Midway

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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I Will Run Wild

The Pacific War from Pearl Harbor to Midway

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

This fascinating volume - now available in paperback offers a vivid narrative history of the early stages of the Pacific War, as US and Allied forces desperately tried to slow the Japanese onslaught that began with the sudden attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. In many popular histories of the Pacific War, the period from the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor to the US victory at Midway is often passed over because it is seen as a period of darkness. Indeed, it is easy to see the period as one of unmitigated disaster for the Allies, with the fall of the Philippines, Malaya, Burma and the Dutch East Indies, and the wholesale retreat and humiliation at the hands of Japan throughout Southeast Asia. However, there are also stories of courage and determination in the face of overwhelming odds: the stand of the Marines at Wake Island; the fighting retreat in the Philippines that forced the Japanese to take 140 days to accomplish what they had expected would take 50; the fight against the odds at Singapore and over Java; the stirring tale of the American Volunteer Group in China; and the beginnings of resistance to further Japanese expansion. In these events, there are many individual stories that have either not been told or not been told widely which are every bit as gripping as the stories associated with the turning tide after Midway. I Will Run Wild draws on extensive first-hand accounts and fascinating new analysis to tell the story of Americans, British, Dutch, Australians and New Zealanders taken by surprise from Pearl Harbor to Singapore that first Sunday of December 1941, who went on to fight with what they had at hand against a stronger and better-prepared foe, and in so doing built the basis for a reversal of fortune and an eventual victory.

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353

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Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1472841328

ISBN 13

9781472841322

Holding the Line

The Naval Air Campaign In Korea

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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Holding the Line

The Naval Air Campaign In Korea

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

This is the gripping story of Task Force 77, the US Navy carrier commitment to the Korean War that was vital to the success of the UN forces battling the Chinese and North Koreans. Naval and air power were crucial to the United Nations' success in the Korean War, as it sought to negate the overwhelming Chinese advantage in manpower. In what became known as the 'long hard slog', naval aviators sought to slow and cut off communist forces and support troops on the ground. USS Leyte (CV-32) operated off Korea in the Sea of Japan for a record 93 continuous days to support the Marines in their epic retreat out of North Korea, and was crucial in the battles of the spring and summer of 1951 in which the UN forces again battled to the 38th Parallel. All of this was accomplished with a force that was in the midst of change, as jet aircraft altered the entire nature of naval aviation. Holding the Line chronicles the carrier war in Korea from the first day of the war to the last, focusing on front-line combat, while also describing the technical development of aircraft and shipboard operations, and how these all affected the broader strategic situation on the Korean Peninsula.

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353

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Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1472831691

ISBN 13

9781472831699

The Frozen Chosen

The 1st Marine Division and the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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The Frozen Chosen

The 1st Marine Division and the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

Based on unpublished first-hand accounts of the battle, this is a dramatic retelling of the desperate Battle of the Chosin Reservoir, where the heavily outnumbered US 1st Marine Division held off vastly superior Chinese forces before successfully withdrawing in good order. In November 1950 The US 1st Marine Division was trapped in the Chosin Reservoir following the intervention of Red China in the Korean War. Fought during the worst blizzard in a century, the ensuing battle is considered by the United States Marine Corps to be 'the Corps' Finest Hour.' The soldiers who fought there would later become known as the 'Frozen Chosen'. This incredible story is based on first hand interviews from surviving veterans, telling of heroism and bravery in the face of overwhelming odds, as a handful of Marines fought desperately against wave after wave of Chinese forces. Sometimes forced into desperate hand to hand combat, the fighting retreat from Chosin marked one of the darkest moments for Western forces in Korea, but would go on to resonate with generations of Marines as a symbol of the Marine Corps' dogged determination, fighting skill, and never-say-die attitude on the battlefield.

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326

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Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

147281438X

ISBN 13

9781472814388

Clean Sweep

VIII Fighter Command against the Luftwaffe, 1942–45

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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Clean Sweep

VIII Fighter Command against the Luftwaffe, 1942–45

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

A vivid narrative history, packed with first-hand accounts, of the US Eighth Air Force's VIII Fighter Command from its foundation in 1942 through to its victory in the skies over Nazi Germany. On August 7, 1942, two events of major military importance occurred on separate sides of the planet. In the South Pacific, the United States went on the offensive, landing the First Marine Division at Guadalcanal. In England, 12 B-17 bombers of the new Eighth Air Force's 97th Bombardment Group bombed the Rouen–Sotteville railroad marshalling yards in France. While the mission was small, the aerial struggle that began that day would ultimately cost the United States more men killed and wounded by the end of the war in Europe than the Marines would lose in the Pacific War. Clean Sweep is the story of the creation, development and operation of the Eighth Air Force Fighter Command and the battle to establish daylight air superiority over the Luftwaffe so that the invasion of Europe could be successful. Thomas McKelvey Cleaver has had a lifelong interest in the history of the fighter force that defeated the Luftwaffe over Germany. He has collected many first-hand accounts from participants over the past 50 years, getting to know pilots such as the legendary “Hub” Zemke, Don Blakeslee and Chuck Yeager, as well as meeting and interviewing leading Luftwaffe pilots Adolf Galland, Gunther Rall and Walter “Count Punski” Krupinski. This story is told through accounts gathered from both sides.

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481

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1472855477

ISBN 13

9781472855473

Turning The Tide

The USAAF in North Africa and Sicily

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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Turning The Tide

The USAAF in North Africa and Sicily

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

Packed with personal accounts of the action, this is a vivid narrative history of the often-overlooked USAAF campaign in North Africa and Sicily in World War II. In 1942, the Western Allies needed to take the offensive against the Axis to relieve pressure on the Soviet Union. With planning for a cross-Channel invasion beset by logistical and operational difficulties, in May 1942 President Roosevelt ordered his military leaders to prepare to support the British in the Mediterranean. This led to the first USAAF units arriving in the Middle East in July, firstly as reinforcements for the British and later as part of the Operation Torch landings in French Morocco and Algeria in November. In little over ten months from the summer of 1942, the USAAF in North Africa grew from nothing to a senior partner, providing aircraft and crews the other Allies were unable to match. The Axis forces that had controlled almost the entire southern shore of the Mediterranean had been swept from the African continent – thanks in no small part to the efforts of the USAAF. Using first-hand accounts from pilots and other aircrew, Tom Cleaver describes how the USAAF units that landed in Morocco were forced to learn their own lessons in combat with veteran Luftwaffe units, and how the experience gained in the skies over North Africa and Sicily was invaluable in developing the air forces that would dominate the skies over Europe in the latter years of the war.

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333

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Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1472860276

ISBN 13

9781472860279

Going Downtown

The US Air Force over Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, 1961–75

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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Going Downtown

The US Air Force over Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, 1961–75

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

This vivid narrative history tells the full story of the US Air Force's involvement in the wars in the air over Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. The involvement of the US Air Force in the Southeast Asian Wars began in 1962 with crews sent to train Vietnamese pilots, and with conflict in Laos, and finally ended in 1972 with the B-52 bombing of Hanoi, though there were Air Force pilots unofficially flying combat in Laos up to the end in 1975. The missions flown by USAF aircrews during those years in Southeast Asia differed widely, from attacking the Ho Chi Minh Trail at night with modified T-28 trainers, to missions “Downtown,” the name aircrew gave Hanoi, the central target of the war. This aerial war was dominated by the major air operations against the north: Rolling Thunder from 1965 to 1968, and then Linebacker I and II in 1972, with the latter seeing the deployment of America's fearsome B-52 bombers against the North Vietnamese capital Hanoi. These operations were carried out in the face of a formidable Soviet-inspired air defence system bristling with anti-aircraft guns and SAM missile sites. Beyond this, the US Air Force was intimately involved in secret air wars against Laos and Cambodia – one cannot speak of a war only in Vietnam regarding US Air Force operations. The war the Air Force fought was a war in Southeast Asia. Following on from the same author's The Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club, which told the story of the US Navy's involvement in the Vietnam War, Downtown completes the picture. Featuring a wide range of personal accounts and previously untold stories, this fascinating history brings together the full story of the US Air Force's struggle in the skies over Southeast Asia.

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369

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Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1472848772

ISBN 13

9781472848772

Tidal Wave

From Leyte Gulf to Tokyo Bay

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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Tidal Wave

From Leyte Gulf to Tokyo Bay

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

Now publishing in paperback, this is a vivid narrative history of the final stages of the Pacific War, as the US Navy began to slowly approach the Japanese Home Islands against fearsome opposition, notably from the suicidal Japanese airmen: the kamikaze. The United States Navy won such overwhelming victories in 1944 that, had the navy faced a different enemy, the war would have been over at the conclusion of the Battle of Leyte Gulf. However, in the moment of victory on 25 October 1944, the US Navy found itself confronting a frightening enemy that had been unimaginable until it appeared. The kamikaze, 'divine wind' in Japanese, was something Americans were totally unprepared for – a shocking violation of every belief held in the West. The attacks were terrifying. Regardless of the damage inflicted on an attacking aeroplane, there was no certainty of safety aboard the ship until that aeroplane was completely destroyed, as the crew of the USS St. Lo tragically learned. From best-selling author Thomas McKelvey Cleaver, Tidal Wave combines expert research and first-person accounts to tell the story of the naval campaigns in the Pacific from Leyte Gulf to the end of the war – a period in which the US Navy would fight harder for survival than ever before.

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339

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Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1472825470

ISBN 13

9781472825476

Under the Southern Cross

The South Pacific Air Campaign Against Rabaul

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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Under the Southern Cross

The South Pacific Air Campaign Against Rabaul

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

From August 7, 1942 until February 24, 1944, the US Navy fought the most difficult campaign in its history. Between the landing of the 1st Marine Division on Guadalcanal and the final withdrawal of the Imperial Japanese Navy from its main South Pacific base at Rabaul, the US Navy suffered such high personnel losses that for years it refused to publicly release total casualty figures. The Solomons campaign saw the US Navy at its lowest point, forced to make use of those ships that had survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and other units of the pre-war navy that had been hastily transferred to the Pacific. 140 days after the American victory at Midway, USS Enterprise was the only pre-war carrier left in the South Pacific and the US Navy would have been overwhelmed in the face of Japanese naval power had there been a third major fleet action. At the same time, another under-resourced campaign had broken out on the island of New Guinea. The Japanese attempt to reinforce their position there had led to the Battle of the Coral Sea in May and through to the end of the year, American and Australian armed forces were only just able to prevent a Japanese conquest of New Guinea. The end of 1942 saw the Japanese stopped in both the Solomons and New Guinea, but it would take another 18 hard-fought months before Japan was forced to retreat from the South Pacific. Under the Southern Cross draws on extensive first-hand accounts and new analysis to examine the Solomons and New Guinea campaigns which laid the groundwork for Allied victory in the Pacific War.

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369

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Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

147283819X

ISBN 13

9781472838193

Gothic Line 1944–45

The USAAF starves out the German Army

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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Gothic Line 1944–45

The USAAF starves out the German Army

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

This is the history of how the mighty Gothic Line was defeated by American air power, in one of the most pivotal but least-known air campaigns of World War II. By late 1944, the Italian Campaign was secondary to the campaigns in France, and Allied forces were not strong enough to break the Germans' mighty Gothic Line. These fortifications were supplied by rail through the Alps, with trains arriving hourly and delivering 600,000 tons of supplies a month, enough to keep the German Army going forever. But in the bitter winter of 1944–45, the mighty Gothic Line would be defeated by American air power in one of the most pivotal but least-known air campaigns of World War II. It would not be a direct assault; instead Operation Bingo would ruthlessly cut the Germans' supply lines and leave them starved. However, it would not be easy. The rail routes were defended by a formidable array of heavy flak, and every raid was expected. Conditions were freezing, and even in electric flying suits, men suffered both hypoxia and frostbite. By the end of February, the previous eight-hour rail journey took the Germans 3-4 days on the wrecked railroad, and soon supplies were barely enough to keep the army alive. On April 12, the Allied ground attack began, and within ten days the German command in Northern Italy sued for surrender, the first German force in Europe to do so. Packed with first-hand accounts and rare photos from the 57th Bomb Wing Archives, this book is a fascinating history of the most successful US battlefield interdiction campaign in history, immortalized in the writing of bombardier Joseph Heller, in his novel Catch 22.

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Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1472853393

ISBN 13

9781472853394

Clean Sweep

VIII Fighter Command against the Luftwaffe, 1942–45

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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Clean Sweep

VIII Fighter Command against the Luftwaffe, 1942–45

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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465

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Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1472855469

ISBN 13

9781472855466

MiG Alley

The US Air Force in Korea, 1950–53

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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MiG Alley

The US Air Force in Korea, 1950–53

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

Following the end of the Korean War, the prevailing myth in the West was that of the absolute supremacy of US Air Force pilots and aircraft over their Soviet-supplied opponents. The claims of the 10:1 victory-loss ratio achieved by the US Air Force fighter pilots flying the North American F-86 Sabre against their communist adversaries, among other such fabrications, went unchallenged until the end of the Cold War, when Soviet records of the conflict were finally opened. Packed with first-hand accounts and covering the full range of US Air Force activities over Korea, MiG Alley brings the war vividly to life and the record is finally set straight on a number of popular fabrications. Thomas McKelvey Cleaver expertly threads together US and Russian sources to reveal the complete story of this bitter struggle in the Eastern skies.

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369

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Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1472836065

ISBN 13

9781472836069

Pacific Thunder

The US Navy's Central Pacific Campaign, August 1943–October 1944

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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Pacific Thunder

The US Navy's Central Pacific Campaign, August 1943–October 1944

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

A thorough and compelling investigation of the Central Pacific campaign in World War II that saw the US Navy progress from the edge of disaster to the brink of victory, from Guadalcanal to the recapture of the Philippines.

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330

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Bloomsbury Publishing

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ISBN 10

1472821882

ISBN 13

9781472821881

The Bridgebusters

The True Story of the Catch-22 Bomb Wing

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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The Bridgebusters

The True Story of the Catch-22 Bomb Wing

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

A book to challenge the status quo, spark a debate, and get people talking about the issues and questions we face as a country!

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219

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

Published Date

ISBN 10

1621575438

ISBN 13

9781621575436

The Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club

Naval Aviation in the Vietnam War

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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The Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club

Naval Aviation in the Vietnam War

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

The Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club tells the complete story of the US Naval air campaign during the Vietnam War from 1965 to 1975, where the US Seventh Fleet, stationed off the Vietnamese coast, was given the tongue-in-cheek nickname 'The Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club'.

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409

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Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1472845943

ISBN 13

9781472845948

Aces of the 78th Fighter Group

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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Aces of the 78th Fighter Group

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

Dubbed the 'Eagles of Duxford', the 78th Fighter Group (FG) was unique in being the only fighter unit in the 'Mighty Eighth' to fly the P-38 Lightning, P-47 Thunderbolt and P-51 Mustang operationally. Arriving in the European Theatre of Operations (ETO) in November 1942, and eventually committed to combat five months later, the 78th, along with the 4th and 56th FGs, 'wrote the book' on long-range fighter escort by VIII Fighter Command in the ETO. This volume charts the group's highs and lows during its two years in action from Duxford, focusing on the exploits of the 51 pilots who achieved ace status with the 78th during World War 2. These men included Capt Charles London, the very first Eighth Air Force ace, and Maj Quince Brown, who was the 78th's most successful aerial ace prior to being murdered by the SS after he was shot down over Germany. By VE Day, the 'Eagles of Duxford' had downed 316 aircraft and destroyed a further 320 machines on the ground during strafing attacks on German airfields.

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Bloomsbury Publishing

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ISBN 10

1780967179

ISBN 13

9781780967172

F4F Wildcat and F6F Hellcat Aces of VF-2

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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F4F Wildcat and F6F Hellcat Aces of VF-2

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

An illustrated history of the pilots of VF-2 who had a spectacular scoring rate and fought in many of the major aerial campaigns of the Pacific War. The first VF-2 was a prewar unit that had been dubbed the 'hottest outfit afloat' due to the skill of their non-commissioned pilots. This first unit only saw combat at the Battle of the Coral Sea, although VF-2 pilots flying Grumman F4F Wildcats were able to rack up 17 claims there during the bitter 48-hour period of fighting. The second 'Fighting Two' was armed with the new Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat fighter. Arriving in Hawaii in October 1943, the squadron so impressed Cdr Edward H 'Butch' O'Hare, the Medal of Honor-winning first US Navy ace of World War 2, that he requested the squadron replace VF-6 in his CAG-6 aboard USS Enterprise. No unit US Navy unit created more aces than VF-2, whose pilots went into action over the Carolines, Marianas, Guam, Iwo Jima and the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Using exquisite photographs and first-hand accounts from the elite fliers themselves, this volume tells the story of the ace pilots who comprised the original VF-2 and the second.

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233

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Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1472805607

ISBN 13

9781472805607

Under the Southern Cross

The South Pacific Air Campaign Against Rabaul

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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Under the Southern Cross

The South Pacific Air Campaign Against Rabaul

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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385

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Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1472838211

ISBN 13

9781472838216

Going Downtown

The US Air Force over Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, 1961–75

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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Going Downtown

The US Air Force over Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, 1961–75

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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361

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Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1472848780

ISBN 13

9781472848789

F4F Wildcat and F6F Hellcat Aces of VF-2

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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F4F Wildcat and F6F Hellcat Aces of VF-2

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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233

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Bloomsbury Publishing

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1472805607

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9781472805607

Clean Sweep

VIII Fighter Command against the Luftwaffe, 1942–45

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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Clean Sweep

VIII Fighter Command against the Luftwaffe, 1942–45

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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481

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Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1472855477

ISBN 13

9781472855473

Turning The Tide

The USAAF in North Africa and Sicily

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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Turning The Tide

The USAAF in North Africa and Sicily

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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338

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Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1472860225

ISBN 13

9781472860224

The Frozen Chosen

The 1st Marine Division and the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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The Frozen Chosen

The 1st Marine Division and the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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326

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Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1472814371

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9781472814371

Holding the Line

The Naval Air Campaign In Korea

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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Holding the Line

The Naval Air Campaign In Korea

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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353

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Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1472831691

ISBN 13

9781472831699

I Will Run Wild

The Pacific War from Pearl Harbor to Midway

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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I Will Run Wild

The Pacific War from Pearl Harbor to Midway

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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353

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Bloomsbury Publishing

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ISBN 10

1472841328

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9781472841322

Pacific Thunder

The US Navy's Central Pacific Campaign, August 1943–October 1944

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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Pacific Thunder

The US Navy's Central Pacific Campaign, August 1943–October 1944

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

On 27 October 1942, four 'Long Lance' torpedoes fired by the Japanese destroyers Makigumo and Akigumo exploded in the hull of the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8). Minutes later, the ship that had launched the Doolitte Raid six months earlier slipped beneath the waves of the Coral Sea. Of the pre-war carrier fleet the Navy had struggled to build over 15 years, only three were left: USS Enterprise, which had been badly damaged in the battle of Santa Cruz; USS Saratoga (CV-3) which lay in dry dock, victim of a Japanese submarine torpedo; and the USS Ranger (CV-4), which was in the mid-Atlantic on her way to support Operation Torch. For the American naval aviators licking their wounds in the aftermath of this defeat, it would be difficult to imagine that within 24 months of this event, Zuikaku, the last survivor of the carriers that had attacked Pearl Harbor, would lie at the bottom of the sea. Alongside it lay the other surviving Japanese carriers, sacrificed as lures in a failed attempt to block the American invasion of the Philippines, leaving the United States to reign supreme on the world's largest ocean. Now publishing in paperback, this is the fascinating account of the Central Pacific campaign, one of the most stunning comebacks in naval history, as in just 14 months the US Navy went from the jaws of defeat to the brink of victory in the Pacific.

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330

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Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1472821858

ISBN 13

9781472821850

The Cactus Air Force

Air War over Guadalcanal

By: Eric Hammel,Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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The Cactus Air Force

Air War over Guadalcanal

By: Eric Hammel,Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

Using diary entries, interviews and first-hand accounts, this vivid narrative brings to life the struggle in the air over the island of Guadalcanal between August 20 and November 15, 1942. The battle of Guadalcanal was the first offensive operation undertaken by the US and its allies in the Pacific War. The three months of air battles between August 20, 1942, when the first Marine air unit arrived on the island, and November 15, when the last enemy attempt to retake the island was defeated, were perhaps the most important of the Pacific War. “Cactus,” the code name for the island, became a sinkhole for Japanese air and naval power, as they experienced losses that could never be made good. For 40 years, the late Eric Hammel interviewed more than 150 American participants in the air campaign at Guadalcanal, none of whom are still alive. These interviews are the most comprehensive first-person accounts of the battle assembled by any historian. More importantly, they involved the junior officers and enlisted men whose stories and memories were not part of the official history, and thus provide a unique insight. In The Cactus Air Force, Pacific War expert Thomas McKelvey Cleaver worked closely with Eric to build on his collection of diary entries, interviews and first-hand accounts to create a vivid narrative of the struggle in the air over the island of Guadalcanal between August 20 and November 15, 1942.

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328

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Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1472851056

ISBN 13

9781472851055

Gothic Line 1944–45

The USAAF starves out the German Army

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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Gothic Line 1944–45

The USAAF starves out the German Army

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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201

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Bloomsbury Publishing

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ISBN 10

1472853385

ISBN 13

9781472853387

The Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club

Naval Aviation in the Vietnam War

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

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The Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club

Naval Aviation in the Vietnam War

By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

This book tells the full story of the US Naval air campaign during the Vietnam War between 1965 to 1975, where the US Seventh Fleet, stationed off the Vietnamese coast, was given the tongue-in-cheek nickname 'The Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club'. On August 2, 1964, USS Maddox became embroiled in the infamous 'Gulf of Tonkin incident' that lead directly to America's increased involvement in the Vietnam War. Supporting the Maddox that day were four F-8E Crusaders from the USS Ticonderoga, signalling the start of the US Navy's commitment to the air war over Vietnam. The Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club was the nickname for the US Navy's Seventh Fleet, Task Force 77, stationed off the coast of Vietnam which, at various points throughout the war, comprised as many as six carriers with 70–100 aircraft on board. The Seventh Fleet played an essential role in supporting operations over Vietnam, providing vital air support to combat troops on the ground and taking part in major operations such as Rolling Thunder and Linebacker I and II. Serving with the US Seventh Fleet during this period and involved in the dramatic history of The Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club was author Tom Cleaver, who was a 20-year-old member of Commander Patrol Forces Seventh Fleet which had operational control over Maddox and Turner Joy. His use of dramatic first-hand experiences from interviews with both American and Vietnamese pilots plus official Vietnamese accounts of the war provides a balanced and personal picture of the conflict from both sides. Detailing the very earliest incident in the Gulf of Tonkin through to the final evacuation of US nationals in 1975, he brings the story of US air intervention into Vietnam vividly to life.

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