{"product_id":"check-six-a-thunderbolt-pilots-war-across-the-pacific","title":"Check Six!: A Thunderbolt Pilot's War Across the Pacific","description":"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.\n\nAfter 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.\n\nCheck 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.\n\nIt 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.\n\nTable of Contents\n\nDedication\nForeword\nPreface\nAcknowledgements\nIntroduction\n\nPart I – Getting to the War\nChapter 1. The War Begins\nChapter 2. Pilot Training\nChapter 3. The Long Journey to the Pacific\n\nPart II – War in the Pacific\nChapter 4. Into Combat\nChapter 5. R\u0026amp;R in Australia\nChapter 6. Fighting Westward\nChapter 7. Wakde\nChapter 8. With the Black Rams\nChapter 9. Leyte\nChapter 10. Into December\nChapter 11. Tanauan\nChapter 12. San Marcelino\n\nPart III – Pacific Aftermath\nChapter 13. Going Home\nChapter 14. Home from the War\nChapter 15. Flying Again\n\nEpilogue\n\nAppendices\nAppendix 1. USAAF Pilot’s Issue Flying Gear\nAppendix 2. Pidgin English Phrases used in SWPA\nAppendix 3. Credit for Destruction of Enemy Aircraft, 25 October 1943\nAppendix 4. 348th Fighter Group Air Combat Intelligence Report, 2 February 1944\nAppendix 5. 341st Fighter Squadron Statistical Data for May, 1944\nAppendix 6. Notes from Charles Lindbergh Lecture on P-47 Operations\nAppendix 7. 460th Fighter Squadron Monthly “A” to “L” Report for November, 1944\nAppendix 8. Unit Narrative Combat Report, 10 December 1944\nAppendix 9. Press Release by Fifth Air Force to All Correspondents, Circa May, 1945\nAppendix 10. Combat Zone Missions of James C. Curran, July, 1943 to April, 1945\nAppendix 11. Awards and Decorations of James C. Curran\nAppendix 12. Poem dedicated to the 341st Fighter Squadron\nAppendix 13. A Brief History of the 460th Fighter Squadron\nAppendix 14. 460th Fighter Squadron Combat Losses in World War II\n\nGlossary\nBibliography\nIndex\u003cbr\u003eASIN: 161200654X\u003cbr\u003eVSKU: LFV.161200654X.VG\u003cbr\u003eCondition: Very Good\u003cbr\u003eAuthor\/Artist:Curran, Jim|Popravak Jr., Terrence\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNote:\u003c\/b\u003e Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition Notes\u003c\/b\u003e: Book is in very good condition.  Clean with little to no signs of wear or markings highlights.  \u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Books for Life","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50647157801157,"sku":"LFV.161200654X.VG","price":11.47,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0650\/2914\/4773\/files\/161200654X-0.jpg?v=1791479853","url":"https:\/\/www.booksforlife.store\/products\/check-six-a-thunderbolt-pilots-war-across-the-pacific","provider":"Books for Life","version":"1.0","type":"link"}