PDF Wreaking Havoc: A Year in an A-20 (Williams-Ford Texas AM University Military History Series) by Joseph W. Rutter in History

Review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. An Important First Person Account of a Little Known Aspect of the Air War in the SW PacificBy David L. LeeRutter details his stateside training and provides a lot of interesting details about flying the A-20. His unit fought in New Guinea and the Philippines before he was rotated stateside and discharged. Navigational errors and mechanical malfunctions seemed to claim as many victims in his squadron as direct enemy action. Most of the time they were flying low level strikes against airfields; bases; and supply dumps using bombs with parachutes so they didn't blow themselves up. A reader looking for a lot of intense descriptions of combat may be somewhat disappointed (a few of the missions are described in depth - a low level raid on Clark Field being one of the most notable) but for anyone interested in the A-20 (which is largely ignored in most WWII literature) or a fascinating look at one pilot's WWII experience; this is definitely worth a read. I finished it in about two and half days and that's always the sign of a book that captured and held my attention.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Air Support to McArthur's Campaign in SW PacificBy CustomerRead this book for several reasons.First; as a rare view of flying A-20 bombers in New Guinea and the Philippines during WW II; arguably the most effective anti-Kamikaze weapon.Second; as a counterpoint to the Navy aviators who performed similar airfield and transport strafing missions. The A-20s often flew so low that they needed parachutes and time delay fuses on bombs to enable them to escape the blast.Third; to see how the Army trained eighteen-year-olds to function as high-speed truck drivers; dumping bombs on successive Japanese outposts. Firing the .50 caliber machine guns just added excitement to the job.Last; for its observations on Japanese 'scorched earth' in Filipino cities and areas they based. He took pictures and developed many for the squadron.These planes suffered in the primitive conditions; no matter how good their mechanical care might be. As pilots say- 'every plane has a personality'; and the one lettered 'H' was hiding something:'When leveling out after climbing or making a shallow dive; the control column moved back and forth or "hunted" and the plane would bob a bit in pitch before settling down to level flight... Don's crew chief reportedly had replaced the hinges and otherwise checked around and found nothing amiss....The next day;November 22; Don was back in the air with H trying to solve the mystery. Several crew chiefs on the flight line saw him diving steeply down through a scattered cloud layer to the west of the field when the plane failed to pull out. The observers saw something come off the descending A-20; but whether it was a structural piece or just the canopy being released as Don tried to leave the plane was uncertain. Was he too low to pull out at the speed he was diving; or had something failed at a higher altitude? ...' (p. 121) It came down in thick swamp; natives used a canoe to reach the body.'Twenty-year-old Don Murison was buried in the military cemetery at Hollandia the day after Thanksgiving; 1944....'21 of 21 people found the following review helpful. Flying with the pilotBy N. TrachtaMr. Rutter has done an outstanding job of describing his experience in WWII. He takes you from his beginings in western Penn. thru training in Colorado and North Carolina; to combat missions in New Guinea and the PI. His writing technique lets you feel that he's with you and telling you about his experience flying A-20's. It's similar to (but not quite as good as) Guy Sajer's The Forgotten Soldier.I've rated the book as a 4 out of 5 (it's really 4.5 out of 5) because I was hoping for a little more description on his combat experience. On the plus side; he does describe several missions outstandingly (his mission straffing Clark was done very well); but unfortunatly; I'd like to have had a little more description.