Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]

CLICK HERE to see new posts in last 24 hours
Mark all forums read
Welcome to 72nd Aircraft. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Fiction authors who were pilots in war; Any info appreciated
Topic Started: Aug 18 2016, 02:58 AM (807 Views)
erussell
C'est
[ * ]
Lt Cdr Robert Winston (USN 1935-1940 and 1941-1945, 5 kills in F6F) not only wrote some brilliant non-fiction such as Aces High and Dive Bomber, as befits a professional journalist, but also three novels, The Pentagon Case, The Welfare States and The White House Case.
Aces High is a great portrayal of Europe, particularly Finland, on the brink of war.
Ed Russell at www.redroomodels.com
Goto Top
 
jvenables
Member Avatar
Hawk
[ * ]
James Wight (aka James Herriott) springs to mind. I know many of his books were partially autobiographical, or fiction based on his experiences as a Yorkshire veterinarian but I am unsure if his RAF service was as aircrew...?

Vietnam war US naval aviator, Stephen Coonts hasn't been mentioned. He wrote "Flight of the Intruder" (subsequently made into a movie of the same name) and many other fiction novels.
James from Brisbane, Australia
Now living in Laos

Nil illegitimi carborundum
Goto Top
 
keefr22
Member Avatar
Who, me?
[ * ]
jvenables,Aug 19 2016
03:44 PM
Vietnam war US naval aviator, Stephen Coonts hasn't been mentioned. He wrote "Flight of the Intruder" (subsequently made into a movie of the same name) and many other fiction novels.

Errr, yes he has... :rolleyes: :D

Keith Ryder
Swansea UK

'A plan is vital, but is never more than a basis for change'
Goto Top
 
Flying Plastic
Beast
[ * ]
James Herriot got halfway through pilot training and then became ill, requiring a stay in hospital. I can't remember the exact details, as it's well over thirty years since I read his account of it, but I think he may have been medically discharged.
Tim Prosser.

I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous!
Goto Top
 
dixieflyer
Member Avatar
Hero
[ * ]
If we're going to expand it to non-fiction, then the list gets much, much bigger.

Warren
"History is the lie we all agree upon."
Goto Top
 
dknights
Member Avatar
The court of LAST RESORT!
[ * ]
dixieflyer,Aug 19 2016
11:39 PM
If we're going to expand it to non-fiction, then the list gets much, much bigger.

Warren

That is the reason to limit it to fiction authors
David M. Knights
Fortes fortuna adiuvat

14 Finished: Special Armor V-2, Airfix P-51
15 Finished: SBS Gladiator engine
16 Finished: Brengun C2 Wasserfall, Merit SS-N-2 Styx, World's smallest diorama, Airfix Hurricane.
17 Finished: Japanese Carrier Deck, Belcher SS-4, Italeri AB41, PLAN Type 039A (not 72nd scale)
18 Finished: NONE
The bench:Platz T-33, Trump. T-34/85, Meng F-106, Airfix P-51 #2, Airfix P-40
Revell MiG-21F-13, Ace Citroen V-11
Goto Top
 
tmeyer
Member
[ *  * ]
Richard Newhafer, who wrote The Last Tallyho and No More Bugles in the sky, and Arch Whitehouse, who wrote several WWI RFC/RAF fiction books, were both combat aviators min WWII and WWI, respectively.

Newhafer was a naval aviator, with 3 Japanese kills to his credit. Whitehouse was an observer, then trained to be a pilot in the RFC/RAF in WWI. He took part in shooting down 4 aircraft.

A couple of maybe more obscure veterans/writers. However, I read books from both and enjoyed them.

Tom
Tom Meyer
Goto Top
 
dixieflyer
Member Avatar
Hero
[ * ]
dknights,Aug 19 2016
07:01 PM
dixieflyer,Aug 19 2016
11:39 PM
If we're going to expand it to non-fiction, then the list gets much, much bigger.

Warren

That is the reason to limit it to fiction authors

Exactly, the thread was straying, and I was trying to redirect it. :)

Warren
"History is the lie we all agree upon."
Goto Top
 
airjiml2
Member Avatar
Beast
[ * ]
Another one I can't believe I forgot:

John Magee - Spitfire

Jim
Goto Top
 
erussell
C'est
[ * ]
Close but not quite right......
Derek Robinson did his National Service as a ground borne GCI plotter in the RAF and went on to write Goshawk Squadron and many others. PPL later in life but not a combat pilot.
Pretty close
Arthur Whitehouse was an observer/gunner in 22 Sqn with 4 kills and went on to write 25+ books, mostly novels.
Spot on
William Johns was a WW1 fighter pilot and went on to write 100+ fiction books from Mossyface to Air Commodore over a 46 year writing career.
Ed Russell at www.redroomodels.com
Goto Top
 
Graham Boak
Hero
[ * ]
The combat requirement rules out Ernest K Gann, one of the finest aviation writers of all. He flew transports during WW2.

The Hunters, by "James Salter" is perhaps the finest novel from the Korean War. I gather the author was with the USAAF in Korea, but don't know if he was a pilot or not.
Lancashire, UK
Goto Top
 
Greenshirt
Member Avatar
Tim Holland, Southern MD - USA
[ * ]
Quite a few Luftwaffe transport pilots would call it combat. And a few allied pilots who flew transports into Northern France after D-Day. I'm sure most theatres the transport pilots would have considered combat a possibility, albeit remote in the er remote areas.

Tim
Tim Holland

I'm a "green shirt" because I work on the carrier's flight deck and maintain US Navy aircraft. Safe sorties are my life so we can be anywhere, anytime -- from the Sea.

http://greenshirt-modeler.blogspot.com/
Goto Top
 
erussell
C'est
[ * ]
Close from the other side
Fighter pilot Cecil Lewis MC flew with 3 Sqn RAF. Not a novelist but in 1931, he co-wrote and directed a film adaptation of the George Bernard Shaw play "How He Lied to Her Husband". Also a founder of the BBC
Spot on
Victor Yeates was a 46 Sqn fighter pilot and ace. He wrote "Winged Victory", semi-autobiographical but a work of fiction and a realistic account of aerial combat.
Spot on
Elliot Springs was a 16 victory pilot in the RAF and USAS. He wrote "Leave Me With A Smile" and other works based on his experiences. Also a successful businessman.
Ed Russell at www.redroomodels.com
Goto Top
 
dixieflyer
Member Avatar
Hero
[ * ]
Yes, Elliot Springs went on to found Spring-Aire Matresses.

I was trying to find my copy of Winged Victory last night as I couldn't remember the title and author. Thanks for reminding me. Great little book.

Warren
"History is the lie we all agree upon."
Goto Top
 
jvenables
Member Avatar
Hawk
[ * ]
keefr22,Aug 19 2016
03:28 PM
Errr, yes he has... :rolleyes:  :D

Oops... that'll learn me to read the replies more thoroughly! :wacko:
James from Brisbane, Australia
Now living in Laos

Nil illegitimi carborundum
Goto Top
 
« Previous Topic · General Discussion · Next Topic »