Mustang Ace: Memoirs of a P-51 Fighter Pilot | Robert J. Goebel

Mustang Ace: Memoirs of a P-51 Fighter Pilot | Robert J. Goebel | Memories

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Mustang Ace: Memoi...

	Mustang Ace: Memoirs of a P-51 Fighter Pilot Robert J. Goebel Zenith Press, 2004 - 256 pages average customer review:based on 15 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

When Bob Goebel left home to join the Army Air Corps in 1942, he was a nineteen years old and a high school graduate. Cadet Goebel worked his way steadily through the Basic, Primary, and Advanced phases of military flight training, and found in himself an aptitude for flight. After graduation from flight school with his new wings and new commission as a 2d Lieutenant, he and his classmates were posted to a fighter squadron defending the Panama Canal. By the spring of 1944 he was on his way tto Italy and the 31st Fighter Group, one of the top fighter outfits of the war. He was also headed for a new aircraft, the legendary P-51 Mustang. After 61 combat missions now Captain Goebel was offcially credited with 11 victories in his Mustang. Returning home in September 1944 he was not yet 21 years old.Goebel's memoir is a classic of combat aviation, giving the reader a true sense of what it was like to fly and fight as a World War II fighter pilot.- Covers stories about the often overlooked 12th AF in Italy- Tales of flying the classic P-51D, America's ultimate piston engined fighterAbout the AuthorFollowing the war Robert J. Goebel attended college on the GI Bill, earning a degree in physics from the University of Wisconsin. Returning to the air force he served on active duty for almost thirty years, retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1966 after working on the Gemini launch vehicle for NASA. He then worked in the aerospace industry including the Skylab project. Now fully retired he lives in Torrance, California.

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Ace of Aces in all regards.

In doing research for a book of my own, I have read -- and continue to read -- as many accounts of the air war over Europe as I can, from many perspectives. Mr. Goebel's book, which he was kind enough to personally autograph for me, is not just an amazing, technical account of the details to flying and fighting in what is arguably the most significant fighter plane ever developed, but also tell the story of the American spirit, as an individual, and collectively in the Armed forces, which represented an era that is the foundation of what we enjoy in a free land today. His ability to tell his story, and the story of those around him -- in America's and the world's most pivotal time in history -- is first class reading from a first class author, in addition to his being a first class gentleman and a first class American Ace. Set around the 15th Air Force's 31st. Fighter Group flying out of Italy, 'Mustang Ace' is great reading on every level. It brings both smiles and tears as you get close to real people who won or lost each day by their skill, their courage and crazy luck -- good or bad -- that often made no sense. If you like airplanes, WWII air combat history and personal achievement on a scale few can imagine, then there is nothing better. This is the real deal; an untypical story portrayed with the typical modesty of a real hero, a real Ace, from an elite group of men that have never been fully appreciated for what they did, and how they did it.

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Memories

We trained together in the FTC but were sent to different Squadrons,
Wonderful memories!

Woodbine 30

Excellent!!!

One of the most detailed accounts of being a successful ace fighter pilot. Mr Goebel's wartime experiences again show us all what sacrifices our veterans make.

Very good

Helped by fameds historian Eric Hammell, who helpe shape the original manuscript into a cohesive and envolving story, Robert Goebel, an eleven-kill ace in WWII, wrote a very pleasant book, from training in the United States till ace status in Italy and Europe. If you're into fighter pilot biographies, this one will not disappoint. But I dare to say: the best ever written was "THE BIG SHOW", by Pierre Clostermann.

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Mustang Ace