The untold story of the pioneer airmen, high-performance aircraft and hometown units that defined the early years of the Air National Guard
When it was established alongside the United States Air Force in 1947, the Air National Guard consisted of a colourful mix of Second World War veterans and a dubious collection of ‘flyable storage’ aircraft, mostly obsolete. Four years later, it was mobilised for the Korean War, which, after producing a handful of National Air Guard jet aces, precipitated an influx of new equipment for the unit. The Air Guard had entered the ‘Jet Age’, an era in which it truly belonged, and began entering air races and aerobatic competitions, winning public appeal as an elite unit with crack pilots and state-of-the-art jet aircraft. This book is a detailed history of the first two decades of the Air National Guard as it evolved from a post-war hometown ‘flying club’ for Second World War veterans to a critical operational force integral to U.S. aerial strength. It uncovers the dramatic stories of the combat aces, the record-breaking jet racers, the pioneers who established the Air Guard on a wing and a prayer and those who moulded it into a first-rate fighting force.
- Includes newly discovered material with eyewitness accounts and previously unpublished illustrations
- Examines in detail the aerial races and gunnery competitions of the period and the record-breaking flights of Air Guard pilots
- The appendices catalogue the role of the Air National Guard in the Korean War and the unit’s team winners in Air Force aerial competitions
- Includes a foreword by the legendary Lt. Gen. John B. Conaway (ANG Ret.), former director of the Air National Guard and chief of the National Guard Bureau
The Air National Guard - The Early Years 1946-1965
Author: Brig. Gen. Kennard R. Wiggins Jr. (DE ANG)
Publication: 27 September 2024
Price: £25.00/$35.00
ISBN: 978-1-78155-932-1
Size: 235 x 165 mm
Binding: Paperback
Extent: 160 pages
Illustrations: 55 colour/24 mono
Rights: World, all languages
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