A-20's of the 312th BG

[J.C. Bahr]

Heads up guys! If you're like me and been trying to find a good reference on A-20 ops in the Pacific and specifically the 312th, then you need to go here:

http://www.airwar-worldwar2.com/312BG.html

If the authors name sounds familir (Lawrence J. Hickey)... I won't need to say anything more than "Warpath Across the Pacific!"

http://airwar-worldwar2.com/345BG.html (Not to be confused with a title of the same name from Schiffer, which is not so good)

Those who are familiar with the Warpath book will know that it's one of the most excellent reference books ever written and "Rampage of the Roarin' 20's" is no different! It has the same awesome format as the Warpath book along with outstanding profiles from artist Jack Fellows.

I've been looking for many years for some good reference material on the aircraft of the 312th and figured that at some point we might see something in the Osprey Combat Aircraft series, but curiously this is a subject that has remained elusive amongst aircraft reference books and Rampage may explain why. Shortly after the end of WW II the 312th was on Okinawa and much of their records and information was lost or destroyed in a series of Typhoons, but through the tireless work of the authors, we now have a masterpiece of literature to refer to.

If you're like me and have a big interest in low level gunship strafers from the Pacific, then you need this book as a companion to Warpath if you already have that one. I just received Rampage from my lovely spouse for my birthday today and haven't even gotten that far into it yet, but after a quick run-through of it, I can only say HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!! Buy with confidence!

[gmat]

Sounds great. Do they include coverage of the B-32s used? I'm especially interested in the two or three that had the large shamrock painted on the tail.

It is 50$ for the book. Am I reading their shipping chart correctly as 65$ to mail it to Japan, or 65$ for book and shipping?

Best wishes,

Grant

[Koen L]

Been tempted by it since it was announced, shame no shops in Europe seem to carry their books though. Warpath across the pacific is one of my favorite books as well and 'Saga of the Sun Setters', the future release about the 38th BG, will probably be a must have as well.

Do you happen to have the 22nd BG book 'Revenge of the Red Raiders'? Like you I'm mostly interested in the strafer units but was wondering if that one's any good?

Koen

[Mark Joyce]

I agree with J.C. I have the book and, although it's not inexpensive, it's a must-have for anyone interested in the 312th. It's loaded with photographs and outstanding artwork, including color profiles, by Jack Fellows. And there is coverage of the B-32 (one of the reasons I bought the book). However, I couldn't find any photos of the B-32s with the shamrock on the tail...although there is at least one in the book from Schiffer, "Consolidated B-32 Dominator. The Ultimate Look: from Drawing Board to Scrapyard," (THE book on the B-32).

I too am eagerly awaiting Lawrence Hickey's book on the 38th BG, although it's been promised for a loooong time and yet to see the light of day.

Regards,

Mark

[Chuck1945]

I have all three of the books published so far (345BG, 22BG, and 312BG).

From a readability standpoint, I like this newest one the best. Perhaps it is because all the official records for at least one of the squadrons was lost, but there is more from a 'human interest' perspective - recollections from some of the veterans interviewed - that was missing from the first two. The 312ths losses to flak were horrendous, but reading the book, (I havent done any actual counting yet), you get the impression more were lost through show-off accidents (see how low you can fly) and weather then through enemy action.

There is an interesting discussion about the post cease-fire attack on a B-32 doing recon over Japan.

[J.C. Bahr]

Do they include coverage of the B-32s used?

Yes the B-32 is covered, along with their use of P-40's early on and their training in Vultee A-35's and the A-24 (SBD). But like Mark said, I don't believe I saw any photos of a Dominator with the shamrock on the tail.

Do you happen to have the 22nd BG book 'Revenge of the Red Raiders'? Like you I'm mostly interested in the strafer units but was wondering if that one's any good?

I don't have that one, but ask Chuck below and David here:

http://www.network54.com/Forum/149674/mess...e+Red+Raiders...

although there is at least one in the book from Schiffer, "Consolidated B-32 Dominator. The Ultimate Look: from Drawing Board to Scrapyard," (THE book on the B-32).

Another decent book (no pics of the shamrock bird though) is this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Dominator-Story-Cons...7402&sr=1-2

Similar along the lines to Squadron's "In-Action" series.

I too am eagerly awaiting Lawrence Hickey's book on the 38th BG, although it's been promised for a loooong time and yet to see the light of day.

Patience grass-hoppa! The genesis for Rampage goes all the way back to the early 1980's when the Australians were recovering Hell'n Pelican II and it was just published this year (2009), so that's quite a period of research and revision. I think they've also since updated Warpath with additional information (maybe multiple times) since the first printing. Big kudos to this group for doing all they can to keep getting it right! :D

but reading the book, (I havent done any actual counting yet), you get the impression more were lost through show-off accidents (see how low you can fly) and weather then through enemy action.

Yeah, the mention of the one nimrod who killed himself crashing into the lake because he was trying to show how to do "rooster tails" with the props on the water really makes one wonder. As for the weather, the three that disappeared on the one mission and were found 40 years later on the side of a mountain were interesting, in that the paint work on the vertical stab of 254117 looked nearly immaculate after all those years!

Also, I'm sure many of you can recall the famous series of four photos showing an A-20 being hit after coming off the target and then crashing into the water behind another A-20 of the group? Apparently nobody in the unit knew what happened to that aircraft until they started developing those photos which had been taken by a belly camera on another ship as the crew of the other A-20 in the photo had no idea of what was just taking place right behind them! Talk about being "tail-end Charlie!" :o

[Chuck1945]

Do you happen to have the 22nd BG book 'Revenge of the Red Raiders'? Like you I'm mostly interested in the strafer units but was wondering if that one's any good?

The 22BG went overseas as a B-26 unit, once the decision was made to not have the B-26 in the SWPA (insufficient range compared to the B-25) its days as a Marauder outfit were numbered. For a while at least it was mixed with part of the group using B-25s although one squadron kept the B-26 and striped the paint this was the 'silver fleet' until even these were withdrawn when the entire group transitioned to become a heavy bomber group using B-24s. Revenge of the Red Raiders covers the entire life of the group during WWII, including the aircraft that were kept at Midway when the group went overeas. These were the ones that made the torpedo attack on Japanese carriers during the Midway battles. Edited December 5, 2009 by Chuck1945