Review by Cmdr. Peter B. Mersky, USNR (Ret.)
As familiar as Vought’s iconic gull-winged World War II fighter is, comparatively little has been published about service with Great Britain’s Royal Navy (RN) carrier fleet during the two final years of the Pacific war, years in which Japan’s carrier fleet remained potent.
This new volume offers a rich photographic collection, in both black-and-white and color, depicting the RN’s 15th Naval Fighter Wing and its highly dangerous day-and-night operations against what remained of Japan’s army and navy—a once large and effective force of fighters and bombers.
Hillier-Graves introduces American readers to the young, highly capable and motivated naval aviators of the British fleet who flew these unusually configured, powerful long-nosed fighters. The F4U had already earned a formidable reputation in the United States in the hands of such luminaries as Marine ace Maj. Gregory “Pappy” Boyington and his “Black Sheep” of Marine Fighter Squadron (VMF) 214, and Navy Corsair ace Lt. j.g. Ira C. Kepford of Bouganainville-based Fighter Squadron (VF) 17.
A particularly valuable aspect of this book is its attention to RN squadrons and wing organization, an area often overlooked. American readers familiar with U.S. Navy and Marine Corps unit designations will enjoy the detailed look at an important ally’s structure, while recognizing the skill and courage of these aviators matched their American counterparts as they encountered Japanese Navy A6M Zeros (Zeke), G4M bombers (Betty) and Japanese Army fighters such as the Nakajima Ki‑43 (Oscar) and Ki‑44 (Tojo). These enemy types are often left out of U.S.-centric narratives, making their inclusion here unique.
We should note that Maj. Gen. John P. Condon, USMC (Ret.) (1911-1996), wrote a similar American-side account in “Corsairs and Flattops: Marine Carrier Air Warfare, 1944-1945,” making Hillier‑Graves’ book a timely and complementary addition to Corsair history.
