B-29 Hunters of the JAAF (Osprey Aviation Elite 5)

Have not studied this much before. Great detail in the narrative but I missed having more on the raids themselves as well as perhaps more background info on the JAAF pilots themselves. But then again the book had a limited number of pages so this was to be expected. Very happy to have purchased.

This is not the type of book to which I would normally be drawn. However, my sister, brothers and I have recently been exploring our ancestry. My 19 year old uncle, during WWII, was a B-29 tail gunner on a plane that was shot down on a night run over Osaka, Japan. This book details the missions of a number of B-29s giving details of each account of not only the American crews but also the Japanese crews they encountered. In this book was given the account of the night my uncle died in that crash along with pictures of the crash site. So it probably holds a meaning for me that it wouldn't for others. However, someone who is very interested in the history of our country during war years could find this very intriguing as it outlines strategy on the American side as well as the Japanese.

provides details of Japanese pilots as well as Americans--insights into how costly the bombing campaign was to both sides-kind of a short book though

Fasinating book about extreme (allied view) the Japanese took to defend against B 29 air raids. The book gives a good overview of the US bombing campaign against Japan using the B29. It covers some specific bombers & crews & what happened to them. The best part I thought was the coverage given to the Japanese reactions to these raids. We meet many of the pilots who shot down or rammed down many B 29s. The desperate attempts & modifications made to enable Japanese aircraft to catch, attack & bring down the bombers. Many of the pilots & aircrew decided ramming was their only option. These ramming attacks were carried out & many of the pilots died doing them. While a few others survived them. Absolutely Fasinating!! There is so much information crammed into this book. Awesome! I highly recommend this book!!!!

An excellent book detailing the troubles Japan experienced defending against the high-flying B-29's. Trying everything from dropping bombs upon the bomber formations to heavy cannon armament, the Japanese finally resorted to ramming tactics. An "iffy" proposition at best and survival of the volunteer pilots was possible. At least two pilots were credited with two B-29's destroyed and survived the war. There is also a case of a B-29 surviving being rammed twice. The color plates show a great many different Japanese Army aircraft that participated in this effort. As a wargamer and modeller, I found this book one of my most useful.

Like many, I knew the offensive of the B-29 over Japan in 1944/1945, but was unaware of a lot about the desperate air defense taken by the Japanese in this onslaught. The authors are to be congratulated for filling this gap by describing the hopeless struggle of the pilots and crew of the Japanese fighters to stop the relentless onslaught of Superfortresses and thus prevent the massive destruction of their homeland.

I believe the fact that so many B-29's were brought down by cannon fire or ramming is a relatively unknown aspect of the final months of WWII. literally hundreds of B-29's were taken down with the loss of hundreds and hundreds of American airmen. I recommend the book for this information alone!

Full of interesting details on the B-29 bombing missions, and the men, planes and tactics through which the Japanese tried to turn around their desperate situation.

Didn't realise how many B29's were shot down,until I read this. Very determined the Japanese pilots were!

Höchst interessant, wird doch der Verzweiflungskampf der Jagdverbände der japanischen Heimatverteidigung ausführlich beschrieben. Über Deutschland hatten es die einfliegenden 4mot-Verbände mit der Reichsluftverteidigung zu tun, bis zum allerletzten Tag. Genutzt hat es aber trotzdem nix..... Die Japaner hatten nicht einmal andeutungsweise etwas vergleichbares aufzubieten, aber trotzdem kämpften sie mit dem Mut der Verzweiflung. Dieser Umstand, die von Anfang an permanent vorhandene Erfolglosigkeit, kommt in diesem Buch sehr gut zur Geltung. Bravouröse Einzelleistungen, z.B. von Kobajashi,ändern daran nichts. Es war von Anfang an zum Scheitern verurteilt, und das ist die "Message" des Buches.Reichlich Bilder, hervorragende Farbtafeln, sehr gut lesbares English.Mein Fazit: kein japaninteressierter kommt an diesem Buch vor bei; never!

Cet Osprey sur un sujet assez peu recherché est tout à fait intéressant. Il étudie les différentes mesures prises par l'armée de l'air impériale japonaise contre les bombardiers américains B-29 qui ravageaient les villes et infrastructures japonaises à la fin du second conflit mondial.Les lecteurs qui auront déjà dans leurs bibliothèques des livres comme 'La grande chasse' de Heinz Knocke ne manqueront pas de trouver des similitudes entre les mesures prises par les aviateurs Allemands contre les raids de B-17 et celles prises par les Japonais contre les attaques de B-29. Les essais de largage de bombes sur les 'box' de B-29, la course au calibre pour l'armement de bord, et, pour finir, l'abordage en vol….L'échelle est évidemment différente et il ne s'agit pas d'une ligne Kammhuber au pays du soleil levant mais ces tentatives souvent désespérées sont bien rendues. Le destin de plusieurs pilotes est évoqué et le niveau des pertes en B-29 ne manquera pas de surprendre de nombreux lecteurs.L'iconographie se compose de photos en noir et blanc et de profils en couleur de bonne qualité.En résumé, un bon Osprey publié il y a maintenant 16 ans, à une époque où cet éditeur produisait des ouvrage d'une qualité bien supérieure à ce qu'il propose aujourd'hui.

Il libro mi ha soddisfatto, poichè descrive in modo molto puntuale, le operazioni militari con i bombardieri pesanti statunitensi contro il Giappone, illustrando il progressivo mutamento delle operazioni dal bombardamento di precisione di obbiettivi industriali (con esiti abbastanza scarsi) a quello con armi incendiarie contro città, centri economici e popolazione civile.L'autore descrive gli eventi senza apparente coinvolgimento personale nel giudicare le due parti in guerra, lo stile è documentaristico e le eventuali emozioni sono lasciate al giudizio del lettore.E' la prima opera di stroria militare aereonautica in cui ho trovato la descrizione della tecnica di combattimento del 'ramming' aereo, ossia lo speronamento di un velivolo (bombardiere) da parte di un altro (caccia).Per quanto riguarda l'edizione Kindle, l'unico difetto (minimo) che ho riscontrato (leggendolo con il programma Kindle per PC), consiste nella divisione su due pagine consegutive per alcuni grafici ed immagini.

Un livre intéressant décrivant les opérations de défense aérienne des forces japonaises, tant de l'Armée que de la Marine, contre les raids des B-29 qui ravagèrent le Japon fin 1944 - début 1945 jusqu'à la fin des combats en août.La défense japonaise n'a pas grand chose à voir avec ce que les Allemands mirent en place à la même époque en Europe et le système resta toujours plus ou moins expérimental avec une énorme responsabilité sur les épaules des pilotes, pratiquement livrés à eux-mêmes une fois en l'air. Faute d'arme véritablement efficaces, ceux-ci en vinrent à jeter leur avion sur les bombardiers américains... Leurs scores sont donc assez faibles mais sont tout à fait honorables vues les conditions dans lesquelles ils ont opéré.Un très bon Osprey sur un thème rare avec comme d'habitude des témoignages, des photos, certaines particulièrement impressionnantes, et des profils couleurs des avions de la défense aérienne nippone (certains particulièrement colorés comme les célèbres Ki61 du 244ème Sentai).