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VF-11/111 'Sundowners' 1942-95 (Aviation Elite Units) |  | Author: Barrett Tillman
Creator: Tom Tullis
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $14.00
as of 7/30/2010 23:22 MDT details
You Save: $11.95 (46%)
New (28) Used (6) from $14.00
Seller: andy_brozyna
Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 326996
Media: Paperback
Pages: 128
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 9.6 x 7.2 x 0.4
ISBN: 1846034841
Dewey Decimal Number: 355
EAN: 9781846034848
ASIN: 1846034841
Publication Date: March 23, 2010
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Fighting Squadron 11 was established at San Diego in August 1943, beginning a half-century record that spanned aerial combat in three wars from the piston to the jet age. First deployed to Guadalcanal, the 'Sundowners' flew Grumman Wildcats and completed its tour as the Navy's third-ranking F4F squadron in terms of aerial victories.
Upon returning home, the 'Sundowners' transitioned to Hellcats in preparation for a second combat deployment. In 1944-45 the squadron flew from USS Hornet (CV-12), participating in the fast carrier strikes against the Philippines, Formosa and the Asian mainland. It finished the war as the Navy's 11th ranking fighter squadron with 158 credited victories.
Redesignated VF-111 in 1948, the 'Sundowners' converted to F9F Panthers and scored history's first jet-versus-jet victory over Korea in 1950. After the armistice, the squadron flew FJ-3 Furies and F11F Tigers, before receiving the world-class F8U Crusader in 1961. During the long Vietnam War, the 'Sundowners' logged six deployments, scoring MiG kills in both F-8s and F-4 Phantom IIs.
From 1978 to disestablishment in 1995, the 'Sundowners' flew F-14 Tomcats from USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) and Carl Vinson (CVN-70), completing a record of 37 deployments from 17 flattops in its 52-year career. From World War 2 until after the Cold War, the 'Sundowners' established an unsurpassed record 'at the tip of the spear' in naval aviation history.
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| Customer Reviews:
A key reference for any aviation or military shelf June 12, 2010
Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
Barrett Tillman works with Henk van der Lugt in VF-11/111 'SUNDOWNERS', a strong survey of aviation combat history adding to the 'Aviation Elite Units' of the publisher. The Sundowners were established in 1942 and their achievements spanned several wars - including winning the first jet- versus-jet victory over Korea in 1950. This details all the aircraft and deployments of the Sundowners over a 52-year period and is a key reference for any aviation or military shelf.
An old sundowners review May 20, 2010
Andrew L. Liskey (Ft Lauderdale Fl USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Having spent 10 years in this squadron, I found the book a great read. It is very well written and as much as I already knew about the squadron I learned a lot. A must read for anyone who has an interest in naval avaition. A lot of nostalgia for me.
VF-11/111 Sundowners April 30, 2010
John S. Mitchell (San Juan Capistrano, CA United States)
If you are an admirer of Naval Aviation, Sundowners is a must have and must read! Barrett Tillman, a great historian and terrific writer with co-author Henk vander Lugt bring alive this storied squadron from F4F to F14 and beyond; basically the history of Naval Aviation and Grumman from the Wildcat of 1942 to retirement of the Tomcat. The photos and plates are breathtaking in themselves and bring alive a very colorful, descriptive text.
Words and photos drive home the debt we owe to so many who sacrificed their lives, often without any trace, to give our wonderful country and the world the freedoms we enjoy today.
Outstanding Tribute to a Legendary USN Fighter Squadron! March 28, 2010
Michael OConnor (Wausau, WI USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Hard on the heels of his excellent WHIRLWIND book for Simon & Schuster comes Barrett Tillman's latest, a comprehensive history of the Navy's legendary 'Sundowners' fighter squadron. Boasting a half-century of service, VF-11/-111 saw combat in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. One of only two USN fighter squadrons credited with kills in three wars, Sundowner pilots/crews notched up a total of 161 kills. The Sundowners' lengthy naval aviation career is nicely covered in this well-written and well-illustrated release from Osprey Publishing, #36 in their 'Aviation Elite Units' series.
Established in August 1942, VF-11 pilots, flying land-based Grumman Wildcats and later carrier-based Hellcats, racked up a score of 157 kills by war's end. The squadron boasted such aces as 'Skull' Stimpson, Jimmie Savage, 'Rabbit' Moranville and Vern Graham. Part of the postwar Navy, VF-111 Panthers downed a lone MiG-15 during the Korean War. Two more MiGs - in this case, MiG-17s - were downed by Sundowner fighters during the Vietnam War. The unit was disestablished in 1995.
Tillman and his collaborator, Henk van der Lugt, do a fine job of recreating the life and times of this top-notch unit. While much of the book is concerned with the Pacific War, the authors do not slight the Sundowners' peacetime activities nor its service in Korea and Vietnam. Numerous first-person reminiscences from former Sundowners are used throughout the book, a definite plus.
The book is well-supplied with dozens of b&w and color photographs of aircraft and aircrew along with 10 pages of superb Tom Tullis' artwork. The Sundowners flew a variety of aircraft other than F4Fs/F6Fs such as F9F Panthers, F11F Tigers, FJ Furies, F-8 Crusaders, F-4 Phantoms and F-14 Tomcats and they're all on display in glorious color.
In short, VF-11/-111 SUNDOWNERS, 1942-95 is a marvelous tribute to an outstanding unit. And it's a great read to boot. Definitely an OK-3 wire effort!
Most complete book in this series yet March 25, 2010
James Pernikoff (Marietta, Georgia USA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is probably the best book yet in what is already a pretty good series. The reason is that this is not just a one-war history of a squadron like most of the other books, but the full story from formation to dissolution (and even beyond!).
The story begins in 1942 with F4F Wildcats and ends, officially at least, in 1995 with F-14 Tomcats. But an adversary squadron called VFC-111, using the Sundowners name and logo, did form in 2006 at NAS Key West, flying F-5s, and they are illustrated here as well. Thanks to this long history, the 10 pages of color side views do not have only one or two aircraft types, as with most of the other titles in this series, but 11! There are also a larger number of photos in color scattered throughout the text, and a fair number of patches shown, also in color.
For the first book in the series on a U.S. Navy squadron, Osprey picked a fine pair of authors. Tillman is, of course, one of the best-known and most-respected writers on U.S. Naval aviation, and van der Lugt is the official historian of the Sundowners, so it would be hard for this book to have been any better than it is. Hopefully, Osprey will follow up with similar books on other well-known Navy and Marine squadrons, such as VF-17, VF-84 and VMF-214.
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