December 2015

Volume 15, No. 1

Cover: Robert E. Smith pilots his obsolete P-40 fighter against the Japanese as part of China’s 1st American Volunteer Group, better known as the Flying Tigers.
Painting by Jack Fellows; www.jackfellows.com

December 2015

WWII History

Escape from Kirovograd

By Pat Mactaggart

The waning months of 1943 were a bleak time for the German forces in southern Russia. Since the massive battle at Kursk in July, the Red Army had pushed the armies of Field Marshal Erich von Manstein’s Army Group South hundreds of kilometers to the west. Read more

December 2015

WWII History, Profiles

Charlie Bond’s Air Duels

By Bob Bergin

On May 4, 1942, American Volunteer Group (AVG) pilots Charlie Bond and Bob Little were in the alert area at Paoshan, China, a small grass aerodrome just north of Burma. Read more

December 2015

WWII History, Books

USS Lexington’s Legacy of Service

By Christopher Miskimon

Lieutenant Commander Kakuishi Takahashi looked down on his targets from 14,000 feet. They were long, narrow forms with flat decks and large funnel stacks, the American aircraft carriers USS Lexington and Yorktown. Read more