A forceful study of an elite group of men chosen to form the U. S. Marines' only medium bomber group during WWII. Verterans recall their service flying combat missions against enemy garrisons on Bougainville and New Ireland, and later in the dramatic rocket and ground-strafing attacks in the Philippines. Detailed list of individual squadron aircraft and personnel losses, and all known PBJs assigned to units overseas.

With their stout airframes, innovative airbrakes and near-vertical dive capabilities, U.S. Navy torpedo and dive bombers rendered Japanese deck gunners nearly defenseless and played a crucial role in Allied victory. Remarkable period color photography and quotes and anecdotes from pilots and crewmembers relate the stories behind Navy dive bombers. Included in the collection are the legendary SBD ("Slow But Deadly") Dauntless, SBC Helldiver, TBD Devastator and TBF and TBM Avengers. In addition to depicting the aircraft, photos show American airmen testing and training, while first-person accounts tell of missions against Japanese vessels.

Think of the U.S. Marines and you’ll naturally think of the peerless ground force that has always bravely answered America’s call to arms. But the Marines also have an air arm with a tradition every bit as proud and legendary as the ground infantry they support. Now, military historian Robert F. Dorr presents the first fully illustrated, oral history of the Marine Air Wing, and gives the “Flying Leathernecks” the recognition they deserve. When America entered World War I in 1917, the Marine Air Wing had only thirty-five aviators. During World War II, it expanded to sixty-one squadrons—twenty with at least one flying ace—and over 10,000 pilots. Marine Air is a long-overdue, illustrated history, filled with the Flying Leathernecks’ own words and packed with photographs, of the “the few, the proud” of the skies, and of their unwavering commitment to protecting their comrades on the ground, and to defending the country they have never let down—no matter what the odds.