announcement

Ken’s Men Against the Empire, Vol. II is now available for preorder!

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Cover for Ken’s Men Against the Empire, Vol. IIThe official publishing date will be October 28, 2019. Press proofs have been approved and returned to the printer for publication. Allowing a few days for shipping from the printer, we expect to begin shipping out orders by the first week of November. The primary authors on this volume are Lawrence J. Hickey and Col. James T. Pettus, USAF (Ret). Colonel Pettus was the last commander of the 43rd BG during World War II, and flew B-24s with the unit during almost the entire time the aircraft served with the unit.

Because the 43rd Bomb Group’s history was split into two volumes, we’re also going to offer a limited sale for retail orders only until December 31, 2019 at $10 off when you order both volumes. To be clear, this sale is only for our 43rd Bomb Group books and you must purchase one of each to get the $10 off. Separate orders of either book will be $75 for Volume I (published in 2016) and $80 for Volume II. All orders received after January 1, 2020, will be at the regular price.

As far as we know these combined volumes contain the most comprehensive history of an air unit in combat ever produced. This includes a detailed narrative text, an outstanding collection of black and white and original color photography, extensive maps showing the unit operating areas, bases, missions and losses, and incredible artwork, including 56 aircraft color profiles and seven full color battle scene paintings done by world renowned aviation artist Jack Fellows. Nothing like this has ever been produced before in aviation literature.

All of our books have hardbound full color covers with sewn bindings. High quality enamel coated paper stock is used throughout to hold the best quality imagery for photos.

Here are the specifications for Volume II, which covers the B-24 era of the unit from October 1943 to the end of the war in 1945:
464 pages of new material
32-page color section
32 B-24 color aircraft profiles
4 color combat paintings
677 black and white photos

Between the two volumes, there are:
880 pages
48 color pages
56 B-17 and B-24 aircraft color profiles
7 color combat paintings
1200+ black and white photos

My deepest appreciation for all your support over the many years of this project.

Lawrence J. Hickey

Co-Author and President of
International Historical Research Associates

Looking Back at Our Top Posts of 2016

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It’s that time of year again. Time for us to list our most popular posts published this year as determined by the number of views. Did your favorite post make the list?

This year has been our best year yet and it’s all thanks to you, our readers. Thank you for your continued support by subscribing, reading and sharing our work, and buying our books. If there’s anything you’d like to see more of, let us know in the comments. We’ll be back next year with more great content.

 
Marauder at Midway by Jack Fellows1. Marauder at Midway An amazing painting done by Jack Fellows illustrating a B-26 speeding over the deck of the Akagi during the Battle of Midway.

 
THE "STEAK & EGG" SPECIAL's new fuselage2. Building the Steak and Egg Special How a group of 3rd Bomb Group mechanics built their own plane from two scrapped A-20s.

 

IHRA screen shot of work in progress 3 and 4. Behind the Scenes at IHRA and From a Layout to a Book: Behind the Scenes at IHRA We took you backstage for a look at how we compile our research and turn everything into a book.

5. Surprise over Gusap A member of the 38th Bomb Group writes about a terrifying experience on a raid.

Corregidor Island Then and Now6. The Same Places, 70+ Years Apart—Six WWII Bases Then and Now We took some of our photos from the Pacific Theater and compared them with recent satellite images to see what has changed in 70+ years.

Ken's Men Against the Empire, Volume I7. Announcing the release of Ken’s Men Against the Empire Vol. I We were thrilled to tell you the news of the publishing of a new book in March. We have received excellent feedback on our newest addition to the EOP series, the first part of the 43rd Bomb Group’s history.

Announcing the release of Ken’s Men Against the Empire Vol. I

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Pre-order your copy today!

EoP Vol. 4 Ken's Men Against the Empire Vol. I cover pre-order your copy todayKen’s Men Against the Empire Volume I will be published on March 22, 2016.

Without a bomber to its name, the 43rd Bomb Group (heavy) was rushed aboard the Queen Mary in February 1942 because there was room for one more unit. Months after arriving in Australia, the under-equipped 43rd absorbed the 19th Bomb Group’s war-weary B-17s and crews, who had been fighting since December 7, 1941. In spite of this start, the men went on to fly some of the most important and dramatic missions in U.S. aviation history, including one that resulted in a double Medal of Honor and eight Distinguished Service Crosses for a single crew. Their innovative technique of using B-17s to skip-bomb enemy ships from masthead height changed the way Pacific A-20 and B-25 pilots attacked targets for the rest of the war.

From the author of Warpath Across the Pacific comes the story of the last B-17 Army combat group in the Pacific Theater that will delight modelers, aviation enthusiasts and casual readers alike. The narrative is supplemented by hundreds of photographs, five comprehensive appendices, three spectacular color paintings and 24 detailed color profiles by aviation artist Jack Fellows, one of which sheds light on a markings mystery that has stumped historians for decades.

 

 

Some of the stories you will find inside this book:

New Ebook — Stories from Fifth Air Force

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With the growing popularity of our blog, we decided to round up a batch of stories and make them available as a short Kindle ebook called Stories from Fifth Air Force. This ebook comes loaded with 9 exciting stories, including a triple-length story about the Royce Raid, a color profile from our book Rampage of the Roarin’ 20’s, and some extra photos that haven’t previously been published with these blog posts.

Tales include:

  • The 3-part Royce Raid
  • The Ordeal of the Herry Crew
  • Riding out the Storm
  • Dangerous Haystacks
  • Aussies Join the 43rd
  • The End of GREMLIN’S HOLIDAY
  • The Jinx of the 389th
  • Tragedy Above the Bismarck Sea
  • Buzzing the Rivals

New Products

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We are now selling 38th Bomb Group limited edition prints through our website. The prints illustrate the famous raids on Dagua Airdrome (Wewak) on August 18, 1943; the daring attack by the 5th Air Force on the Japanese bastion at Rabaul on November 2, 1943; the vicious ordeal over the Japanese reinforcement convoy at Ormoc Bay, Leyte, on November 10, 1944; and finally the devastation attacks on the Japanese fuel alcohol industry on Formosa, represented by the raid on Tairin on May 29, 1945.

Alcohol Busters of Formosa

One of the four prints now up for sale on our website.