#Forgotten fields of america series

The is a bit of overlap in volume 2, but not bothersome. This applies to all four volumes of the 'Forgotten Fields' series: Nicely told tales of the rapid build-up of the United States' Army Air Forces leading up to and during World War II. Again, a very readable and enjoyably interesting series! Too many of our service people ended up more or less 'learning on the job' due to lack of proper preparation prior to going into combat. This lack of preparation also led to increased civilian losses due to errant bombs due to the lack of competent training particularly early in the war. What is particularly notable is the fact that military casualties were MUCH higher due to the lack of preparation of our armed forces between World Wars I and II, due to the isolationist mood of a substantial chunk of the country.

#Forgotten fields of america series

All in all, an excellent series for the semi-casual World War II or history buff without getting into excruciation detail. Plenty of pictures, both recent and 'back in the day.' What is particularly nice is the stories told by the people who served at the particular bases covered.

Not all installations are listed because the list would change each month. The appendix lists the names and locations of about 700 Army Air Force installations in use in the U. The book has about 220 photos that show the fields activities,and the field as it was then and is now. To write the book, the author visited the fields, researched their history, and interviewed those who were there. In total 12 former training fields are detailed. Bases include, Freeman Field, Chanute Field, Smyrna Army Air Field, Ephrata Army Air Field, and Hendricks Field. Other chpaters tell about basic flight training,(Coffeyville Army Air Field), B-17 pilot training,(Lockbourne Army Air Field), etc. For example, the first chapter (Atterbury Army Air Field)tells how they built these 'temporary' bases in about six months time. Each chapter focuses on an airbase to tell part of that story. This book tells the story of the build up of the USAAF training program in the U.S.