Research Catalog

Reaper leader : the life of Jimmy Flatley

Title: Reaper leader : the life of Jimmy Flatley / Steve Ewing.
Author: Ewing, Steve.
Publication: Annapolis, Md. : Naval Institute Press, ©2002.

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Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request for On-site Use Request Scan How do I pick up this item and when will it be ready?	Text	Use in library	V63.F53 E95 2002	Off-site

Details

Description

xix, 384 pages; 24 cm

Summary

Although Jimmy Flatley made a significant contribution to the U.S. victory of Japan, few outside the close-knit naval aviation community have heard his colorful story. "A naval hero in every sense of the word," according to former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. James L. Holloway III, Flatley was a formidable fighter pilot in combat, an inspiring leader, and a gifted operational planner. This biography examines his combination of talents and shows why he was so vital to the war effort. Known to his squadron mates at Guadalcanal as "Reaper Leader," Flatley--with Jimmie Thach and Butch O'Hare--was instrumental in communicating tactical advice throughout naval aviation and proving that, when used properly, the supposedly inferior F4F Wildcat fighter was actually superior to the Japanese Zero. His biographer, Steve Ewing, also explains how Flatley's combat experience established the credibility necessary for a middle-grade officer to initiate sweeping changes ion naval aviation, both at the front and with the entrenched naval establishment. The author credits Flatley's persistence and credibility for impacting strategic as well as tactical decision off the Philippines, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. In postwar years these same qualities helped him effect important changes in naval aviation safety. Part of a planned trilogy on carrier fighter tacticians in the Pacific war, this biography follows the study of O'Hare and precedes Dr. Ewing's work on Admiral Thach. -- Inside jacket flap.

Subject

Genre/Form

Biographies.

Bibliography (note)

Includes bibliographical references (p. 361-371) and index.

Contents

Foreword -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- 1. A Little Rogue -- 2. Flying in the Depression-Era Navy -- 3. Preparation for War -- 4. Pearl Harbor -- 5. Battle of the Coral Sea -- 6. "The Navy Fighter" and Fighting Squadron Ten -- 7. The Grim Reapers and the Battle of Santa Cruz -- 8. The Grim Reapers at Guadalcanal and Rennell Island -- 9. Air Group Five Commander on Yorktown (CV-io) -- 10. Task Force Operations Officer: Battle of Leyte Gulf -- 11. Task Force Operations Officer: Iwo Jima and Okinawa -- 12. From Combat to Cold War -- 13. Commanding Officer: NAS Olathe and USS Block Island -- 14. Commanding Officer: Safety Activity, NAS Norfolk, -- and USS Lake Champlain -- 15. Last Assignment -- Appendix: Combat and Command Decorations.

ISBN

1557502056
9781557502056

LCCN

2002004273

OCLC

ocm49404421
49404421
SCSB-1269272

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library