Synopses & Reviews
In an action-packed war memoir and squadron history, ace fighter pilot Tom Blackburn describes exactly how he shaped a crew of over-eager hotshots into one of the highest scoring fighter squadrons of World War II and U.S. Navy history. In only 76 days of combat, Blackburn's Jolly Rogers downed a record 154 enemy warplanes, and Blackburn himself emerged as one of VF-17s leading aces with eleven aerial combat victories to his credit. A complete history of the squadron from its commissioning in January 1943 to its disbanding in April 1944including a harrowing account of the squadrons intense, winning campaign against the Japanese over the northern Solomon Islands and Fortress Rabaulthis book offers a fascinating look at Blackburns approach to organizing, training, and leading his pilotsthirteen of whom, the author included, became air aces.
Review
WWII History, July 2006
“The Jolly Rogers pulls no punches. It celebrates and romanticizes warfare, heroism, testosterone, and male bonding the way few books dare to do these days. The story of VF-17 reads like a guts and glory screenplay for a 1940’s morale boosting Hollywood file, yet it is all true…Be warned: The Jolly Rogers takes the reader on an adrenaline filled ride from start to finish. Better be strapped in tight.”