Wolfpack Warriors: The Story of World War II’s Most Successful Fighter Outfit by Roger Freeman. Casemate Publishers and Book Distributors, LLC (http://www.casematepublishing.com), 2114 Darby Road, Havertown, Pennsylvania 19083, 2004, 256 pages, $37.95 (hardcover).
In the war-torn skies over Europe, America’s 56th Fighter Group entered an almost daily struggle against Hermann Goering’s Luftwaffe in a race to achieve air superiority before the planned Allied invasion of the continent. “Zemke’s Wolfpack,” as it became known, was an integral part in dominating the fighter pilots of Nazi Germany. Flying the less glamorous P-47 Thunderbolt, these American pilots fought the Luftwaffe from the beginning of the air offensive against Germany until the last days of the war. Their story, told in yet another wonderful book by author Roger Freeman, is certain to make a significant contribution to the study of the Allied air campaign over Europe in World War II. The author of more than 50 books on the Second World War, Wolfpack Warriors is certainly one of his most interesting books.
The author consulted over 150 veterans during the research for this book and spent 14 years compiling the history of the 56th Fighter Group. In bringing the book alive, he freely quotes men from the unit to give the reader a much better perspective of life within the group. He not only quotes pilots but crew chiefs, maintenance officers, service personnel, and unit commanders. These first-person accounts—more than any other feature of the book—bring to life the fears, concerns, victories, and defeats of these men. Freeman gives the reader a feeling of being in the cockpit with one of the pilots or in the barracks relaxing during some down time. Quotes from German pilots who engaged the 56th may have made this aspect of the book even more appealing but unfortunately were not included.
Fortunately for us, Wolfpack Warriors is much more than just a shoot-’em-up history of this one fighter group. More importantly, the author takes the time to discuss the unit from its peacetime conception and formulation, to its deployment overseas, through its years of combat, and finally its disbanding after the war. He also discusses in great detail many of the teething problems the unit faced with its P-47 Thunderbolts, the use of drop tanks in an attempt to increase the aircraft’s range and the harrowing experiences of ground-attack missions. Once the reader finishes the book, there is some actual identification with the men of the unit.
Although reading about World War II is enjoyable, I have never enjoyed reading about force-on-force combat. Simply knowing that Battalion X engaged Battalion Y has always held little interest. It is most fascinating reading about the personalities behind the events. The men who made decisions, fought the battles, or engaged other pilots have always been intriguing. In Wolfpack Warriors, the reader is not let down in this area. Some of the biggest names in American aviation emerged from this one unit. Men like Hub Zemke, Dave Schilling, Francis “Gabby” Gabreski, Walker “Bud” Mahurin, and Robert Johnson, just to name a few, will always be connected with excellence in air combat. Gabreski and Johnson, for example, led the way for American aces in Europe with 28 aerial victories apiece.
Several activities were also pointed out in the book that many readers will likely find interesting. In the race to destroy enemy aircraft, Freeman discusses the practice of giving pilots credit for ground victories as well as aerial victories and the problems this led to later in the war in determining actual credit for individual pilots. The Germans in North Africa were poor in aircraft recognition and the Americans did little better. On one mission in particular, one 56th pilot in a hurry to achieve the group’s first kill came home only to find, through examination of his gun camera film, he had accidentally shot down a British Spitfire.
In all, Wolfpack Warriors is a fascinating book that boasts 32 pages of excellent photographs. When reading a unit history that spends so much time discussing the men that made it great, the reader should be able to see the people who are written about. Unfortunately, the final product doesn’t have maps, charts, or appendices detailing the most important aspects of the 56th Fighter Group or their relation to other fighter units of the 8th Air Force. Perhaps if the author reprints this book in a couple of years, he will add these to the revised edition.
If I had only once complaint about the book, it would be the title. A more accurate title would be Wolfpack Warriors: The Story of World War II’s Most Successful American Fighter Outfit. During the course of the war, the 56th Fighter Group destroyed 664 German aircraft. In North Africa alone, German Fighter Group JG 27 destroyed 776 Allied aircraft between April 1941 and December 1942. Likewise, JG 26 on the Western Front destroyed some 2,700 aircraft, and it is estimated that JG 52 on the Russian Front destroyed nearly 10,000 enemy aircraft. The top six pilots within JG 52 destroyed a combined 1,580 aircraft. Some British, Russian, or even Japanese units may also have been more successful than the 56th. Although the Zemke’s Wolfpack was arguably the best American fighter unit, if the measure of a fighter unit’s success is aerial victories, as alluded to by the author, then the 56th was certainly not the best during the entire conflict.
Not withstanding these facts, this book is highly recommended. Roger Freeman has done a superb job of bringing the history of one of America’s most recognized and decorated fighter units to us. Well written, this book easily keeps the reader’s attention. Although Donald Caldwell’s incredible book, JG 26: Top Guns of the Luftwaffe, is the standard for aviation combat units and Wolfpack Warriors falls short of this, the reader will still not be the least bit disappointed in Freeman’s work. If your interest lies in the European air war and the contributions made by truly an “Elite Unit,” then Wolfpack Warriors is a book that will certainly grace your personal library.
Lt Col Robert Tate, USAFR
Maxwell AFB, Alabama
Disclaimer
The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University.
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