**PUBLICATION DATE: MAY 2024** (Please refer to the Terms and Conditions of Pre-Order below)
- Includes newly discovered material, with eyewitness accounts and previously unpublished illustrations
- Examines in detail the aerial races and gunnery competitions of the period, and the record-breaking flights of Air Guard pilots
- In the appendices, catalogues the role of the Air National Guard in the Korean War and the unit’s team winners in Air Force aerial competitions
- Includes a foreword by the legendary Lt. Gen. John B. Conaway (ANG Ret.) former director of the Air National Guard and chief of the National Guard Bureau
When it was established alongside the United States Air Force in 1947, the Air National Guard consisted of a colorful mix of World War II veterans and a dubious collection of “flyable storage” aircraft, mostly obsolete. Four years later, it was mobilized for the Korean War, which, after producing a handful of National Air Guard jet aces, precipitated an influx of new equipment for the unit.
The Air Guard had entered the “Jet Age,” an era in which it truly belonged, and began entering air races and aerobatic competitions, winning public appeal as an elite unit with crack pilots and state-of-the-art jet aircraft.
This book is a detailed history of the first two decades of the Air National Guard as it evolved from a post-war hometown “flying club” for World War II veterans to a critical operational force integral to U.S. aerial strength. It uncovers the dramatic stories of the combat aces, the record-breaking jet racers, the pioneers who established the Air Guard on a wing and a prayer, and those who molded it into a first-rate fighting force.
| BOOK ISBN |
9781781559321 |
| FORMAT |
248 x 172 mm |
| BINDING |
Paperback |
| PAGES |
160 pages |
| PUBLICATION DATE |
May 2024
|
| TERRITORY |
World |
| ILLUSTRATIONS |
79 illustrations |
TERMS & CONDITIONS OF PRE-ORDER1. Pre-orders are charged at time of order and the order will be processed and posted to you as soon as the book becomes available.2. Current publication month for this title is MAY 2024. Publication date can change and you may be be informed via e-mail for any such changes or delays. Please subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on social media. The book will be shipped via DPD in the UK, Channel Islands and Republic of Ireland, and, DHL internationally. For security reasons, DHL cannot deliver to post boxes.3. Current format specifications including page extent and number of images could change and you will be informed via e-mail for any such changes.4. You can cancel the pre-order at any time and request a refund. 5. Marketing, Promotions and Discounts: where at times we may offer discount(s) on forthcoming ('preorder') books and that part of the order is cancelled, we do not guarantee the same discount will be available at a future date or at all at point of availability.5. Placing a pre-order with us means that you have acknowledged and accepted these Terms and Conditions as well as our General Terms and Conditions.
Brig. Gen. Kennard R. Wiggins, Jr., (DE ANG Ret.) lives in Elkton, Maryland. He is a fourth generation Delaware National Guardsman and a veteran of over thirty-seven years’ service to the Air National Guard and the United States Air Force. A University of Delaware graduate, Wiggins’ military career has spanned various positions, including in aircraft maintenance, public affairs, recruiting, personnel, strategic planning, and training. He holds a master’s degree from National Defense University and serves as curator for the Delaware Military Museum and history advisor to Wilmington University and the Pencader Heritage Museum.
