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James P. Busha
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The Fight in the Clouds: The Extraordinary Combat Experience of P-51 Mustang Pilots During World War II Kindle Edition

by James P. Busha (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 278 ratings
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World War II American P-51 Mustang pilots share their spellbinding, real-life tales from the cockpit in this collection.

The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang first started appearing in real numbers in 1943, at the climax of the Allied campaign in World War II. Able to fly long ranges, it was the perfect escort, keeping bombers protected all the way from Allied bases in Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Pacific to a variety of Axis industrial targets and military installations and back. The Mustang would go on to provide pivotal air support on D-Day, and by the end of the war, the P-51 would be responsible for nearly half of all enemy aircraft shot down.

In The Fight in the Clouds, aviation writer and EAA Warbirds of America editor James P. Busha draws on interviews conducted with dozens of veteran P-51 pilots to trace the progress of war through the men’s exciting, chronologically organized experiences. You’ll encounter:
  • Mustangs tangling with Soviet-built Yaks
  • A Mustang ace shooting down an Me 262 Stormbird
  • An epic long-range battle over the Pacific Ocean
  • And a score of other riveting accounts underscoring the P-51’s versatility and its vital importance to the Allied victory


Bolstered by Busha’s own commentary and historical analysis, along with a gallery of rare black-and-white period photographs, The Fight in the Clouds offers a cockpit-seat view of one of WWII’s most celebrated aircraft and the men who bravely flew it into harm’s way.
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  1. Print length
    266 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Zenith Press
  5. Publication date
    March 15, 2014
  6. File size
    7721 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
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  9. Enhanced typesetting
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Just when you think you have enough Mustang books in your library, Jim Busha comes along and makes buying another absolutely mandatory! His research and writing abilities shine in this very personalized tale of the famous P-51 and its heroic young pilots. The book begins with a moving tribute to those who gave their lives flying the fighter and then profiles the brilliant history of the aircraft throughout World War II. A great book from a master storyteller who loves and knows the subject!” —Walter J. Boyne, USAF (Ret.), former director of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum



“The variety of stories in The Fight in the Clouds is exceptional, covering units in the European, Mediterranean, and Pacific Theaters of World War II, with RAF pilots as well. Today, when WWII veterans are ‘departing the pattern’ in growing numbers, the remembrances in Jim Busha’s book assume even greater importance for future readers. Well done!” —Barrett Tillman, author of Whirlwind: The War Against Japan, 1942–1945



“James Busha (editor for EAA’s Warbirds of America as well as EAA’s Vintage Airplane, to name only two of his literary accomplishments) has accomplished a wondrous job in the writing of, The Fight in the Clouds. Get this book to feel what it is like to fly a Mustang as well as what it felt like to be a World War II combatant in North America’s defining aircraft.” —Travel for Aircraft Blog, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

About the Author

Jim P. Busha is the director of publications at EAA and the editor-in-chief of Sport Aviation, Warbirds, and Vintage magazines. Jim is also a contributing editor of Flight Journal and has had numerous articles published in FlyPast, Aircraft Illustrated, Classic Aircraft, and Air &Space/Smithsonian. Jim is the author of The Fight in the Clouds (Zenith Press, 2014) and Wings of War (Zenith Press, 2015). An avid pilot and aviation historian, Jim owns and flies a 1943 Aeronca L-3 and Stinson L-5.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00JDK1M6E
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Zenith Press (March 15, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 15, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 7721 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 266 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 278 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
James P. Busha

James P. Busha

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Jim Busha has been writing historical WWII genre articles

and books for over 20 years. Utilizing over 350 personal interviews

with WWII veterans from both Allied and Axis nations,

Jim has written over 320 aviation articles that have been

published in 16 different magazines both here in the United

States, Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, and Japan, including

Smithsonian Air and Space, Flight Journal, Fly Past, Combat

Aircraft, Flieger Magazine, LeFana, Klassiker, EAA Sport Aviation,

Warbirds, Vintage, and others. In 2006, Jim coauthored a

bookend titled The High Battleground. In 2007, Jim was presented

with the Flying Magazine Bax Seat Award, given to a

writer who perpetuates the Gordon Baxter tradition of communicating

the excitement and romance of grassroots aviation.

Jim most recent books include The Fight in the Clouds:

The Extraordinary Combat Experience of P-51 Pilots during

World War II; Wings of War: Great Combat Tales of Allied and

Axis Pilots from World War II; and Gunslingers: Allied Fighter

Boys of WWII. After retiring from 30 years in law enforcement,

Jim was hired full time at EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association),

located in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in 2014, where he is

a vice president overseeing publications, membership, retail,

social media, and marketing. Jim is also a private pilot, having

flown for over 33 years, and currently owns and operates a

1943 Stinson L-5 in WWII livery (the aircraft type flown by

Major Carpenter).

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
278 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Doug Wilson
5.0 out of 5 stars In a crowded field an excelent recent addition.
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2023
Verified Purchase
Well written interviews with lots of pilots of P-51 Mustang fighters. Includes reports about fights that I have never seen in any other publication. Including shooting down Mistel combos and fights with Soviet Yak fighters that have only recently be declassified. Really does a good job in putting you in the cockpit of the plane,
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James Douglas Bell
4.0 out of 5 stars Very realistic
Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2014
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A compilation of P-51 stories, from it's inception, first use as a dive bomber/attack aircraft, to the fitting of the Merlin engine which turned it into an excellent dogfighter, with outstanding range. It's a good read, fast moving, told from many points of view; from the famous, as Bud Anderson, to pilots that flew the aircraft towards the end of the war. I liked the inclusion of stories from the Pacific Theater, where the Mustang was a blessing with it's long range ability.
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Dr Kevin Peters, RODC
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent First Hand accounts
Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2014
Verified Purchase
This was an excellent book with some redundancies about the plane itself by the pilots who flew the P-51s.
The book is filled with first hand accounts by the pilots, and provides excellent tactical and experiential descriptions of the training and combat flights by the aviators.

Since these are independent accounts some narratives repeat facts about the actual hardware of the plane that are redundant. For example positive comments about the "bubble dome" cockpit of the P-51D providing better 360 visibility than previous versions of the plane. Also since this is from the pilots point of view, sometimes the larger strategic role of the combat mission is obscured.

However, I would recommend this book highly for those who enjoy the actual feel and personal sense of combat in the P-51. The book also contains several accounts of "Aces" and how they earned their five combat victories. In addition the information on the German aircraft is very complete, including advantages and weak points vs. the Mustang. Also included is an excellent description of the K-14 sighting mechanism which gave US forces a combat advantage in sighting and accurate firing.

Overall an excellent book, filled with details and insight of both Mustangs and the men who flew them.
2 people found this helpful
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KNM
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting book, very neat to hear stories from the ...
Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2016
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Interesting book, very neat to hear stories from the pilots themselves, but there are some weird formatting issues and typos that can make it difficult to follow at times.
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W. W. Martin
5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary warriors, unforgettable words
Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2014
Verified Purchase
If combat flying is your thing, you will find it hard to put down Jim Busha's new book, "The Fight in the Clouds: The Extraordinary Experience of P51 Mustang Pilots during World War II." Busha brings together the voices of some of our country's greatest warriors as they recount actual aerial skirmishes that will get the reader's heart racing.

These are true-life events burned in the memories of pilots from a war unlike any other. Combatants on both sides began the war with similar mounts. However, as time went on, the U.S. continued to introduce planes such as the Mustang, while the miracle airplanes of Germany became scarcer in number and were poorly used. While the Mustang gets a lot of credit, as Yeager said, the better pilot will always win, no matter who has the superior airplane. There is ample evidence of that in Busha's excellent book.

Will Martin
Author, So I Bought an Air Force
15 people found this helpful
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Gil Garver
4.0 out of 5 stars The book does deliver on its stated premise
Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2014
Verified Purchase
This book is an anthology of first hand anecdotes about flying combat in the P-51 Mustang. That is what the book states as its theme and that is what it delivers in a well done fashion. Perhaps half to three quarters of the way through, one can say that the stories all start sounding similar. That should come as no surprise since the air war was a collective endeavor. Perhaps in a left hand sort of way that is a mark of the book's honesty in that there is no embellishment of facts nor hero worshiping. Bear in mind that the P-51 came out later on in the war and thus the cream of the Luftwaffe, many of its best pilots, were already dead. In a way one can say that makes the stories somewhat anti-climactic. That does not mean to say at all that the flying did not put the young men relating these stories in mortal danger. They most certainly were.
3 people found this helpful
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Lotte
5.0 out of 5 stars Well Written, And A Good Read
Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2014
Verified Purchase
Once I opened this book I read through it very quickly...it was that good. The book was written by the pilots themselves, making it all the more worthwhile.

I don't wish to nit-pick, but the title of the book, "The Fight In The Clouds," is really a misnomer. In that era before radar contolled gunsights and other electronic wizardry, aerial battles were, out of necessity, see and be seen battle engagements. Fight in the clouds? Hardly.

The photos are worthwhile, however, the pilot shown with Don Gentile is not Duane Beeson, it is John Godfrey who tragically died in 1958 of an incurable disease. Jimmy Doolittle did not assume command of the 8th Air Force in the summer of 1942 as alledged on page 173, Doolittle assumed commannd of the Mighty Eighth on Januasry 1, 1944.
Just a couple of minor errors in an otherwise supurb book.
12 people found this helpful
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NavySpy
4.0 out of 5 stars Good read but not quite complete
Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2014
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This was a very good, first-hand account of flying the various models of the P-51 (and a few other aircraft) in combat in the European Theater during WW2. Reading the accounts provided by the men who flew these aircraft gave it a high level of authenticity & credibility. As I read through the book I anticipated eventually reading an interview provided by at least one member of the 332nd FG, yet as the book ended there was no mention of this pioneering group. With four squadrons (99th, 100th, 301st, 302nd) and over 95 DFC's awarded, you'd think the author could have found at least ONE pilot from this Group to interview for the book. If he had I'm certain he could have found additional outstanding accounts of P-51 aerial combat over Europe!
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Richard Bishop
5.0 out of 5 stars Good book.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 30, 2023
Verified Purchase
Very good book on fighting in world war two.
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Shohla
4.0 out of 5 stars Good one
Reviewed in Spain on July 4, 2021
Verified Purchase
Easy to read, it takes you to the skies with short and straight to the point stories about Mustang pilots stories. If you like this kind of books you will like it.
Few of what is told provides details or little known aspects about flying a Mustang, but nevertheless is still a good reading.
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Isobel
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing
Reviewed in Canada on August 2, 2016
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This book is Great! It has history, both color and black/white pictures. My boyfriend is going to love it!! I would buy from this seller again!!
One person found this helpful
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Smithy
3.0 out of 5 stars A collection of first-hand accounts by P-51 pilots
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 2, 2019
Verified Purchase
Overall this is exactly as it says on the cover - a collection of first-hand combat accounts of those flying the P-51. To be honest I found this a bit dry and after some reading repetitive. Apart from a couple of accounts they were mostly unremarkable compared to other books out there on the subject. Saying that it's by no means a bad book, it just that in this reviewer's opinion there are better and more vivid accounts out there by P-51 pilots.
One person found this helpful
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R V PARRISH
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 23, 2016
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Interesting and informative of the period.
One person found this helpful
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