The Fight in the Clouds
The Extraordinary Combat Experience of P-51 Mustang Pilots During World War II
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Narrated by:
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Adam Grupper
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By:
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James P. Busha
About this listen
Get as close as you’ll get to a World War II-era P-51 Mustang without flying one yourself with this spellbinding collection of tales from the men who actually flew the planes into war.
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, 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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Critic reviews
“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
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- The Story of the Schweinfurt Raid
- By: Martin Caidin
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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On Thursday, October 14, 1943, 291 B-17 Flying Fortresses set out for a strategic bombing raid on the factories in Schweinfurt. Sixty of those planes never returned and 650 men were lost during the course of that mission. It was the greatest failure that the United States Air Force had ever suffered and became known as "Black Thursday". Martin Caidin's Black Thursday: The Story of the Schweinfurt Raid is a brilliant account of that day that should never be forgotten. This audiobook uncovers in thrilling detail the build-up to that fateful raid.
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The Best Look at Bomb Groups of the 8th
- By Nicholas Robinson on 09-19-18
By: Martin Caidin
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Air Apaches
- The True Story of the 345th Bomb Group and Its Low, Fast, and Deadly Missions in World War II
- By: Jay A. Stout
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 15 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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The American 345th Bomb Group - the Air Apaches - was legendary in the war against Japan. The first fully trained and fully equipped group sent to the South Pacific, the 345th racked up a devastating score against the enemy. Armed to the teeth with machine guns and fragmentation bombs, and flying their B-25s at impossibly low altitudes - often below 50 feet - the pilots and air crews strafed and bombed enemy installations and shipping with a fury that helped cripple Japan.
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Boring and unorganized unit history
- By R. Denton on 04-25-19
By: Jay A. Stout
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The Vietnam Air War
- From the Cockpit
- By: Colonel Dennis M. "Mike" Ridnouer
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 13 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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The Vietnam War is one of the most misunderstood military conflicts in 20th-century America. Showcasing 72 true stories told by American servicemen who fought from the skies, this unique and historically significant collection is a stunning record of the air war in Southeast Asia during the 1960s and 1970s.
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Overall worthy and perspective broadening
- By Clayton Cartier on 11-03-20
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Finish Forty and Home
- The Untold World War II Story of B-24s in the Pacific
- By: Phil Scearce
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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During the early years of World War II in the Pacific theatre, against overwhelming odds, young American airmen flew the longest and most perilous bombing missions of the war. They faced determined Japanese fighters without fighter escort, relentless anti-aircraft fire with no deviations from target, and thousands of miles of over-water flying with no alternative landing sites.
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Pretty Good!
- By Robert on 02-01-13
By: Phil Scearce
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Angels in the Sky
- How a Band of Volunteer Airmen Saved the New State of Israel
- By: Robert Gandt
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Angels in the Sky is the gripping story of how an all-volunteer air force helped defeat five Arab nations and protect the fledgling Jewish state. It is the exhilarating account of a ragtag band of volunteer airmen from around the world who fought for Israel during the war of independence. They arrived from America, Canada, Britain, France, and South Africa. Almost all were World War II combat veterans. Many, but not all, were Jewish, and many knowingly violated their nations' embargoes on the shipment of arms and aircraft to Israel.
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Truly excellent story - highly recommended
- By Shimon on 03-21-19
By: Robert Gandt
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Pacific Payback
- The Carrier Aviators Who Avenged Pearl Harbor at the Battle of Midway
- By: Stephen L. Moore
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Sunday, December 7, 1941, dawned clear and bright over the Pacific....
But for the Dauntless dive-bomber crews of the USS Enterprise returning to their home base on Oahu, it was a morning from hell. Flying directly into the Japanese ambush at Pearl Harbor, they lost a third of their squadron and witnessed the heart of America's Navy broken and smoldering on the oil-slicked waters below.
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Excellent companion to Dawn like Thunder
- By G. Bruce Greer on 07-21-14
By: Stephen L. Moore
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Lords of the Sky
- Fighter Pilots and Air Combat, from the Red Baron to the F-16
- By: Dan Hampton
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 17 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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The New York Times best-selling author of Viper Pilot and retired USAF F-16 legend Dan Hampton offers the first comprehensive popular history of combat aviation - a unique, entertaining, and action-packed look at the aces of the air and their machines, from the Red Baron and his triplane in World War I to today's technologically expert flying warriors in supersonic jets.
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Great history, but ending goes off-topic
- By Lugal on 07-31-14
By: Dan Hampton
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Bomber Pilot: A Memoir of World War II
- By: Philip Ardery
- Narrated by: James Killavey
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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"The sky was full of dying airplanes" as American Liberator bombers struggled to return to North Africa after their daring low-level raid on the oil refineries of Ploesti. They lost 446 airmen and 53 planes, but Philip Ardery's plane came home. This pilot was to take part in many more raids on Hitler's Europe, including air cover for the D-Day invasion of Normandy. This vivid firsthand account records one man's experience of World War II air warfare.
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Fascinating...and true story
- By Loretta on 06-24-15
By: Philip Ardery
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Viper Pilot
- The Autobiography of One of America's Most Decorated Combat Pilots
- By: Dan Hampton
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Sure to rank as one of the greatest aviation memoirs ever written, Viper Pilot is an Air Force legend's thrilling eyewitness account of modern air warfare. From 1986 to 2006, Lt. Col. Dan Hampton was a leading member of the Wild Weasels, the elite Air Force fighter squadrons whose mission is recognized as the most dangerous job in modern air combat. Weasels are the first planes sent into a war zone, flying deep behind enemy lines purposely seeking to draw fire from surface-to-air missiles and artillery. They must skillfully evade being shot down - and then return to destroy the threats, thereby making the skies safe for everyone else to follow.
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FINALLY A Pilot Tells it Like it is!!
- By aaron on 10-26-12
By: Dan Hampton
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The Battle for Hell's Island
- How a Small Band of Carrier Dive Bombers Helped Save Guadalcanal
- By: Stephen L. Moore
- Narrated by: Pete Bradbury
- Length: 15 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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From the author of Pacific Payback comes the gripping true story of the Cactus Air Force and how this rugged crew of dive bombers helped save Guadalcanal and won the war. November 1942: Japanese and American forces have been fighting for control of Guadalcanal, a small but pivotal island in Japan's expansion through the South Pacific.
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agonizing audiobook full of facts
- By chris on 04-13-16
By: Stephen L. Moore
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Thunderbolt
- By: Robert S. Johnson, Martin Caidin
- Narrated by: Clay Lomakayu
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Thunderbolt is the incredible true life story of Robert S. Johnson, one of America’s leading fighter pilot aces in World War II. His memoir is an action-packed account of how a young man from Lawton, Oklahoma went on to amass 28 enemy kills, the first US Army Air Force pilot in the European theater to surpass Eddie Rickenbacker's World War I tally of 26 enemy planes destroyed.
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My favorite flying book of all time.
- By S. H. Moore on 10-07-21
By: Robert S. Johnson, and others
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Wings on My Sleeve
- By: Eric 'Winkle' Brown
- Narrated by: Cameron Stewart
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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The autobiography of one of the greatest pilots in history. In 1939 Eric Brown was on a University of Edinburgh exchange course in Germany, and the first he knew of the war was when the Gestapo came to arrest him. They released him, not realising he was a pilot in the RAF volunteer reserve - and the rest is history. Eric Brown joined the Fleet Air Arm and went on to be the greatest test pilot in history, flying more different aircraft types than anyone else.
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Fascinating memoir
- By Jean on 07-05-16
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Damn Lucky
- One Man's Courage During the Bloodiest Military Campaign in Aviation History
- By: Kevin Maurer
- Narrated by: Holter Graham, John Luckadoo
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was a world away from John Luckadoo’s hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee. But when the Japanese attacked the American naval base on December 7, 1941, he didn’t hesitate to join the military. Trained as a pilot with the United States Air Force, Second Lieutenant Luckadoo was assigned to the 100th Bomb Group stationed in Thorpe Abbotts, England. Between June and October 1943, he flew B-17 Flying Fortresses over France and Germany on bombing runs devised to destroy the Nazi war machine.
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must read
- By td godfrey on 10-06-22
By: Kevin Maurer
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Open Cockpit
- By: Arthur Gould Lee
- Narrated by: Roger Davis
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Author of three books, this is by far his best. Lee puts you in the cockpit in a riveting account of life as a fighter pilot at the front. At times humorous and dramatic, this thoughtful, enlightening, true account is a classic to be ranked with Winged Victory by W. V. Yeates, also published by Grub Street.
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Really great insights into WW1 air combat!
- By B Taub on 12-21-16
By: Arthur Gould Lee
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Lucky 666
- The Impossible Mission
- By: Bob Drury, Tom Clavin
- Narrated by: Jeremy Bobb
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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From the authors of the New York Times best-selling The Heart of Everything That Is and Halsey's Typhoon comes the dramatic untold story of a daredevil bomber pilot and his misfit crew who fly their lone B-17 into the teeth of the Japanese Empire in 1943, engage in the longest dogfight in history, and change the momentum of the war in the Pacific - but not without making the ultimate sacrifice.
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A WWII Pacific Tale
- By A. L. DeWitt on 11-15-16
By: Bob Drury, and others
What listeners say about The Fight in the Clouds
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Carolyn Covello
- 03-13-23
Great book about WW2
Brings you to the reality of the air combat in fighters.
I read it in portions as it is very descriptive and detailed.
A must for everyone to understand the air war in WW2.
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- Ralph Bartley
- 05-13-24
Courage and dedication
The reader quickly develops affection and respect for the P-51 and our courageous pilots. Well read 1st hand, well explained accounts of combat.
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- Don Rottiers
- 03-17-23
Great could not put the book down!
If you love flying and WW2 Books especially the F-51 Mustang this is the book for you!!
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- John
- 11-15-24
Good Introduction to P-51 Combat Stories
This is a good book to provide a introduction to P-51 combat stories. A lot of this seems to have been covered in other books, but it is pretty well done.
One thing I learned is that the A 36--an early dive bomber variant of the Mustang--was quite successful and beloved by its pilots.
If you are very familiar with the Mustang, this book may not be worth your time. If you are not, it is, as said, a good introduction.
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- B Taub
- 08-05-23
Monotonous excitement
OK, I love military aviation stories, and this certainly had a collection of them. But, it was essentially a collection of stories about individual flights with little connective tissue between them. So, while each could be interesting as part of a complete story, it just started to feel like the same story repeatedly. Heard once, "I saw them two thousand feet below me, so I dove on them and clobbered the one on the left," could be exciting. But that story, followed by a very similar one and then another, gets repetitive.
And, regarding connective tissue, there was a good deal of rah-rah America but very little emotion. Things like, "Two of our flight were lost that day." is tragic. So, where is the emotion associated with that?
Perhaps, when I was younger, I'd find a book like this exciting, but, having read and listened to many aviation books, I didn't feel there is a lot to learn here, and after a while, all the excitement got a little boring.
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