Chris Bucholtz

“Men, welcome to the 4th Fighter Group,” announced the square-jawed, blue-eyed commanding officer to a group of new pilots. “You have been assigned here after completing your training in the Third Air Force. There, you were required to comply with a myriad of rules, regulations, and orders governing your conduct in the air and on the ground. These requirements were designed to promote safety for you and your fellow flyers during your training period.

When America entered WWII, its fighter tactics were built around the lessons learned during WWI. Winning in air-to-air combat was thought to be dependent on out-turning your opponent using the maneuverability of your fighter to get into firing position on your opponent’s tail. This held true, to a certain extent: getting on your opponent’s “six o’clock” is still the best way to shoot him down to this day.

By Chris Bucholtz The message shocked the crew of the USS Northampton: Pearl Harbor had been attacked. The cruiser would inflict some measure of revenge against the Japanese on December 7, 1941 — not with its battery of eight-inch guns, but with a pair of planes that looked like they were from another era: Curtiss SOC Seagulls. The Seagull was the only biplane the U.S. Navy used in combat in World War II.