197 records matched your query
02995aam a2200373 4500 001 28AF5342083F11EABF3FA51A97128E48 003 SILO 005 20191116010051 008 190227s2016||||||||||||||||||||||||eng|u 010 $a 2018469400 020 $a 1612003958 020 $a 9781612003955 040 $d TxAuBib $d SILO 100 1 $a Stout, Jay A. 245 1 $a Vanished hero : $b The Life, War, and Mysterious Disappearance of America's World War II Strafing King / $c Jay A. Stout. 264 1 $a Philadelphia, PA : $b Casemate Publishers, $c 2016. 300 $a xvii, 289 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates : $b illustrations ; $c 24 cm. 500 $a A hell-bent-for-leather fighter pilot, Elwyn G. Righetti remains one of the most unknown, yet compelling, colorful and controversial commanders of World War II. Vanished Hero tells the story of this remarkable man and the air war that he and his comrades fought, while examining his possible fate. Arriving late to the war, he led the England-based 55th Fighter Group against the Nazis during the closing months of the fight with a no-holds-barred aggressiveness that transformed the group from a middling organization into a headline-grabbing team that had to make excuses to no one. Indeed, Righettiâs boldness paid off as he quickly achieved ace status and additionally scored more strafing victoriesâ27âthan any other Eighth Air Force pilot. However, success came at a high cost in men and machines. Some of Righettiâs pilots resented him as a Johnny-come-lately intent on winning a sack of medals at their expense. But most lauded their spirited new commander and his sledgehammer audacity. Indeed, he made his men most famous for âloco busting,â as they put more than six hundred enemy locomotives out of commissionâ170 in just two days! Ultimately, Righettiâs calculated recklessness ran full speed into the odds. His aircraft was hit while strafing an enemy airfield only four days before the 55th flew its last mission. Almost farcically aggressive to the end, he coaxed his crippled fighter through one more firing pass before making a successful crash landing. Immediately, he radioed his men that he was fine and asked that they reassure his family. Righetti was never heard from again. 504 $a Includes bibliographical references (pages 273-280) and index. 541 $d 20190411. 600 1 $a Righetti, Elwyn G. 610 1 $a United States $b Fighter Group, 55th $b Fighter Group, 55th $x History. 611 27 $a World War (1939-1945.) 648 7 $a 1939-1945. 650 7 $a Fighter pilots. 650 $a Fighter pilots $z United States $v Biography. 650 $a World War, 1939-1945 $x Aerial operations, American $v Biography. 650 7 $a Military operations, Aerial $x American. 651 7 $a United States. 655 7 $a History. 655 7 $a Biography. 941 $a 1 952 $l TXPC862 $d 20191116024445.0 956 $a http://locator.silo.lib.ia.us/search.cgi?index_0=id&term_0=28AF5342083F11EABF3FA51A97128E48Initiate Another SILO Locator Search