STORY OF A HERO

NEW BOOKS FOR THE AVIATION ENTHUSIAST

Pilot developed tactics to defeat the Japanese

Thach Weave - the life of Jimmie Thach by Steve Ewing (Naval Institute, 800-233-8764, $34.95) completes a trilogy on three Navy fighter pilots Jimmie Thach, Butch O'Hare, and Jimmy Flatley - who developed sweeping changes in aerial combat tactics durine WWII. Thach was the theoretical innovator of a tactic that became known as the Thach Weave, while O'Hare and Flatley joined him in making it a success.

The volume offers a memorable account of how Thach devised the plan to give his squadron of F4F Wildcats a fighting chance against Japan's formidable Zeros. Using match sticks on his kitchen table, he determined that the Wildcats, working in pairs, should weave back and forth as they encountered a Zero, giving the wingman an opportunity to shoot at the enemy on his partner's tail. The use of the weave against the Zero at Midway cemented its practical application. But, as this colorful portrait of the famous pilot clearly shows, Thach's innovative tactic was far from his sole contribution to the Navy. Throughout a 40-year career, Thach provided answers to multiple challenges facing the Navy, and his ideas were implemented servicewide.

A native of Arkansas and 1927 graduate of the Naval Academy, Thach earned his wings at Pensacola in 1930 and became a highly decorated ace. He was an early test pilot, a creative task force operations officer in the last year of WWII and an outstanding carrier commander in the Korean War. During the Cold War, he helped advance antisubmarine warfare. Contributing to his success was the fact that Thach was a charismatic leader, interested in everyone around him regardless of rank or status. Today, Thach remains a hero among Naval aviators, his most famous combat tactic still in use by modern jets.

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Copyright Challenge Publications Inc. Feb 2005
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