Dauntless Helldivers: A Dive-Bomber Pilot's Epic Story of the Carrier Battles

Buell tells his story well. His long and eventful service spans both major dive bombers (hence the name)

Very nice war stories, unusual to have a story of a dive bomber pilot that started with the Coral Sea and ended with attacks against the Philippines before Leyte. Surviving that long and flying both the SBD Dauntless and Helldiver(SB2C) is quite a feat.

I enjoyed this book from the perspective of a USN dive bomber pilot in combat, his description of peers and seniors and their actions, the SBD and Helldiver aircraft, his personal background Depresssion to college student to aviation cadet to Naval Aviator to combat during the critical early days of WWII when the USA was being pressed by the Japanese. His descriptions of his R&R between deployments, his cars and the women he met paint America undergoing a fundamental societal change that lasted for more than 50 years.He was lucky to have survived the experience.I would liked a better description of Son of a Bitch Second Class and it's flight characteristics.There is only one flying now and the pilot on YouTube says that the -4 version is easier to fly than the AT6 Texan.The -3 and last -4 models were likely competent but poor performers compared to the following AD Skyraiders and were not as good as the available F4U Corsair late WWII.Flights of Passage, Hynes, is a similar and don't miss read of a USMC TBF Avenger pilot.

Easily one of the best books I have ever read, it clarifies several historical events about the early Pacific sea battles with Japan.

I bought this book for my husband. He thoroughly enjoyed it.On his comments to me regarding the book, I would recommend it to anyone who likes military reading,or as a gift.

good book, good shape.

This is the first book I've read of this type that follows the war experiences of a dive bomber pilot in World War II. I've read other books about bomber pilots (I remember Harry Crosby's "On a Wing and a Prayer" especially fondly) but this is (as far as I know) the first book of this type by a dive bomber pilot from the war. The title should clue you in that this is going to be a good book: the Dauntless was the early war dive bomber of the US Navy, and it was replaced by the Helldiver. It turns out that the author graduated from flight school just prior to Pearl Harbor, and so was on the Yorktown at the Battle of the Coral Sea. He didn't really participate in the battle, only flying one anti-submarine patrol, but he *was* there. He then was assigned to the Saratoga, and arrived with that ship just after the fighting stopped at Midway. He flew patrols in the aftermath of the battle, however, and helped recover downed pilots and look for enemy stragglers, so he qualifies as having participating in that battle. He flew a mission at the start of the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, and when his flight leader decided they wouldn't be able to make it back to the carrier (by now the Enterprise) they wound up on Guadalcanal, and Buell flew from there for a month. He then returned to the carrier and participated briefly in the battle of Santa Cruz. He spent much of 1943 in the states building a new bomber group, then went with it to the new Hornet (the old one had been sunk by a Japanese sub the previous year) and was with that group through a series of raids during the rest of the year and much of 1944, which culminated in the Battle of the Phillipine Sea. In that confrontation, Buell's division of the squadron crippled and almost sank the Japanese carrier Zuikaku. He also led his division as it sank several vessels, including two destroyers, several merchant vessels, and at least one combat transport.Buell's account of all of this is lively and intelligent. He recounts everything in an interesting fashion, telling of training, combat missions, shipboard politics, and the plane types that they flew. His discussion of the Dauntless and its replacement by the Helldiver is lamented, though he does note that the Helldiver was faster and had a larger cargo capacity. While the Dauntless had numerous nicknames and was a very popular plane, the pilots referred to the Helldiver as "the Beast".I enjoyed this book a great deal and would recommend it to anyone interested in World War II.

Important first-person account of Buell's time flying the Dauntless and Helldivers in WWII. He details some of the lesser known battles as well, such as Operation Desecrate One, fought 30 March 1944 over Palau. His writing is informative, entertaining and sobering. He flew with my great-uncle who died in that battle, and I'm thankful for him writing this book so that he lives on.