Description

This book offers an account of how Thach devised the plan to give his squadron of F4F Wildcats a fighting chance against Japan’s formidable Zeros. Using matchsticks 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 colourful portrait of the famous pilot clearly shows, Thach’s innovative tactic was far from his sole contribution to the Navy. Throughout a forty-year career, Thach provided answers to multiple challenges facing the Navy, and his ideas were implemented service wide