A new book in my library.

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Some of you know that I have amassed a nice-sized library of books, the majority of them concerning WW2, especially the War in the Pacific. At least 90% of my collection has been purchased at local Goodwill stores, which brings me to my latest purchase.

While searching the shelves, found the following:
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Normally, I avoid purchasing these books put out by Life, due to the minimal and basic content they contain, although the pictures are generally great quality they've usually been passed around so many times that nothing is new. I did end up purchasing this one, though, due to some pictures depicting Pearl Harbor during the attack. As, I was putting on my seatbelt, I decided to flip through the pages a bit and immediately came across:

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Really cool, huh? Signed by a Bill Cope B-17 pilot with 40 missions and his wife(?) who was in the Women's Air Raid Defense.

On a whim, I decided to do an internet search on Bill Cope and right away, I started finding interesting material.

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When I saw that Bill said he was a B-17 pilot, I of course imagined him over Germany. No! Even more impressive, he was a B-17 pilot WITH 45 MISSIONS IN THE PACIFIC AND A DSC!!! He was officer of the guard at Pearl Harbor on December 6, 1941, when he was ordered to line up all the B-17s in a row to prevent sabotage. and saw his plane destroyed on the runway the next day by Japanese strafing Hickam Field. He flew at the Battle of Midway and from Guadalcanal, spending all his years in the South Pacific. Incredible! After the war, he participated in the Berlin Airlift, as if all his other achievements weren't historical enough, 😂.

Ruth was on vacation in Hawaii when she met Bill, they married two weeks before the raid, and she remained on the islands working in Air Raid Defense.

They truly did their part in the war. 🫡

William S. (Bill) Cope - Pearl Harbor National Memorial (U.S. National Park Service)

There is one possible typo in the story above that I haven't resolved.

It states that since his unit's B-17s were destroyed in the raid, he was transferred to Bellows Field AND FLEW B-17s UNTIL REPLACEMENT PLANES ARRIVED and he left for Midway. The second use of "B-17" seems redundant unless it was a typo. Does anyone know if their were B-17s at Bellows or did he fly B-18s, in the meantime?

Edit: Ok, I may have an answer to my own question, not 100% sure yet..
The 58th Bombardment Squadron was stationed at Bellows with it's B-18s from March of 1941 until late-April when they were transferred to Hickam Field "because their newly assigned A-20s could not be accommodated with the existing facilities at Bellows".

Does anyone remember any A-20s at Hickam during December 1941?

Would the unit have left their B-18s at Bellows in anticipation of new planes?

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Btw, I found this information on an excellent in-depth web copy of a book/report dealing with USAAF Hawaii. It covers everything from the pheasant hunting at Bellows, the location of latrines , the menu from the Black Cat Cafe on Hotel St, plane types/units/locations, construction schedules, and more than I can describe with plenty of pictures and diagrams. One could write a book using this as sole reference and I'm sure it's be a big help tracking down possible locations of souvenirs or possibly archaeological digs.


https://media.defense.gov/2010/Sep/17/2001329818/-1/-1/0/AFD-100917-040.pdf
 
What are they like?
The TU-22M is a typical Yefim Gordon book and have a lot of his books both WWII up to modern age. Lots of details , pictures, drawings and such and here is basic over view from Amazon. In the late 1960s, the patriarch of Soviet aircraft design, Andrey Tupolev, offered the Soviet air force a supersonic bomber to replace the 1950s-vintage Tu-22 Blinder with a less capable—but cheaper—alternative to the Sukhoi design bureau's proposed T-4 strategic bomber. Tupolev did not offer it as an "all-new" aircraft but, instead, passed it off as a "massive upgrade" of the Blinder. Thus was born the Tu-22M, Tupolev's first aircraft with variable swept wings and the ability to carry both bombs and supersonic cruise missiles. In the West the new bomber became known as the Backfire. First flown in 1969, the aircraft entered production in 1972. The most widespread version was the Tu-22M3, which soldiers on today with the Russian air force. The Backfire has had an active career both in Cold War operations and in "hot" wars, from Afghanistan to Syria, where it has participated in the global war on terrorism. This book describes the Tu-22M's development, including the latest upgrades, and its Soviet and post-Soviet operations. Fleet lists are included, as is a detailed design description, and a wealth of color profiles and line drawings.

As far as the Mitsubishi Babs Vol 1 is hard cover, 191 pages. Seems to manly cover its history, profiles, photos, squadrons and tail markings, losses and campaign info. Has some performance info but not a lot, No line drawings,. I am guessing most of that will be in the second Volume but no idea when it will be released. Great book for a modeler.
 
Thanks for both descriptions Paul.

About this:
As far as the Mitsubishi Babs Vol 1 is hard cover, 191 pages. Seems to manly cover its history, profiles, photos, squadrons and tail markings, losses and campaign info. Has some performance info but not a lot, No line drawings,. I am guessing most of that will be in the second Volume but no idea when it will be released. Great book for a modeler.
Is mainly a modeler book or the history, squadrons & campaigns are well covered?
 

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