F-80 Shooting Star Units of the Korean War Book Review
By David L. Veres
| Date of Review | October 2019 | Title | F-80 Shooting Star Units of the Korean War |
|---|---|---|---|
| Author | Warren Thompson | Publisher | Osprey Publishing |
| Published | 2019 | ISBN | 9781472829054 |
| Format | 96 pages, softbound | MSRP (USD) | $24.00 |
Review
“After only five months of action over North Korea” as an interceptor, “it would be rendered obsolete”. Yet “during 37 months of conflict in Korea”, it would prove a “very capable fighter-bomber”.
It was Lockheed’s F-80 – America’s first operational jet fighter. Now Warren Thompson recounts its baptism of fire in F-80 Shooting Star Units of the Korean War – 128th in Osprey’s “Combat Aircraft” range.
Thompson traverses the total tale. Operations from Japan. First jet kills. Deployment to Korea. MiG-15 clashes. Fighter-bomber missions. Reconnaissance duties. Even individual aircraft fates.
Close-support actions understandably dominate coverage. And commentary on “train-busting” and detecting hidden enemy forces proved especially intriguing.
Color photos and profiles illustrate the effort. Text comes packed with action accounts and absorbing anecdotes. And extended captions and an index complete coverage.
But a colon – not a semicolon – properly precedes body quotes. And North Korea doubtlessly employed Lavochkin La-9s and La-11s – not La-7s.
This a great introduction to aerial combat over Korea. But why no selected bibliography for readers seeking further study?
My sincere thanks to Osprey Publishing for this review sample!