"...The book contains many amusing anecdotes of off-duty encounters while training in Florida and, later, ashore in Australia and South Africa, as well..." Read more

"...At times very sad but very funny in other pages...." Read more

3 customers mention ‘Reading experience’3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book a very good read.

"...edge of people who faced combat and the prospect of death, is an excellent read, and certainly stands up to more recent accounts...." Read more

"Great book well written .Takes the reader on a journey of discovery involving fear, excitement, lust, skill and luck...." Read more

"A riveting great read! And he lived not too far from me. And I never new it! I recommend it to everyone." Read more

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Top reviews from United Kingdom

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catholic reader

Stands the test of time

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 January 2016

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I remember this book when it was first published. Based on that I discovered that the fathers of friends, who I had only ever know as nice, middle aged, middle class blokes, had, in their youth flown with the British Pacific Fleet. I always looked on 'boring', unassuming bank managers in a different light after that!! This book, with that mixture of almost middle class, mid century naivety, and a real hard edge of people who faced combat and the prospect of death, is an excellent read, and certainly stands up to more recent accounts. I note one previous reviewer compares it to the excellent 'First Light' account of the Battle of Britain, it is certainly of that grade. Clearly written, informative, intimate but the understated, unassuming 'modesty' mixed with a well deserved pride of good British wartime memoirs, this is a very good read.

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SPAD

The best fighter pilot memoir of WW2

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 January 2020

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What more to say? Apart from it's rarity as a fighter pilot's story of the BPF Hanson has crafted an autobiography with lots of detail, excitement and human insight. Tragic in parts, funny in others, it is a necessary part of your library if you read FAA history.

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Anglian Traveller

Norman Hanson’s memoir of carrier aviation in WW2

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 November 2018

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Norman Hanson’s book about his experiences flying with the FAA during WW2 is a good read, filled with fascinating details about pilot training in the USA, life in an essentially non-combat posting in the Middle East for a spell and finally as a combat pilot flying Corsairs (“the bent-wing bastard from Connecticut”) from the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious as part of the British Pacific Fleet in 1944-45.

The book contains many amusing anecdotes of off-duty encounters while training in Florida and, later, ashore in Australia and South Africa, as well as flying from Trincomalee and a remote Pacific island base where venomous snakes were frequent visitors to the tented living accommodation. However, it’s Hanson’s detailed account of life aboard the Illustrious while flying combat operations against Japanese forces in Sumatra and later during the Battle of Okinawa where the story really hots up. The reader is treated to some very detailed accounts of combat flying from carriers and the hazards of deck landings, especially of damaged aircraft, and how dangerous this was even without fighting the Japanese.

The carriers were also frequent targets for kamikaze attacks and many pilots became exhausted from the stress of operations and the loss of fellow flyers. Hanson himself had a couple of lucky escapes, including escaping from the cockpit of his Corsair only in the nick of time as it sank into the Pacific and saving himself from drowning by keeping a cool head, and a high-speed deck landing following damage to the aircraft’s flaps which almost killed him. Much of this time was spent in boiling tropical heat with the ship (no air conditioning in those days) as hot as a furnace and the crew in permanent discomfort.

Hanson was also a skilled pianist, often called on to perform in the Ward Room. The author’s writing style is clear & matter-of-fact with good narrative pace, completely absent any melodrama or hyperbole.

If you enjoy ‘Carrier Pilot’ and are interested in RN carrier operations in WW2, you might also consider Commander Mike Crosley’s excellent book ‘They Gave me a Seafire’, another highly literate account of flying with the FAA and finally the BPF against the Japanese home islands in 1945. We shall probably never see the likes of these guys again, nor their courage, sacrifice and modesty about their epic achievements.

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Mr. B. J. Austin

Get a copy if you can for your library!!!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 September 2014

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Ranks with "First Light" as one of the best books on flying in WW2. At times very sad but very funny in other pages. I read this when it first came out in 1979, but my copy had become tatty being a paper back, so have just replaced it with a second hand hardback copy, & could not put it down. You are into it from the first page which I like no messing about.

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Marty

Great book well written

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 April 2018

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Great book well written .Takes the reader on a journey of discovery involving fear, excitement, lust, skill and luck.
If you want to feel how a Royal Navy fighter pilot learned his trade during the war years and survived this book is for you.

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RAU

Poor condition assessment

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 August 2018

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The book when it arrived was in one piece. Once opened it separated into two pieces and a couple of photographs fell out. The cover was dog eared and the pages are ochre in colour. To reference this as in Very Good condition was a travesty. Still a ripping read and Im nearly done. At that point ill put the book out of its misery and drop it in the bin, Sad.

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David

A riveting great read! And he lived not too far from ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 February 2016

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A riveting great read! And he lived not too far from me. And I never new it! I recommend it to everyone.

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Mallia Roberto

Good book about war, flight, plane.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 October 2010

I'm still reading it, to this moment really enjoy it.
The parts about aircraft description, flight and pilots life in WWII is very interesting and tecnically correct. I think that pilots and people involver in flight in general could appreciate this biograpy. May be other people could find it a little boring.
Many thanks for attention.
Roberto

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Top reviews from other countries

Brian W. Schacht

The British Carrier Story

Reviewed in Canada on 17 January 2022

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This book loses a star for its lack of enemy action. Far too many of the British losses were due to the Corsair’s unsuitability for aircraft carriers. Although limited to the last few chapters, the scenes of enemy action are exceptionally well written. It is notable as one of the few tales of British aircraft carriers that I have come across; the only others being Sea Flight by Popham and War in a Stringbag by Lamb. The author has a witty style that’s easy to read. Good Navy stories like this will take you around the world; and in this case, a world at war.

Travelling Kiwi

A MUST have book for anyone remotely curious in the F4u Corsair, or British WW2 carrier operations.

Reviewed in the United States on 30 August 2016

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I first read this book over 30 years ago and it is still a very entertaining read of an F4u pilots experiences. The British used this aircraft on their carriers well before the Americans and it gives an excellent account on their usage, challenges, and the day to day experiences of pilots flying them. I now live in the region of operations of the book so its even more relevant to read. I hope they preserve it for posterity by making a kindle version.

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