num_pages: 256
description: Get as close as youll get to a World War IIera P-51 Mustang without flying one yourself with this spellbinding collection of tales from the men who actually flew the planes into war. The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang first started appearing in real numbers in 1943 at the climax of the Allied campaign in World War II. Able to fly long ranges it was the perfect escort keeping bombers protected all the way from Allied bases in Europe the Mediterranean and the Pacific to a variety of Axis industrial targets and military installations and back. The Mustang would go on to provide pivotal air support on D-Day and by the end of the war the P-51 would be responsible for nearly half of all enemy aircraft shot down . In The Fight in the Clouds  aviation writer and EAA Warbirds of America editor James P. Busha draws on interviews conducted with dozens of veteran P-51 pilots to trace the progress of war through the mens exciting chronologically organized experiences. Youll Bolstered by Bushas own commentary and historical analysis  along with a gallery of rare black-and-white period photographs  The Fight in the Clouds offers a cockpit-seat view of one of WWIIs most celebrated aircraft and the men who bravely flew it into harms way.
language: English
title: The Fight in the Clouds: The Extraordinary Combat Experience of P-51 Mustang Pilots During World War II
publisher: Zenith Press