Thach Weave
Subtitle: The Life of Jimmie Thach
Publisher: US Naval Institute Press
Published: July 2004
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 338
ISBN-13: 9781591142485
Subjects: Air forces & warfare; Biography: general; European history: Second World War; Thach, John S.,; Fighter plane combat; Biography & Autobiography; Biography / Autobiography; Military - United States; Military; Europe; USA; General; Military - Aviation; Biography; United States; 1905-; Admirals; Fighter pilots
Description: "This biography completes a trilogy on the three Navy fighter pilots - Jimmie Thach, Butch O'Hare, and Jimmy Flatley - who developed sweeping changes in aerial combat tactics during World War II. Thach was the theoretical innovator of a tactic that became known as the Thach Weave, while O'Hare and Flatley joined him in making it a success."

"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 colorful 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 servicewide."--Jacket.