The Jolly Rogers Paperback – June 18, 2009

Blackburn was a career Navy air officer, and noted pilot. His writing reflects the typical pilot profile - Type A, and perhaps a bit too proud of his actions. HE did this, and HE did that, and was always the gung ho Commander. If you just accept this, there is a lot of inside info on the workings of the Navy, and the south pacific air war. If you are a WWII aviation enthusiast, this will add to your understanding of the pilots mind set and actions in combat. For this content alone I gave it four stars. I've read quite a few WWII pilot autobiographies. This is a different view of one pilot in WWII, which adds to the enjoyment of reading. My father flew in WWII, and I'm sure he, as all pilots have embellish there stories a bit. I probably wouldn't buy the hard copy, but as an inexpensive e-reader it's good to go!

As a Naval Veteran of over 31years of service, I really liked this book. I started out assigned to a Fighter Squadron, making two combat deployments to Vietnam on an Essex class CVA. The Bunker Hill was an Essex Class Carrier. It was the newest class of Fast Fleet Carrier's before the end of World War Two. Then I flew Combat Support and Rescue as the Rescue Swimmer or Crew Chief.Tom did not load you down with flight terms, nor soak you in the enemies blood. Tom shared the human side of his pilots, their highs and lows. He shared how lonely it is when you are in Command; you have to make life and death decisions. Then, you second guess your decision after you made it. What ever was the decision you made you have to live with the results for the rest of your life. Right or wrong it was your decision and you will carry it with you forever. One of the hardest lesson to teach, demonstrate and enforce is that the number one priority is the mission and only the assigned mission. Your emotional response is to break away from the planes your mission is to protect to go save your buddy. It very hard to teach it and even harder to do. In Naval Aviation there are no easy days.The other great thing Tom did was he talked about the importance of ground maintenance workers and the people who assemble all of the bombs and loaded the guns and bombs on the aircraft. A

Even with a ghost writer the writing in the book was a little rough. Unless you are up to a lot of recitation of missions that sound just like the previous mission this won't be your book. But, if you really really want to know what flying a Corsair in WWII was like this is the book. For anyone who thought being a carrier pilot was a glamorous romantic romp this book should set you straight. It was a random numbers game and yours could come up at any time. In the end "The Jolly Rogers" received little recognition from the Navy for their incredible accomplishments. The first quarter of the book explains the difficulties in bringing the Corsair into the fleet as a combat platform. The Navy was on the verge of throwing the Corsair on the junk heap of also rans. Early on the Corsair was loaded with problems, but Tom Blackburn saw its potential and with some pretty smart junk yard engineering turned it into a plane the pilots loved.

Following his WW II commands, Admiral Tom Blackburn also commanded the aircraft carrier, Midway, in the 1950s. He retired as a Captain, USN. His (and co-writer Eric Hammel's) book, The Jolly Rogers, gives a very detailed account of how he trained fighter pilots at the Opa-Locka air field in Florida at the outset of WW II; of the various planes they flew; and of the specific air combat tactics taught. But most of the book is devoted to the story of fighter squadron VF - 17, The Fighting Seventeenth. In January 1943 Blackburn is ordered to form the VF - 17, the second fighter squadron to receive the new Corsair fighter, known as the "Hog" as it was as tricky to handle "as a hog on ice." Blackburn's squadron was posted on and around Guadalcanal from October 1943 to March 1944. There the VF - 17 squadron scored an outstanding record of 154.5 credits for Japanese planes destroyed; not to mention one of their last missions, a nuisance bombing (on purpose, very near misses) of a Japanese army officers' "comfort station" (The House of Flowers) on Rabaul -- the "climax" of their very successful tour of duty. Thirteen squadron pilots became aces, including Blackburn with eleven confirmed kills.Blackburn uses the first person narrator's voice throughout the book with some dialog here and there. I think you do have to be really interested in military aviation and Navy lore to fully appreciate his writing which is often dry but precise, especially in the first part of the book. But I found that once I had immersed myself in the details, his narration steadily pushed me along. By the time the Corsairs arrived and by the time the gull-winged fighters had the Skull and Cross Bones emblazoned on their engine cowls, I was hooked. His air combat descriptions are in fact enhanced by his style of writing -- no hyperbole needed. This is a first class historical memoir which chronicles the defeat of Japanese air power in the Solomons. Is it colored by his view that the Fighting Seventeenth was superior (as was his leadership) to most other squadrons and services? Sure -- but that's the fun of it.Perhaps not intended by Blackburn, but his narration clearly reveals how his character plays a significant role in his leadership skills. As he time and again ponders how to teach his squadron pilots, and to also learn from them, as to how and why to do this and not that, he is in effect writing a model of what a leader should be. I highly recommend this book to the serious reader who wishes to learn about naval aviators (and of course about their Corsairs); and about their many sacrifices and accomplishments in the Pacific Theater of WW II.--J.B.Bannister

Blackburn has saved for history the blow-by-blow account of the bravery of the officers and men of Fighting 17 in the face of a formidable aggressor, the Nation of Japan. He spares no detail of the aircraft, tactics, support and comaderie including the elation of victory and the deep pain of loss. I wish that I could have had the honor of serving under such a leader.

I'm an avid reader of World War 2 history and especially the Pacific theater. I also have always been interested in the air war and the F4U Corsair. This book documents the use of the Corsair in Marine and Navy squadrons as they debugged the procedures for usage on aircraft. It also documents the flight career of Tom Blackburn, the author, as he goes from North Africa all the way to the Solomon Islands and over thousands of miles of oceans in between. It is well written and insightful, and there is nothing like learning history from people who made it!

I've just finished No Moon Tonight by Don Charlwood, so this book had a lot to live up to. It was very readable and there was a lot of interesting information throughout. The author, commanding Navy Fighting Squadron VF-17 saw a lot of action flying over the Solomon and Bismark Islands. The squadron was very successful and we follow the action from training to combat and all the drama that comes with it. The book has a good balance of action and detail, with more and more combat as the book goes on. A good book and well worth a read

Chi, tra gli appassionati di aviazione, non è mai rimasto affascinato dal teschio, dipinto su fondo nero, che campeggia sulle derive degli F14 Tomcat del VF84 prima, e del VF103 dopo ed oggi sugli F18E? Questo è il libro che narra la nascita dei Jolly Rogers, descritta dal suo fondatore: Tom Blackburn. Corredato da belle foto, il libro dà un volto a quei ragazzi che poco più che ventenni combatterono durante la WWII nel teatro del Pacifico. Lo consiglio vivamente, anche perché, leggendolo, si fa un passo indietro nel tempo, dentro la Seconda Guerra Mondiale.

Hier weiß jemand, von was er schreibt. Sicher ist die Einstellung des Staffelkommandanten aus heutiger Sicht zu "kriegerisch", aber die Geschichte der 17. Fightersquadron ist für die, die das einzuordnen wissen informativ und gibt einen guten Einblick in das, was die jungen Leute damals leisten mussten und wollten. Lesenswert!

If you like military history , it's a great read.