Wooden Wolf

I trained with Jack Kelly at Quonset Point so followed his story with extreme interest. Good description of cockpit actions. I would like to make contact with him if anybody knows where the author can be found. "Bruns"

Like Deighton's "Goodbye Micky Mouse", "The Wooden Wolf" transports the reader to another time. A time when a hero was real and war was fought for a just cause. Kelly writes with expertise and makes us care for the calloused pilot Croft. The shocking ending leaves the reader breathless and the intimate detail of the planes and tactics used just add to the realism. If there ever was a book that deserved to be made into a movie, this is it. "The Wooden Wolf" is a classic.

Jack Kelly was a carrier-based night fighter pilot during WW II. He has used his experience to portray a protagonist much like himself--a naval aviator on exchange duty with the Royal Air Force, flying DeHavilland Mosquitos over Occupied Europe. Kelly's intimate knowledge of night flying is shown through his hero, Lt. John Croft, whois assigned to a mission of vital importance--assassinating Adolf Hitler from the air. Croft's romance with SubLt Rosemary Ince, a radar controller, adds dimension to the story. The climax, involving Croft's duel with an equally skilled opponent in a Heinkel 219, will surprise many readers and leave them in admiration of a novel that comes close to equaling Len Deighton's excellent "Bomber."