Honor Roll: Warbirds Unlimited Salutes
William "Bill" Wolf
William "Bill" Wolf
William Wolf: WWII Historian-Author
Bill Wolf of Fountain Hills Arizona has long been a friend of Warbirds Unlimited. We are honored to count him among our supporters deserving recognition in our “Honor Roll”. He is a remarkable man that has contributed so much to preserving WWII history for future generations. Thank you, Mr. Wolf!
Bill Wolf of Fountain Hills Arizona has long been a friend of Warbirds Unlimited. We are honored to count him among our supporters deserving recognition in our “Honor Roll”. He is a remarkable man that has contributed so much to preserving WWII history for future generations. Thank you, Mr. Wolf!
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William Wolf Biography
[email protected]
William Wolf Collection
Lifelong Passion
Over the past 50 years my passion has been WW-2 history; particularly aerial combat and for the past 24 years I have utilized my extensive WW-2 library to author 28 books and numerous articles concerning WW-2 aviation history.
I was a dentist for 22 years in Fort Lauderdale, FL before retiring at the age of 45 to pursue my aviation history research and writing interests and outdoor pastimes of hiking, mountain climbing, road and mountain biking, and sea kayaking. Over the past 45 years I have collected more than 27,000+ books, copied material, and magazines; 10,000+ photographs, more than 800 videos and DVDs; 1,500+ CDs containing multiple scanned manuals, technical reports, and books. All are housed in my air-conditioned garage and study (while my wife's car sits in the hot Arizona sun!). I probably have nearly every significant book written on WW-II aviation and complete collections of every aviation magazine published since 1939. Also included in my collection are thousands of hard and scanned copies of aviation unit and pilot’s histories, crew manuals, aircraft technical, structural and maintenance manuals. The crème d crème of my library are the 2,000 reels of rare microfilm from original WW-II sources (equivalent to 2.5 million pages, distilled, indexed, and placed on microfiche). My microfilm collection includes a multitude of USAAF, USN and USMC group and squadron histories, 100s of aircraft manuals, complete Japanese Monograph series, complete US and British Strategic Bombing Surveys as well as complete USAF Historical Studies and many 1,000s of vintage Intelligence, Technical, and original Combat Reports. Over the years I have been fortunate to meet many fighter aces, other pilots, and fellow aviation buffs who have shared stories, material, and photographs with me (I have over 5,000 photos of fighter aces alone). I have made many multi-day expeditions to various military libraries, museums and photo depositories with my copy machine and camera accumulating literally reams and reams of information and 1,000s of photographs. I also once had a photo darkroom where I developed 1,000s of rare photos from microfilm negatives and from other sources.
Walking through my garage cum library and study is like visiting a World War Two museum. On display are hundreds of model aircraft, hundreds of rare signed and numbered lithographs, thousands of aces autographs of all nations (1,000+ of the almost 1,400 US aces signatures). I also have the signatures of the top aces of all combatants of WW-II and models of their aircraft including 500+ signed and numbered lithographs and personal photos of significant aviators mostly of WW-II but also other combat eras. My memorabilia collection includes a piece of the “Enola Gay” atomic bomber, a piece of a Zero fighter that was shot down during the Pearl Harbor attack and my prize possession, a piece of the Japanese bomber carrying Admiral Yamamoto, the commander of the Japanese military and architect of the Pearl Harbor attack. The bomber was shot down in April 1943, and Yamamoto’s death changed the course of the war for Japan. My collection also includes 100s of model aircraft, tanks, and vehicles.
Bill Wolf Collection Donation Chronology
During 2004, after a health scare, I contacted the newly named National WW2 Museum in New Orleans which sent a representative to consider my collection. They contracted the collection, and I willed it to them, updating the donation every five when we updated our wills. However, in 2021, during the COVID crisis, I received a notification from them stating that the Museum was no longer accepting books and was digitalizing everything. Being 80 years old, I needed to find a good home for my collection. I then contacted all three Service Academies, several Universities, and Air Museums but none were interested or didn’t have the space. However, one Texas Air Museum would accept the collection only if I packed and shipped it! A book dealer would give me $25,000, if he could cherry pick 5,000 books. I have many books worth $100s! In spring 2022, I saw a Fox News interview with Dan Starks, former CEO of Abbott Laboratories, who has the wonderful National Museum of Armored Vehicles in Dubois, WY. I contacted him and he flew in his private jet to Fountain Hills with his Curator and accepted the books only and then flew my wife and me back to his Museum for an impressive tour. However, in the summer of 2022, we were vacationing in Breckenridge, CO and I had a kidney stone which could only be treated 200 miles away in Colorado Springs. While there, we visited the National Museum of WW2 Aviation where I discussed my collection. Bill Klears and a curator flew to Fountain Hills to assess my collection, and were very enthusiastic and accepted the entire collections, books, models, lithographs, and all. Since this museum was a much better fit for my WW2 aviation-oriented collection, Dan Starks graciously released it. On 12 October, Museum personnel arrived in two 26-foot trucks to spend three days packing everything and we will have a garage for the first time in 24 years!
Click Here for Link to National Museum World War II Aviation Website
William Wolf Books 2023
Dr. William Wolf, Fountain Hills, AZ aviation historian and collector, is the author of 27 WWII aviation books with several more waiting to be published. His first book is Death Rattlers: Marine Squadron VMF-323 over Okinawa (216 pages, 420 photos). His comprehensive “Ultimate Look” US Bomber Series includes The North American B-25 Mitchell: The Ultimate Look from Drawing Board to Flying Arsenal (465 pages and 500+ photos); The Consolidated B-32, The Ultimate Look from Drawing Board to Scrapyard (260 pages/400+ photos); The Douglas B-18 Bolo: The Ultimate Look from Drawing Board to U-Boat Hunter (225 pages/250 photos); The Boeing B-29: The Ultimate Look from Drawing Board to VJ-Day (360 pages/500+photos); his comprehensive Martin B-26 Marauder: From Drawing Board to Widow Maker Vindicated (640 pages/900 photos and drawings); an extensive volume on the Douglas A-20 Havoc: From Drawing Board to Peerless Allied Light Bomber (520 pages/700+ photos and drawings); and The Douglas XB-19 America’s Want-to-Be Intercontinental Bomber. A definitive, standalone three-volume set: US Aerial Armament in World War II: Vol. 1 Guns, Ammunition, and Turrets (450 pages and 600+ photos and drawings); Volume 2: Bombs, Bombsights, and Bombing (285 pages and 400+ photos and drawings); and Volume 3: Air-Dropped, Air-Launched, and Secret Weapons (385 pages and 400+ photos). He has also published USAAF Jabos in the MTO and ETO: American Fighter-Bombers of World War Two (392 pages and 560 photos) that is the companion volume to his previous title; Victory Roll: The American Fighter Pilot and Aircraft in World War Two (456 pages, 670 photos). Wolf’s other books are Conquerors of the Skies: Seeking Distance, Endurance and the Intercontinental Bomber; and The 13th Fighter Command in World War II: Air Combat over Guadalcanal and the Solomons (316 pages, over 400 photos). He has completed a massive three-volume history of the 5th Fighter Command in WW-2: (450+ pages/600+ photos each volume). The first volume covers the 5FC from Pearl Harbor to the Reduction of Rabaul. The second volume continues through New Guinea and the Philippines to the end of the war. A companion third volume covers the 5FC vs. Japan: Pilots, Aircraft, Units, and Tactics. These titles were published by Schiffer Publishers (www.schifferooks.com). He has also authored The Henschel HS 293 and Ruhrstahl SD-1400X, “Fritz X” (50 pages, 50 photos, Merriam Press) and dozens of articles for popular and scholarly aviation magazines. On Target: The Illustrated History of America’s First Aerial Guided Missiles and Drones: 1917-1950 was published by Fonthill Books in February 2021. Osprey’s Experimental Aircraft Series has published a volume on the XB-40/41 Bomber Escorts in November 2020 and the Douglas XB-19 in October 2021. Schiffer published two volumes on the B-25 for their Legends of Warfare series during fall 2022. The currently completed final two volumes in his USAF bomber series: Consolidated B-24 Liberator: Volume I: Reuben Fleet, the Factories, and the Product is scheduled for publication during early 2024 to be followed by Volume II: In Detail and In Flight during 2025. He has completed a two-volume set for Pen & Sword: Special Operations B-24 Liberator: The Unknown Secret and Specialized Duties Aircraft for publication during early 2024 and Liberator Haulers: B-24 Transport and Cargo Aircraft in WWII for late 2024. He has currently completed Sky Hookers: An Illustrated History of Hook-on Aircraft and Their Dirigible Motherships and is working to finish a follow up volume: Motherships and Parasites: An Illustrated History of Manned Composite Aircraft from World War I into the Space Age. He has also in the photo/caption stages for a project: For Fuehrer and Emperor: The German Reichenberg and Japanese Ohka Manned Suicide Flying Bombs.
http://www.fhtimes.com/features/featured_stories/two-more-wwii-books-from-prolific-author/article_0b14101a-9b67-11e4-96ee-af7b1a128cde.html
[email protected]
William Wolf Collection
Lifelong Passion
Over the past 50 years my passion has been WW-2 history; particularly aerial combat and for the past 24 years I have utilized my extensive WW-2 library to author 28 books and numerous articles concerning WW-2 aviation history.
I was a dentist for 22 years in Fort Lauderdale, FL before retiring at the age of 45 to pursue my aviation history research and writing interests and outdoor pastimes of hiking, mountain climbing, road and mountain biking, and sea kayaking. Over the past 45 years I have collected more than 27,000+ books, copied material, and magazines; 10,000+ photographs, more than 800 videos and DVDs; 1,500+ CDs containing multiple scanned manuals, technical reports, and books. All are housed in my air-conditioned garage and study (while my wife's car sits in the hot Arizona sun!). I probably have nearly every significant book written on WW-II aviation and complete collections of every aviation magazine published since 1939. Also included in my collection are thousands of hard and scanned copies of aviation unit and pilot’s histories, crew manuals, aircraft technical, structural and maintenance manuals. The crème d crème of my library are the 2,000 reels of rare microfilm from original WW-II sources (equivalent to 2.5 million pages, distilled, indexed, and placed on microfiche). My microfilm collection includes a multitude of USAAF, USN and USMC group and squadron histories, 100s of aircraft manuals, complete Japanese Monograph series, complete US and British Strategic Bombing Surveys as well as complete USAF Historical Studies and many 1,000s of vintage Intelligence, Technical, and original Combat Reports. Over the years I have been fortunate to meet many fighter aces, other pilots, and fellow aviation buffs who have shared stories, material, and photographs with me (I have over 5,000 photos of fighter aces alone). I have made many multi-day expeditions to various military libraries, museums and photo depositories with my copy machine and camera accumulating literally reams and reams of information and 1,000s of photographs. I also once had a photo darkroom where I developed 1,000s of rare photos from microfilm negatives and from other sources.
Walking through my garage cum library and study is like visiting a World War Two museum. On display are hundreds of model aircraft, hundreds of rare signed and numbered lithographs, thousands of aces autographs of all nations (1,000+ of the almost 1,400 US aces signatures). I also have the signatures of the top aces of all combatants of WW-II and models of their aircraft including 500+ signed and numbered lithographs and personal photos of significant aviators mostly of WW-II but also other combat eras. My memorabilia collection includes a piece of the “Enola Gay” atomic bomber, a piece of a Zero fighter that was shot down during the Pearl Harbor attack and my prize possession, a piece of the Japanese bomber carrying Admiral Yamamoto, the commander of the Japanese military and architect of the Pearl Harbor attack. The bomber was shot down in April 1943, and Yamamoto’s death changed the course of the war for Japan. My collection also includes 100s of model aircraft, tanks, and vehicles.
Bill Wolf Collection Donation Chronology
During 2004, after a health scare, I contacted the newly named National WW2 Museum in New Orleans which sent a representative to consider my collection. They contracted the collection, and I willed it to them, updating the donation every five when we updated our wills. However, in 2021, during the COVID crisis, I received a notification from them stating that the Museum was no longer accepting books and was digitalizing everything. Being 80 years old, I needed to find a good home for my collection. I then contacted all three Service Academies, several Universities, and Air Museums but none were interested or didn’t have the space. However, one Texas Air Museum would accept the collection only if I packed and shipped it! A book dealer would give me $25,000, if he could cherry pick 5,000 books. I have many books worth $100s! In spring 2022, I saw a Fox News interview with Dan Starks, former CEO of Abbott Laboratories, who has the wonderful National Museum of Armored Vehicles in Dubois, WY. I contacted him and he flew in his private jet to Fountain Hills with his Curator and accepted the books only and then flew my wife and me back to his Museum for an impressive tour. However, in the summer of 2022, we were vacationing in Breckenridge, CO and I had a kidney stone which could only be treated 200 miles away in Colorado Springs. While there, we visited the National Museum of WW2 Aviation where I discussed my collection. Bill Klears and a curator flew to Fountain Hills to assess my collection, and were very enthusiastic and accepted the entire collections, books, models, lithographs, and all. Since this museum was a much better fit for my WW2 aviation-oriented collection, Dan Starks graciously released it. On 12 October, Museum personnel arrived in two 26-foot trucks to spend three days packing everything and we will have a garage for the first time in 24 years!
Click Here for Link to National Museum World War II Aviation Website
William Wolf Books 2023
Dr. William Wolf, Fountain Hills, AZ aviation historian and collector, is the author of 27 WWII aviation books with several more waiting to be published. His first book is Death Rattlers: Marine Squadron VMF-323 over Okinawa (216 pages, 420 photos). His comprehensive “Ultimate Look” US Bomber Series includes The North American B-25 Mitchell: The Ultimate Look from Drawing Board to Flying Arsenal (465 pages and 500+ photos); The Consolidated B-32, The Ultimate Look from Drawing Board to Scrapyard (260 pages/400+ photos); The Douglas B-18 Bolo: The Ultimate Look from Drawing Board to U-Boat Hunter (225 pages/250 photos); The Boeing B-29: The Ultimate Look from Drawing Board to VJ-Day (360 pages/500+photos); his comprehensive Martin B-26 Marauder: From Drawing Board to Widow Maker Vindicated (640 pages/900 photos and drawings); an extensive volume on the Douglas A-20 Havoc: From Drawing Board to Peerless Allied Light Bomber (520 pages/700+ photos and drawings); and The Douglas XB-19 America’s Want-to-Be Intercontinental Bomber. A definitive, standalone three-volume set: US Aerial Armament in World War II: Vol. 1 Guns, Ammunition, and Turrets (450 pages and 600+ photos and drawings); Volume 2: Bombs, Bombsights, and Bombing (285 pages and 400+ photos and drawings); and Volume 3: Air-Dropped, Air-Launched, and Secret Weapons (385 pages and 400+ photos). He has also published USAAF Jabos in the MTO and ETO: American Fighter-Bombers of World War Two (392 pages and 560 photos) that is the companion volume to his previous title; Victory Roll: The American Fighter Pilot and Aircraft in World War Two (456 pages, 670 photos). Wolf’s other books are Conquerors of the Skies: Seeking Distance, Endurance and the Intercontinental Bomber; and The 13th Fighter Command in World War II: Air Combat over Guadalcanal and the Solomons (316 pages, over 400 photos). He has completed a massive three-volume history of the 5th Fighter Command in WW-2: (450+ pages/600+ photos each volume). The first volume covers the 5FC from Pearl Harbor to the Reduction of Rabaul. The second volume continues through New Guinea and the Philippines to the end of the war. A companion third volume covers the 5FC vs. Japan: Pilots, Aircraft, Units, and Tactics. These titles were published by Schiffer Publishers (www.schifferooks.com). He has also authored The Henschel HS 293 and Ruhrstahl SD-1400X, “Fritz X” (50 pages, 50 photos, Merriam Press) and dozens of articles for popular and scholarly aviation magazines. On Target: The Illustrated History of America’s First Aerial Guided Missiles and Drones: 1917-1950 was published by Fonthill Books in February 2021. Osprey’s Experimental Aircraft Series has published a volume on the XB-40/41 Bomber Escorts in November 2020 and the Douglas XB-19 in October 2021. Schiffer published two volumes on the B-25 for their Legends of Warfare series during fall 2022. The currently completed final two volumes in his USAF bomber series: Consolidated B-24 Liberator: Volume I: Reuben Fleet, the Factories, and the Product is scheduled for publication during early 2024 to be followed by Volume II: In Detail and In Flight during 2025. He has completed a two-volume set for Pen & Sword: Special Operations B-24 Liberator: The Unknown Secret and Specialized Duties Aircraft for publication during early 2024 and Liberator Haulers: B-24 Transport and Cargo Aircraft in WWII for late 2024. He has currently completed Sky Hookers: An Illustrated History of Hook-on Aircraft and Their Dirigible Motherships and is working to finish a follow up volume: Motherships and Parasites: An Illustrated History of Manned Composite Aircraft from World War I into the Space Age. He has also in the photo/caption stages for a project: For Fuehrer and Emperor: The German Reichenberg and Japanese Ohka Manned Suicide Flying Bombs.
http://www.fhtimes.com/features/featured_stories/two-more-wwii-books-from-prolific-author/article_0b14101a-9b67-11e4-96ee-af7b1a128cde.html