Wingmen (novel)
Wingmen is a war novel by American author Ensan Case. It was originally published on November 28, 1979, by Avon Books. The novel follows the lives and the relationship development between Ensign Fred Trusteau and Lieutenant commander Jack Hardigan, two United States Navy fighter pilots who are part of the fictional fighter squadron VF-20, during World War II. After its original publishing, Wingmen soon went out of print and fell into obscurity. However, through the years, the novel started gaining a cult following and recognization as one of the first instances of gay protagonism in the genre, which led to its first republication in 2012, by Cheyenne Publishing. It's Case's first and most known of his two published novels. Plot The novel is set in the first half of the 1940s, during World War II. Unsatisfied with the squadron to which he belongs, Ensign Fred Trusteau, a United States Naval Aviator, offers to fill a vacant position in the Air Group Twenty's fighter squadron. He is then quickly transferred to VF-20 (the "Fighting Twenty"), which is led by Lieutenant commander Jack Hardigan, a man which Fred almost instantly considers more organized and well-mannered than his older commander. Right on his