Robert Gandt (born December 15, 1939) is an American author and aviator. Gandt has written and published more than a dozen books on military and aviation history and military adventure fiction.

Biography

Gandt was born in Springfield, Missouri, and raised in nearby Coffeyville, Kansas. At age twenty he was the youngest aviator and officer then on active duty in the U. S. Navy. After accumulating over 300 carrier landings and nearly 2000 hours in the A-4 Skyhawk, he joined

Pan American World Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...

as an airline pilot in 1965. With the sale of Pan Am's Atlantic routes in 1991, he transferred to

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...

as a captain and check airman. In 1985, Gandt was a founder and team member of the Redhawk Formation Aerobatic Team, flying

SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 The SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 (now Leonardo SF-260) is an Italian light aircraft which has been commonly marketed as a military trainer and aerobatics aircraft. The SF.260 was designed by Italian aircraft designer Stelio Frati, while production wo ...

military trainers in precision formation aerobatic routines. Gandt's writing career began in the mid-1970s when he was based in Hong Kong. ''Season of Storms: The Siege of Hong Kong 1941,'' was drawn from the newspaper series he produced for th
South China Morning Post
His subsequent works were derived from his own experience and connections to military and aviation figures. Gandt's naval aviation chronicle ''Bogeys and Bandit''s (Viking, 1997) was adapted for the CBS series Pensacola: Wings of Gold, for which Gandt worked as a writer and technical consultant. The first of his novels, ''With Hostile Intent,'' was published by

Penguin Group Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a merger that was finalised on 1 July 2013, with Bertelsmann initial ...

in 2001. With co-author Bill White and with a foreword by Senator

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

, Gandt wrote ''Intrepid: The Epic Story of America's Most Legendary Warship'' (Random House, 2009), which won the Admiral Farragut Book Award. His multi-viewpoint account of the World War II battle for Okinawa, ''The Twilight Warriors'' (Random house, 2010) was the winner of the

Samuel Eliot Morison Award for Naval Literature The Samuel Eliot Morison Award for Naval Literature is for literature about the United States Navy. The award was created in 1982 by the New York Commandery of the Naval Order of the United States, who administers and chooses the winner which is ...

.Naval Order of the United States, 2012 Spring Edition
Retrieved 1 December 2012. Gandt’s best-selling book ''Angels in the Sky'' (W.W. Norton, 2017) recounts the saga of the volunteer airmen who fought in Israel’s 1948 war of independence. He is a graduate of Charter Oak State College with a B.A in History. He is a member and contributor to The

Tailhook Association The Tailhook Association is a U.S.-based non-profit fraternal organization supporting the interests of sea-based aviation, with emphasis on aircraft carriers. The word tailhook refers to the hook underneath the tail of the aircraft that catches the ...

The Authors Guild The Authors Guild is America's oldest and largest professional organization for writers and provides advocacy on issues of free expression and copyright protection. Since its founding in 1912 as the Authors League of America, it has counted among ...

Mensa International Mensa is the largest and oldest high-IQ society in the world. It is a non-profit organisation open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardised, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test. Mensa formally compr ...

, the Experimental Aircraft Association, Quiet Birdmen and the

Naval Order of the United States The Naval Order of the United States was established in 1890 as a hereditary organization in the United States for members of the American sea services. Its primary mission is to encourage research and writing on naval and maritime subjects and pr ...

. Gandt holds a black belt in

Shaolin Kempo Karate Shaolin Kenpo Karate (or "SKK") is a martial art style that combines the Five Animals of Shaolin Kung Fu (Shaolinquan), the core competency of Kempo, the hard-hitting linear explosiveness of traditional Karate, as well as the power of Western boxi ...

Works

Non-fiction

* ''Season of Storms: The Siege of Hong Kong 1941'' (SCMP Press, 1981)

ASIN Asin Thottumkal (born 26 October 1985), known mononymously as Asin, is a former Indian actress who appeared predominantly in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu films. She is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer. She has received three Filmfare Awards. She beg ...

BooooEDW4G * ''China Clipper: The Age of the Great Flying Boats'' (Naval Institute Press, 1991/2010) * ''Skygods: The Fall of Pan Am'' (Wm. Morrow, 1995/2012) * ''Bogeys and Bandits: The Making of a Fighter Pilot'' (Viking, 1997) * ''Fly Low, Fly Fast: Inside the Reno Air Races'' (Viking, 1999) * ''Intrepid: The Epic Story of America's Most Legendary Warship'' (Broadway/Random House, 2008) * ''The Twilight Warriors: The Deadliest Naval Battle of WWII and the Men Who Fought It'' (Broadway/Random House 2010) * ''Mastery: A Mission Plan for Reclaiming a life of Purpose, Fitness, and Achievement '' (Dominus Press, 2015) * ''Angels in the Sky: How a Band of Volunteer Airmen Saved the New State of Israel'' (WW Norton, 2017)

Novels

* ''The President's Pilot'' (Black Star Press, 2014) * ''With Hostile Intent'' (Signet, 2001) * ''Acts of Vengeance'' (Signet, 2002) * ''Black Star'' (Signet, 2003) * ''Shadows of War'' (Signet, 2005) * ''The Killing Sky'' (Signet, 2006) * ''Black Star Rising'' (Signet, 2007)

Screen Credits

* "Boom," '' Pensacola: Wings of Gold (CBS TV Series)'' 1998. * "Blue Angel," ''Pensacola: Wings of Gold'', 1998. * "Rules of Engagement," ''Pensacola: Wings of Gold,'' 1999. * Technical consultant, Season 2, ''Pensacola: Wings of Gold,'' 1998–99. *
Chasing Reno Gold
" air racing documentary as writer, host, consultant, 2012.

Awards

, 2011, for ''The Twilight Warriors''.
Admiral Farragut Book Award
2009, with co-author Bill White for ''Intrepid''.

In the Media

*Commentator on Fox News' "Fox & Friends" television segment titled

: a discussion about Pan American Airlines. *Commentator in the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

Documentar
''Airline: The Story of Pan Am''
titled , BBC. *Guest expert speaker in the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

television series
They made America: Gamblers
" discussing Pan Am founder Juan Trippe. *Commentator in documentary

" on Pan Am. *Guest speaker in PBS documentary series
Chasing the Sun
" on the history of commercial aviation. *Lecturer
Embry Riddle University President's Series
February 27, 2012. *Commentator on the three-part PBS series �
Across the Pacific
” about Pan Am’s historic flying boat era.

References

External links

Gandt.com
Official Site
Amazon.com author's page

Crown Publishing Group Press Release

U.S Naval Institute Catalogue

Random House, Inc., Authors, Robert Gandt
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gandt, Robert 1939 births Living people 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American military writers United States Navy officers American naval historians Historians of World War II United States Naval Aviators Aviators from Florida Mensans Charter Oak State College alumni Commercial aviators American male non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers