WRESTLING (V-Five) The Aviation Training Office of the Chief of Naval Operations

The V-Five programme of the 1940s represented a comprehensive overhaul and alignment of US Naval Aviation Physical Training. The programme covered combat sports like Boxing and Wrestling, alongside Swimming, American Football, Track & Field, Swimming and more.

The wrestling edition of the V-Five programme has special poignancy as wrestling has many of the attributes designed to upskill and empower those going into combat. The volume follows the American Collegiate or Folkstyle of wrestling.

The guide is designed for military instructors, who can then follow its steps to a) fully understand the skills and techniques of the sport, and b) plan, prepare and assess training sessions to engage the aviators in practice. There is a large portion dedicated to tactical drills to hone takedowns, pins, rides and escapes. Alongside competition pools and ways to run over 50 wrestling lessons.

The volume is crisp and clear in its format (following military tradition) and is easy to follow. It is filled with many lucid, step by step photographs to help the reader understand the content and improve their ability to teach the smallest of details

The game-changing V-Five suite of training manuals helped get a generation of American aviators fit for war. Here we explore how the airmen of the US navy trained in collegiate wrestling as part of their military fitness regime.