Army Air Forces
in
World War II

Vol. IV
The Pacific: Guadalcanal to Saipan
August 1942 to July 1944

Prepared Under the Editorship of
Wesley Frank Craven, Princeton University
James Lea Cate, University of Chicago

 


Contents

  Forward v
  I. The Crisis in the South and Southwest Pacific
Richard L. Watson, Duke University
Kramer J. Rohfleisch, San Diego State College
 
1. New Guinea and the Solomons 3
    Richard L. Watson, Duke University
Kramer J. Rohfleisch, San Diego State College
 
2. The Battle for Guadalcanal 37
    Kramer J. Rohfleisch, San Diego State College  
3. The Thirteenth Air Force 61
    Kramer J. Rohfleisch, San Diego State College  
4. The Papuan Campaign 92
    Richard L. Watson, Duke University  
5. Battle of the Bismarck Sea 129
    Richard L. Watson, Duke University  
6. Huon Gulf and Peninsula 163
    Richard L. Watson, Duke University  
 
  II. Target Rabaul
Kramer J. Rohfleisch, San Diego State College
James C. Olson, Nebraska State Historical Society
Capt. Berhardt L. Mortensen, Air Force Historical Division
 
 
7. The Central Solomons 203
    Kramer J. Rohfleisch, San Diego State College  
8. Bougainville 245
    Kramer J. Rohfleisch, San DIego State College  
9. The Gilberts and Marshalls 281
    James C. Olson, Nebraska State Historical Society  
10. Rabaul and Cape Gloucester 311
    Capt. Bernhardt L. Mortensen, Air Force Historical Division  
 
  III. The North Pacific
Harry L. Coles, Ohio State University
 
 
11. The Aleutians Campaign 359
 
  IV. China-Burma-India
Herbert Weaver, Vanderbilt University
Lee Bowen, Air Force Historical Division
 
 
12. The Tenth Air Force 405
    Herbert Weaver, Vanderbilt University  
13. Problems of Command 435
    Herbert Weaver, Vanderbilt University
Lee Bowen, Air Force Historical Division
 
14. The Pattern of India-Burma Operations, 1943 460
    Herbert Weaver, Vanderbilt University  
15. Allied Offensive in Burma 494
    Lee Bowen, Air Force Historical Division  
16. Fourteenth Air Force Operations, January 1943-June 1944 518
    Herbert Weaver, Vanderbilt University  
 
  V. Pacific Junction
Frank Futrell, Air Force Historical Division
Capt. Bernhardt L. Mortensen, Air Force Historical Division
James C. Olson, Nebraska State Historical Society
 
 
17. The Admiralties 549
    Capt. Bernhardt L. Mortensen, Air Force Historical Division
Frank Futrell, Air Force Historical Division
 
18. Hollandia 575
    Frank Futrell, Air Force Historical Division  
19. Final Victory in New Guinea 615
    Frank Futrell, Air Force Historical Division  
20. The Marianas 671
    James C. Olson, Nebraska State Historical Society
Capt. Bernhardt L. Mortensen, Air Force Historical Division
 
 
Notes (Footnotes are included/hyperlinked with each chapter.)
Glossary  
Index 793

List of Maps and Charts

Pacific Theaters Frontispiece
New Guinea and the Solomons 5
Island Chains of the South Pacific 12
Solomon Islands 39
Northwest Corner of Guadalcanal 54
Papuan Peninsula 95
Buna Area 109
Principal American Air Bases, November 1942 115
Huon Gulf Area 175
Central Solomons 205
Guadalcanal Airfields 216
Enemy Defenses, Munda Field 230
Bougainville 247
Gilbert and Marshall Islands 285
Rabaul and Gazelle Peninsula 313
New Britain 315
Alaska and the Aleutian Islands 362
North Pacific Ocean 393
Allied and Japanese Main Lines of Communication, 1942-1943 408
India-Burma Sector 462
Railway Transportation in Burma 470
Burma Operations, November 1943-May 1944 496
CBI Battle Area, November 1943-May 1944 533
Admiralty Islands 556
Eastern Manus and Los Negros Island 560
Hollandia Strikes, 30 March-16 April 1944 593
Japanese and Allied Airfields, April 1944 600
Aitape Area 606
Wakde-Sarmi Area 618
Wakde Islands 627
Schouten Islands 633
Noemfoor Island 653
The Sansapoor Area 662
Pacific Battle Area, Spring 1944 673

List of Illustrations

Facing
The Prize of Guadalcanal 62
  Japanese Airstrip, Lunga Point, 7 August 1942  
  Henderson Field, August 1944  
Port Moresby 62
  The Harbor  
  Wards (8-Mile) Drome  
The Buna Area 94
  Buna Mission  
  Sanananda Track  
Papua Airstrips 94
  Kokoda, July 1942  
  Dobodura, February 1943  
Hit 'em High, Hit 'em Low 142
  Direct Hit by B-24  
  A-20 at Mast Height  
Battle of the Bismarck Sea 142
  Wounded Destroyer  
  Low-Level Attack on Freighter  
Kenney's B-25's Get a Japanese Corvette 142
  First Pass  
  On the Mark  
Death of a Sally, Bismarck Sea 142
Death of a Sally, Bismarck Sea 142
Enemy Bases Under Attack 174
  Salamaua  
  Wewak  
Nadzab: Paratroop Landing, 5 September 1943 174
Fifth Air Force Maintenance 174
  Sheet Metal Shop, Port Moresby  
  B-25 "Strafer"  
New Guinea Manpower 174
  As Tractor  
  As Steamroller  
Bougainville 254
  Pre-invasion Bombing  
  Beachhead  
Airfield Development at Bougainville  
Airfield Development at Bougainville  
Airfield Development at Bougainville  
Air Evacuation of Casualties 286
  By Thirteenth Air Force C-47  
  By Liaison Plane in New Guinea  
Seventh Air Force: "One Damned Island After Another" 286
  Nauru  
  Wotje  
Rabaul: Revetments, Vunakanau Airfield 334
Rabaul, 2 November 1943 334
  Parafrags along the Docks  
  One Maru Down  
  Direct Hit  
  Phosphorus Bombs on Airfield  
Isolation of Kavieng 334
  Attack on Convoy off Kavieng  
  Direct Hit on Destroyer off Kavieng  
Maintenance: Heavy Bombers 422
  Ladd Field, Alaska  
  Los Negros  
Fighters for China 422
  Flying Tiger over China  
  Chinese and American Pilots  
Airlift to China 438
  C-87 Returns from China to Texpur  
  C-46 over the Hump  
General Stratemeyer's Bosses 438
Airfield Construction, CBI 494
  Cheng-kung, China  
  India Base  
Control Towers, CBI 494
  Kunming, China  
  Jorhat, India  
Enemy Communications in Burma 494
  Attack on Train, Mandalay-Yeu Railway  
  Bombing Meza Bridge, 30 January 1944  
7th Bombardment Group En Route to Burma Target  
Supply in Forward Areas 590
  Open Dumps, Bougainville  
  Engineer Supplies, Los Negros  
Hollandia: Knockout of Enemy Air Power, 30 March-3 April 1944  
Hollandia: Knockout of Enemy Air Power, 30 March-3 April 1944  
Hollandia: Knockout of Enemy Air Power, 30 March-3 April 1944  
Camp Areas 590
  Mud at Finschhafen  
  Laundry and Shower at Hollandia  
D-Day for Green Islands; B-25's En Route to Rabaul Pass Invasion Fleet 590
AAF Fighters 622
  P-39 Airacobras, Makin  
  Refueling P-38 Lightning, Middelburg  
Defensive Measures 622
  Lookout on New Caledonia  
  Portable Radar, Noemfoor  
  Dispersal, Espiritu Santo  
  Antiaircraft Emplacement, Sansapor  
Postholing Enemy Airstrips 622
  But, New Guinea  
  Wotje Atoll  
Rescue Operations 654
  By PBY, Hermit Island  
  By Submarine, off Los Negros  
  P-47 Pilot, Noemfoor  
Air Supply by C-47 654
  Advance Strip, New Guinea  
  Airtrain to Finschhafen  
  Cargo Loading, Stirling Island  
  Supply Drop, Bougainville  
Noemfoor: Paratroop Landing 654
High-Altitude Bombing 686
  Thirteenth Air Force, Biak  
  5th Bombardment Group, Yap  
Kwajalein as an American Base, April 1944 686
Seventh Air Force over Truk  
The Enemy Scores 686
  A-20 Hit by Flak, Kokas  
  B-24 Hit by Bomb, Funafuti  


Transcribed and formatted for HTML by Patrick Clancey, HyperWar Foundation