The air war in the Pacific was unlike war in Europe or North Africa. The Pacific war was a battle over islands that were separated by fairly large stretches of water. There were not large armadas of bombers nor was the fighter opposition very large either. The Japanese were constantly plagued with a poor supply line that often meant no spares to get planes up. For the Allies, missions meant long periods of time over water, not a very friendly area in which to be forced to ditch.

Most of the really strong Japanese opposition came early in the war when their air units were at full strength and were manned by pilots with a goodly amount of experience. The Allies had the benefit of a decent logistics supply line, but were lacking in experience, something that was quickly learned simply by being in combat. Encounters with each other were fairly frequent during this period of time and as is often the case, both sides grossly exaggerated their successes against each other.

This is the third book in this series and covers operations in the Solomons and New Guinea from 1942-1944. Like the others in this series, this is not a strict historical record that goes from point A to B. Indeed, it is more a book of engagements and small events in the air struggle of this time. The author has picked fifteen different stories to provide the flavor of what combat and life itself was during the period covered by the book. This is just like what was provided in Volume 2, only with different units facing each other.

There are stories of fighter against fighter combat as well as interceptions of bombers from both sides. Each of the chapters is accompanied by images depicting the combatants as well as a page of full color profiles. Included are notes on the various camouflage and markings worn by the aircraft involved. To make things more interesting, there are sometimes images of the remnants of one of the aircraft involved.k To say the jungles have not been kind to these relics would be a bit of an understatement. 

It is a different way to tell a story and one that I found quite enjoyable. I know you will as well. This book is highly recommended.

January 2021

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