This volume conveys detailed stories of aerial warfare in the South Pacific, chosen because both Japanese and Allied records can be matched for an accurate accounting. Often the actual outcomes are very different to the exaggerated claims made by both sides upon which many traditional histories have relied to date. Further, for each of the chosen stories photographic or other evidence enables an accurate depiction of the aircraft involved.

Through these chosen snapshots Pacific Adversaries portrays the South Pacific conflict as accurately as possible. This first volume describes confrontations between the Japanese Army Air Force (JAAF) and the Allies in New Guinea and the Solomons.

JAAF units first arrived in the South Pacific in December 1942 and effectively ceased operations in mainland New Guinea in April 1944. Theirs is a rich and colorful history about which many myths persist. Perhaps the biggest is that their Allied counterparts thought they were mainly fighting “Zeros”, a falsehood still published and accepted to this day.

In New Guinea the Allies ratcheted up a grueling, coordinated and unrelenting campaign, destroying most JAAF air power on the ground, not in the air. Their assault against Wewak’s key bases involved an interwoven and complex strategy which eventually overpowered the Japanese.

Never before have detailed accounts matched up adversaries so closely and in doing so shine light on key events in Pacific skies so many years ago.

Introduction

Glossary

Japanese Aircraft Types

Chapter 1                                             The Lucky Shot
Chapter 2                                             Collision Over Lae
Chapter 3                                             The Battle Which Never Was
Chapter 4                                             Takehashi Meets Deblanc
Chapter 5                                             Kamikaze or Miscalculation?
Chapter 6                                             A Long Legacy
Chapter 7                                             The Nama-Namba Man
Chapter 8                                             Sole Survivor – Bombura’s Tale
Chapter 9                                             Medal of Honor
Chapter 10                                          Fire-Breathing Dragon-Slayer
Chapter 11                                          Sally in the Mountains
Chapter 12                                          The Rare Sonia
Chapter 13                                          Mitchell Destroyed
Chapter 14                                          Two Boomers Down
Chapter 15                                          Ten Knights in a Bar Room
Chapter 16                                          The Last Dragon

Sources

"Although it can't really be considered, strictly speaking, a history of the air war, it scores high points for its careful, detailed explanations of these quite engrossing events."