ARTICLES
The Untold Story of Central Pacific Air Operations – Part II
By the summer of 1943, Allied leaders had begun laying the groundwork for a major offensive across the Central Pacific. While the coming battles at Tarawa and the Gilbert Islands would become famous, the months preceding those operations are often...
The Untold Story of Central Pacific Air Operations, 1943 – Part I
When historians discuss the Central Pacific campaign of World War II, attention typically focuses on the major amphibious invasions that began in late 1943. Yet months before the famous island-hopping offensive gained momentum, American and...
Japanese Pilot Training and Experience in the Pacific Air War — Part II
In Part I of this series we examined the broad contours of Japanese pilot training and experience during the Pacific War. Part II goes deeper — and gets more specific. The evidence presented here comes primarily from prisoner-of-war interrogation...
Japanese Pilot Training and Experience in the Pacific Air War – Part 1
This article attempts to contribute to the story of the Pacific Air War by exploring the dynamics of the aviation training and experience of the combatants. In doing so some comparative information will be presented on the Allied, primarily...
The Dawn of Precision Strike: The Origins of Guided Weapons in World War II
The Shift Toward Precision Warfare Precision strike is often viewed as a modern development, but its foundations were laid during the Second World War. Faced with the limitations of conventional bombing—particularly against maneuvering...
Introducing the Type 1 Model II Fighter (Ki-43-II “Oscar II”) in New Guinea
The Arrival of the Type 1 Fighter in the Southeast Area The Japanese Army Air Force Type 1 fighter (Ki 43) arrived in New Guinea in December 1942 as part of the JAAF’s contribution to help bolster air power in the Japanese Southeast Area comprised...
Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien (Tony): Getting the Type 3 Fighter into Combat, 1943
The story of early operations of the elegant looking Japanese Army Type 3 Fighter is one that should be told. Despite having great potential, the fighter was initially a disappointment to the Japanese command at a critical period. This attempt to...
Zero Fighters Over the Bay of Bengal: Air Group 331 in WWII
During World War II, Japanese Zero fighters ranged far beyond the better-known battlefields of the Pacific, operating over the Bay of Bengal in defense of Japan’s southern resource area. This article examines the little-documented history of...
How Fast Was the Zero? Revisiting Japanese Fighter Maximum Speeds
I have written about the Zero 21’s maximum speed previously in this article. Published sources list Zero 21 performance across a surprisingly wide range. In addition to older references, the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum currently has an article on...
Exploring South Pacific Air War: Insights from Rick on WW2TV
Last week, Rick had the pleasure of sitting down with Paul, the host of WW2TV, for a thoughtful conversation about his book, South Pacific Air War. Together, they explore the story behind the book, what drew Rick into researching this...
Zeros Over Southern China: Japan’s Forgotten Air War of 1943–1944
In the summer of 1940, the Mitsubishi Type Zero carrier fighter fresh from service testing was sent to China for its introduction to combat. From its first engagement with Chinese fighters, it achieved amazing success. Chinese fighters soon began...
Pearl Harbor – A Tragedy Revisited Part II
In December 1939, the U.S. War Department directed the Hawaiian Department, the senior Army command in Hawaii, to establish a capability to detect and track aircraft in the vicinity of the islands. Plans for an Aircraft Warning Service (AWS) were...
Additional Publications
- Tuluvu’s Air War (Cape Gloucester)
- Masao Yoshihara’s Story: May 14th-25th, 1943
- Error Oft Repeated – The Anabuki Hoax
- Murakami: September 11th, 1942 – The Rest of the Story
- First Kamikaze? Attack on HMAS Australia — October 21st, 1944
- 248th Hiko Sentai: A Japanese “Hard luck” Fighter Unit
University of New Hampshire Magazine
Book Reviews
- Ki-43 Hayabusa aces of World War 2 (via Wayback Machine)
- P-40 Warhawk vs. Ki-43 Oscar (via Wayback Machine)
- Jimmy Doolittle, Hap Arnold, and the Battle of Britain: The 100-Octane Story (2020)
- Uncertain Wings: Curtiss Hawk 75 in China (2008)
- Illusive Target: Bombing Japan from China (2006)
- Chennault and the Flying Tigers – Heroes but were they legal? (2005)
- Double Lucky? The Campaigns of the 77th Hiko Sentai (2005)
- Japanese aircraft code-names in perspective (2005)
- Curtiss-Wright CW-21 (2005)
- Vultee P-66 in Chinese Service (2005)
- Zero Model 21: Unraveling the performance data (2004)
- Republic P-43 and China’s Air War (2004)
- Nakajima Type 1 Model 1 Army Fighter (Ki-43-I) Armament — A Reassessment (2002, 2004)