P-39/P-400 Airacobra vs A6M2/3 Zero-sen PDF Download
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Author: Michael John Claringbould
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472823680
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 81
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Book Description
After the huge advances made in the early months of the Pacific war, it was in remote New Guinea where the advance of Imperial Japanese Naval Air Force (IJNAF) A6M Zero-sen fighters was first halted due to a series of offensive and defensive aerial battles ranging from treetop height up to 30,000 ft. Initially, the IJNAF fought Australian Kittyhawks, but by May 1942 they had fought themselves into oblivion, and were relieved by USAAF P-39 and P-400 Airacobras. The battles unfolded over mountainous terrain with treacherous tropical weather. Neither IJNAF or USAAF pilots had been trained for such extreme conditions, incurring many additional losses aside from those that fell in combat. Using specially commissioned artwork and contemporary photographs and testimony, this fascinating study explains how, despite their initial deficit in experience and equipment, the Airacobras managed to square the ledger and defend New Guinea.
Author: Michael John Claringbould
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472823680
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 81
Get Book Here
Book Description
After the huge advances made in the early months of the Pacific war, it was in remote New Guinea where the advance of Imperial Japanese Naval Air Force (IJNAF) A6M Zero-sen fighters was first halted due to a series of offensive and defensive aerial battles ranging from treetop height up to 30,000 ft. Initially, the IJNAF fought Australian Kittyhawks, but by May 1942 they had fought themselves into oblivion, and were relieved by USAAF P-39 and P-400 Airacobras. The battles unfolded over mountainous terrain with treacherous tropical weather. Neither IJNAF or USAAF pilots had been trained for such extreme conditions, incurring many additional losses aside from those that fell in combat. Using specially commissioned artwork and contemporary photographs and testimony, this fascinating study explains how, despite their initial deficit in experience and equipment, the Airacobras managed to square the ledger and defend New Guinea.
Author: Michael John Claringbould
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472857488
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 157
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Book Description
This book details the exploits of the highly skilled Naval Aviators charged with achieving air supremacy over New Guinea in their A6M2/3 Zero-sens. The combat record of the Zero-sen in New Guinea has mostly been overstated, with little due being given to the constraining conditions under which the fighter operated. The air combats fought over New Guinea in 1942 between Imperial Japanese Naval Air Force (IJNAF) pilots and their Allied counterparts in P-39 Airacobras and P-40 Warhawks were often 'trial and error' affairs, with both belligerents being caught out by weather. This study covers the key role played by governing factors including geography and climatic conditions, and examines the modified tactics employed by IJNAF Zero-sen pilots to help them cope in-theatre through the comprehensive analysis of RAAF, USAAF and Japanese operational after action reports. Using first-hand accounts from both famous aviators and previously unknown RAAF and Japanese pilots, and specially commissioned artwork, leading South Pacific historian and author Michael John Claringbould sheds new light on the air war fought over the wilds of New Guinea during the course of 1942.
Author: Michael John Claringbould
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472823664
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 81
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Book Description
This fully illustrated study describes how American Airacobras pilots battled against the Japanese Zero pilots over extreme tropical conditions in remote New Guinea in the months after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Author: Jay A. Stout
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 081177564X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 393
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Book Description
While the Marine Corps island-hopped across the Pacific from Guadalcanal to Saipan to Iwo Jima, the U.S. Army was locked in a grueling, multiyear fight for the jungle island of New Guinea, which in Japanese hands threatened both Australia and the vital supply lines stretching to the United States. Forces under Douglas MacArthur intended to deny the Japanese this opportunity and use New Guinea as a stepping stone on the road back to the Philippines and, beyond it, Japan. A critical component of that campaign was waged in the air, where American pilots supported ground troops and took the battle to the Japanese in scattered villages and beaches, along the way fighting not only the Japanese, but also the dangers of the island’s mountainous terrain and thick jungles, the weather, and the surrounding ocean. Savage Skies, Emerald Hell is the story of the stirring and terrible air combat that made winning the fight for New Guinea possible. It includes accounts from fighter, bomber, and transport crews—primarily George Kenney’s Fifth Air Force—and places their actions within the broader context of strategy and tactics, also providing descriptions of equipment and the experiences of the mechanics and support men who made it all possible. It is a riveting narrative of World War II in the air, combining deep primary research and Jay Stout’s personal experience as a fighter pilot. More than a great read, Savage Skies, Emerald Hell is an important contribution to World War II history.
Author: Mark Lardas
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472845188
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 149
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Book Description
Throughout the first year of the war in the Pacific during World War II the USAAF was relatively ineffective against ships. Indeed, warships in particular proved to be too elusive for conventional medium-level bombing. High-level attacks wasted bombs, and torpedo attacks required extensive training. But as 1942 closed, the Fifth Air Force developed new weapons and new tactics that were not just effective, they were deadly. A maintenance officer assigned to a B-25 unit found a way to fill the bombardier's position with four 0.50-cal machine guns and strap an additional four 0.50s to the sides of the bomber, firing forward. Additionally, skip-bombing was developed. This called for mast-top height approaches flying the length of the target ship. If the bombs missed the target, they exploded in the water close enough to crush the sides. The technique worked perfectly when paired with “strafe” B-25s. Over the first two months of 1943, squadrons perfected these tactics. Then, in early March, Japan tried to reinforce their garrison in Lae, New Guinea, with a 16-ship convoy – eight transports guarded by eight destroyers. The Fifth Air Force pounced on the convoy in the Bismarck Sea. By March 5 all eight transports and four destroyers had been sunk This volume examines the mechanics of skip-bombing combined with a strafing B-25, assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the combatants (B-25 versus destroyer), and revealing the results of the attacks and the reasons why these USAAF tactics were so successful.
Author: Edward M. Young
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1780963238
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 82
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Book Description
The duel between Japan's superb Mitsubishi A6M Zero and the USA's rugged Grumman F4F Wildcat in 1942 represented the clash of two contrasting design philosophies and naval fighter doctrines. The Grumman F4F Wildcat and the Mitsubishi A6M Zero-sen were contemporaries, although designed to very different requirements. The Wildcat, ruggedly built to survive the rigors of carrier operations, was the best carrier fighter the US Navy had available when the USA entered World War II, and it remained the principal fighter for the US Navy and the US Marine Corps until 1942–43. With a speed greater than 300mph, exceptional manoeuvrability, long range, and an impressive armament the slick Zero-sen could out-perform any Allied fighter in 1941–42. This fully illustrated account of the battles between the Wildcat and the Zero-sen during 1942 represent a classic duel in which pilots flying a nominally inferior fighter successfully developed air-combat tactics that negated the strengths of their opponent.
Author: Donald Nijboer
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
ISBN: 9781846039430
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
The air war in the South Pacific was unique and very different from other major air operations undertaken during World War II. In no theater was air power more central to success than in the South Pacific. The objective of every major strategic move was to seize an air base. The air power employed was the most complex technology available, and, ironically, it was employed over some of the most brutal, primitive and largely unknown terrain in the world. Much has been written about the major battles such as Pearl Harbor, Midway, Iwo Jima and Okinawa, but very little focus has been paid to the vital battles that took place in New Guinea and the Solomons. When hostilities in New Guinea began, Japan possessed an advantage in air strength, but as American and Australian strength grew, the Japanese air arm suffered complete and utter defeat from which it would never recover. Two of the aircraft that would see frequent combat in the New Guinea campaign were the Ki-61 Tony and P-38 Lightning. The Ki-61 represented the rare occasion when Germany and Japan cooperated in a technical field. Using the license built German DB 601A engine, which powered the Bf 109E, production of the Ki-61 began in August 1942, and the plane first flew a few weeks after Pearl Harbor. On the other hand, the P-38 was already in service (albeit in small numbers). Its speed, firepower and range made it a formidable opponent, and one for which the Japanese never had an answer; the P-38 was ultimately credited with destroying more Japanese aircraft than any other USAAF fighter. While the Ki-61 was well armed with two heavy machine guns and two German 20mm cannons, it was not quite a match for the P-38, but the differences were slight and in a dogfight it often came down to the skill and even luck of the pilot at the controls. This title explores the design and development, technical specifications, strategies, combatants, and statistics of each of these two aircraft, complete with extensive photographs and specially commissioned artwork.
Author: Peter Ingman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472840887
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 81
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Book Description
The P-40E Warhawk is often viewed as one of the less successful American fighter designs of World War II, but in 1942 the aircraft was all that was available to the USAAC in-theatre. Units equipped with the aircraft were duly forced into combat against the deadly A6M2 Zero-sen, which had already earned itself a near-mythical reputation following its exploits over China and Pearl Harbor. During an eight-month period in 1942, an extended air campaign was fought out between the two fighters for air superiority over the Javanese and then northern Australian skies. During this time, the P-40Es and the Zero-sens regularly clashed without interference from other fighter types. In respect to losses, the Japanese 'won' these engagements, for many more P-40Es were shot down than Zero-sens. However, the American Warhawks provided a potent deterrent that forced the IJNAF to attack from high altitudes, where crews' bombing efficiency was much poorer. Fully illustrated throughout, and supported by rare and previously unpublished photographs, this book draws on both American and Japanese sources to tell the full story of the clashes between these iconic two fighters in Darwin and the East Indies.
Author: Peter Ingman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472829611
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 81
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Book Description
Just weeks after Pearl Harbor, Darwin was mauled by a massive Japanese attack. Without a single fighter to defend Australian soil, the Australian government made a special appeal to Britain for Spitfires. A year later the Spitfire VC-equipped No 1 Fighter Wing, RAAF, faced the battle-hardened 202nd Kokutai of the IJNAF, equipped with A6M2 Zero-sens, over Darwin. This was a gruelling campaign between evenly matched foes, fought in isolation from the main South Pacific battlegrounds. Pilots on either side had significant combat experience, including a number of Battle of Britain veterans. The Spitfire had superior flight characteristics but was hampered by short range and material defects in the tropical conditions, while the Japanese employed better tactics and combat doctrine inflicting serious losses on the over-confident Commonwealth forces. Fully illustrated with detailed full-colour artwork, this is the gripping story of two iconic aircraft facing off against each other above Australia.
Author: Nicholas Millman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472821459
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 97
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Book Description
The Mitsubishi A6M Zero-sen was Japan's Spitfire. In continuous development and operational service from the time of the Sino-Japanese war in 1940 to the end of the Pacific War in 1945, it is held in almost mythical awe, similar to Britain's legendary fighter aircraft. At the time of its operational debut the fighter's design features offered the revolutionary combination of an all-round vision canopy, cannon armament and a jettisonable drop tank giving it phenomenal range. Together with the flying and tactical proficiency of superbly trained pilots, this made the Zero-sen a true strategic fighter, spearheading Japan's offensive in the Pacific. It was also the mount of a plethora of successful and flamboyant naval aces engaged in both sea and land campaigns. This volume covers the use of the A6M2 variant from its debut in China to the Solomons Campaign, and also tells the story of the A6M2 fighter aces of the 4th and Tainan Kokutai.
