Download or read book Air Commandos Against Japan written by Carolyn C Y'Blood and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2008-10-01 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1943 the U.S. Army Air Forces created what would become the Air Commandos, a unit that marked a milestone in tactical operations in support of British ground forces invading Burma. William T. Y’Blood tells the story of how these daring American aviators trained and went into combat using unconventional hit-and-run tactics to confuse the enemy and destroy their lines of communication and supply. The force comprised light planes to evacuate wounded, transports to move heavy cargo, fighters, gliders, helicopters, and more than five hundred men. The book describes how this top-secret force successfully attacked the enemy from the air, resupplied British commandos on the ground, and airlifted the wounded out of the battle area—eventually driving the Japanese out of Burma.
Download or read book After Thursday written by Ryan S. Collins and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This work is a synopsis of 1st and 2nd Air Commando Groups’ action alongside other Allied forces from May 1944 to May 1945 in the Pacific Campaign of World War II. A macro-level overview of events, which affected the Air Commando Groups, or the Japanese occupation of Rangoon, Burma, is included to aid the reader in understanding the context of the various operations. This work is pictorial as well as written to provide a visual of the conflict and enhance the narrative beyond statistics and facts. “After Thursday” is an in-depth view of the groups and the squadrons which comprised the Air Commando units. Special attention was paid not only to the flying squadrons, but also the many units that enabled the personnel assigned to fly and complete their missions. The enlisted side of operations was included for a more comprehensive picture. The work discusses multiple lesser-known operations as well as minor assistance provided to friendly forces and novel uses of technology used to achieve victory in the theater. The assumption that the conflict in Burma ended at the completion of Operation Thursday and the belief that victory was a forgone conclusion proved false. One can only win a conflict when the enemy accepts that it has lost. Thus the account of the events “After Thursday.”"--Abstract.
Download or read book Operation Thursday written by U. S. Military and published by . This book was released on 2018-04-19 with total page 63 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Air Force publication provides a detailed history of Operation Thursday, a bold, unconventional use of American air power to support British ground troops in Burma during World War II. It marked a critical development in the history of modern warfare. On March 5-6, 1944, the Allies conducted an air invasion of Burma, in an attempt to push back the Japanese in the China-Burma-India Theater and reestablish the land route between India and China. U.S. airmen formed a special operations unit--the 1st Air Commando Group--to transport troops to jungle locations and resupply them, often in the line of fire. The remarkable success of this operation lives on, fifty years later, among the elite 1st Air Commando Group--a force committed to meeting the challenge of unconventional warfare any time, any place, anywhere.After Pearl Harbor--the devastating blow against the U.S. Fleet in Hawaii--Imperial Japanese forces quickly overran much of the Far East. Guam, Hong Kong, Malaya, the Philippines, Thailand, Wake Island, French Indochina, and the Dutch East Indies all succumbed to the Japanese onslaught. Meanwhile, American forces were busy preparing for a protracted war on two fronts, and the British were struggling against Hitler's aggressive air campaign. With the Allies thus diverted, Japan's rapid conquests gave the resource-poor nation access to the rubber, oil, tin, rice and other raw materials needed to fuel the Imperial war machine.Allied hopes for stopping the enemy advance in Asia were pinned on Burma, a country of jungles and mountain ranges strategically located between India and China. By 1941 the Japanese had nearly cut China off from the rest of the world. The meager Chinese resistance was being supplied via the Burma Road that extended from India through Burma to the town of Kunming, China. If Japanese forces could occupy Burma, they could seal off China, and release their troops for other operations on the continent. Burma would then become a staging area into India, the "jewel of the British empire." Burma itself was valuable as "rice bowl" capable of producing eight million tons of rice per year--food badly needed by the already overextended Imperial Army. In the grand strategy, a Japanese-controlled Burma would also shield the newly organized Far East Territories from the Allied advance.Burma's terrain and climate limited the military operations of both the invaders and defenders. Steep mountain ranges and river valleys alternated north and south. Only few trails through the hills connected Burma with India and Thailand, and most commerce went through the port of Rangoon, on the Irrawaddy delta. Monsoon rains created logistical nightmares. Annual rainfall varied from 200 inches in the Rangoon area, to 100 inches in the hills, and up to 45 inches in the northcentral "dry" zone. Military forces avoided the monsoon rains (mid-May to late October), restricting their operations to the dry season. In the tropical climate, malaria and other diseases could also bring operations to a standstill.Almost everything the Air Commandos did was an important "First": First air unit designed to support a ground unit; First composite air unit; First air unit employed with total autonomy; First aerial invasion into enemy territory; First nighttime heavy glider assault landing; First night combat glider recovery; First glider airlift of large animals; First major employment of light airplanes in combat; First air unit to employ helicopters; First rescue by combat helicopter; First firing of rockets from aircraft in combat.
Download or read book Project 9 written by Dennis R. Okerstrom and published by University of Missouri Press. This book was released on 2014-07-08 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Project 9: The Birth of the Air Commandos in World War II is a thoroughly researched narrative of the Allied joint project to invade Burma by air. Beginning with its inception at the Quebec Conference of 1943 and continuing through Operation Thursday until the death of the brilliant British General Orde Wingate in March 1944, less than a month after the successful invasion of Burma, Project 9 details all aspects of this covert mission, including the selection of the American airmen, the procurement of the aircraft, the joint training with British troops, and the dangerous night-time assault behind Japanese lines by glider. Based on review of hundreds of documents as well as interviews with surviving Air Commandos, this is the history of a colorful, autonomous, and highly effective military unit that included some of the most recognizable names of the era. Tasked by the General of the Army Air Forces, H. H. “Hap” Arnold, to provide air support for British troops under the eccentric Major General Wingate as they operated behind Japanese lines in Burma, the Air Commandos were breaking entirely new ground in operational theory, tactics, and inter-Allied cooperation. Okerstrom’s in-depth research and analysis in Project 9 shed light on the operations of America’s first foray into special military operations, when these heroes led the way for the formation of modern special operations teams such as Delta Force and Seal Team Six.
Download or read book Hitting Home The Air Offensive Against Japan Illustrated Edition written by Daniel L. Haulman and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2015-11-06 with total page 83 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Includes 20 illustrations The strategic bombardment of Japan during World War II remains one of the most controversial subjects of military history because it involved the first and only use of atomic weapons in war. It also raised the question of whether strategic bombing alone can win wars, a question that dominated U.S. Air Force thinking for a generation. Without question, the strategic bombing of Japan contributed very heavily to the Japanese decision to surrender. The United States and her allies did not have to invade the home islands, an invasion that would have cost many thousands of lives on both sides. This pamphlet traces the development of the bombing of the Japanese home islands, from the modest but dramatic Doolittle raid on Tokyo in April 1942, through the effort to bomb from bases in China that were supplied by airlift over the Himalayas, to the huge 500-plane raids from the Marianas in the Pacific. The campaign changed from precision daylight bombing to night incendiary bombing of Japanese cities and ultimately to the use of atomic bombs against Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The story covers the debut of the spectacular B-29 aircraft—in many ways the most awesome weapon of World War II— and its use not only as a bomber but also as a mine-layer. Hitting Home is the sequel to High Road to Tokyo Bay, a pamphlet by the same author that concentrated on Army Air Forces’ tactical operations in Asia and the Pacific areas during World War II. Taken together, they provide an overview of U.S. Army Air Forces’ operations, tactical and strategic, against Japan. The U.S. air offensive against Japan is the central story of the Pacific war—a drama of human courage and sacrifice and of a unique partnership among modern air, sea, and land forces.
Download or read book Flying Tiger to Air Commando written by Charles Baisden and published by Schiffer Military History. This book was released on 1999 with total page 157 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Flying Tiger to Air Commando is an enlisted man's story of over twenty years of service to his country. From enlistment in the Army Air Corps at age nineteen as a Private to his retirement at age 44 as a Master Sgt., his unusual tale will interest all aviation, history, and gunnery buffs. At age twenty he volunteered for the American Volunteer Group, hardly aware of China and its problems with Japan, but was soon to find out as an armorer with Chennault's famed Flying Tigers. When that elite group was broken up, he returned to the States, soon to return to the CBI theater flying as a B-25 gunner with his good friend from the Tigers, R.T. Smith, in the First Air Commandos. The end of WWII was not the end of combat for Sgt. Baisden, who saw service in the Korean War, both as an armorer in the 80th Fighter-Bomber Squadron of the 8th Fighter-Bomber Group, and as a gunner on B-29s in the 93rd Heavy Bombardment Squadron, 19th Bomb Group. His last days in the Air Force were flown as an in-flight refueling technician in KC-97s with the 308th, 2nd, and 19th Air Refueling Squadrons. His down-to-earth narrative is interesting and informative, and is presented along with his own period
Download or read book Apollo s Warriors written by Michael E. Haas and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1998-05 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presenting a fascinating insider's view of U.S.A.F. special operations, this volume brings to life the critical contributions these forces have made to the exercise of air & space power. Focusing in particular on the period between the Korean War & the Indochina wars of 1950-1979, the accounts of numerous missions are profusely illustrated with photos & maps. Includes a discussion of AF operations in Europe during WWII, as well as profiles of Air Commandos who performed above & beyond the call of duty. Reflects on the need for financial & political support for restoration of the forces. Bibliography. Extensive photos & maps. Charts & tables.
Download or read book Dick Cole s War written by Dennis R. Okerstrom and published by University of Missouri Press. This book was released on 2015-12-31 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the 100th anniversary of his birth on September 7, 2015 Dick Cole has long stood in the powerful spotlight of fame that has followed him since his B-25 was launched from a Navy carrier and flown toward Japan just four months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. In recognition the tremendous boost Doolittle’s Raid gave American morale, members of The Tokyo Doolittle Raiders were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in May 2014. Doolittle’s Raid was only the opening act of Cole’s flying career during the war. When that mission was complete and all of the 16 aircraft had crash-landed in China, many of the survivors were assigned to combat units in Europe. Cole remained in India after their rescue and was assigned to Ferrying Command, flying the Hump of the Himalayas for a year in the world’s worst weather, with inadequate aircraft, few aids to navigation, and inaccurate maps. More than 600 aircraft with their crews were lost during this monumental effort to keep China in the war, but Cole survived and rotated home in 1943. He was home just a few months when he was recruited for the First Air Commandos and he returned to India to participate in Project 9, the aerial invasion of Burma.
Download or read book Hitting Home written by Daniel Lee Haulman and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 39 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Mission to Tokyo written by Robert F. Dorr and published by Zenith Press. This book was released on 2012-09-15 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Hell Hawks! author Bob Dorr, Mission to Tokyo takes the reader on a World War II strategic bombing mission from an airfield on the western Pacific island of Tinian to Tokyo and back. Told in the veterans' words, Mission to Tokyo is a narrative of every aspect of long range bombing, including pilots and other aircrew, groundcrew, and escort fighters that accompanied the heavy bombers on their perilous mission. Several thousand men on the small Mariana Islands of Guam, Saipan, and Tinian were trying to take the war to the Empire—Imperial Japan—in B-29 Superfortresses flying at 28,000 feet, but the high-altitude bombing wasn't very accurate. The decision was made to take the planes down to around 8,000 feet, even as low as 5,000 feet. Eliminating the long climb up would save fuel, and allow the aircraft to take heavier bomb loads. The lower altitude would also increase accuracy substantially. The trade-off was the increased danger of anti-aircraft fire. This was deemed worth the risk, and the devastation brought to the industry and population of the capital city was catastrophic. Unfortunately for all involved, the bombing did not bring on the quick surrender some had hoped for. That would take six more months of bombing, culminating in the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As with Mission to Berlin (Spring 2011), Mission to Tokyo focuses on a specific mission from spring 1945 and provides a history of the strategic air war against Japan in alternating chapters.
Download or read book Strategic Air War Against Japan written by Haywood S. Hansell and published by . This book was released on 1980 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Special Air Warfare and the Secret War in Laos written by Air University Press and published by . This book was released on 2019-07-02 with total page 516 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of special air warfare and the Air Commandos who served for the ambassadors in Laos from 1964 to 1975 is captured through extensive research and veteran interviews. The author has meticulously put together a comprehensive overview of the involvement of USAF Air Commandos who served in Laos as trainers, advisors, and clandestine combat forces to prevent the communist takeover of the Royal Lao Government. This book includes pictures of those operations, unveils what had been a US government secret war, and adds a substantial contribution to understanding the wider war in Southeast Asia.
Download or read book Usaf Air Commando Secret Wars from Laos to Latin America written by Eugene D. Rossel and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2016-07-15 with total page 421 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Air Commando secret wars happened mostly during the Vietnam War time frame and was a global effort involving USAF volunteer personnel who were given official military orders that did not necessarily specify the country they served in, and civilian clothes were many times authorized. Later they had great difficulty proving that they served in many of these countries, which affected their future VA care. These operations were used to strengthen normally a poor country with little military resources and training with secret warriors frequently being there doing some of their legwork behind the scenes. All the operations were tight-lipped, frequently forbidden to tell families where you were and what you were doing. As an example; Capt. Bob Simpsons death, the first fighter pilot KIA in Vietnam in August 1962, became a total fabrication of where, why, and how and took a number of years before the government came clean because of my efforts. Secret wars have a long history, and they will continue because of the interest of more-powerful nations with their less fortunate brethren.
Download or read book Army Air Forces in the War Against Japan 1941 1942 written by Intelligence Historical Division and published by . This book was released on 2012-12-01 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Close Air Support in the War Against Japan Us Air Forces Historical Studies written by Usaf Historical Division and published by . This book was released on 2012-12-01 with total page 446 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The strategic air war against Germany and Japan a memoir written by and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Air Commando written by Philip D. Chinnery and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 1997-01-15 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the glider pilots who landed deep behind Jpanese lines, to the gunship crews who hunted over the dark jungle of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, to Desert Storm's Special Operations choppers, al the daring rescues and last-minute landings are here, straight from the Air Commandos' own stories. Includes eight-page photo insert.
