The Vought Corsair was the first American single-engine fighter to
exceed four hundred mph, establishing dominance over the Mitsubishi Type
Zero-sen with a kill ratio greater than ten to one. The Ki-84 Hayate was
introduced by the Japanese specifically to counter this growing American
dominance of the skies over the Pacific. Built in greater numbers than
any other late-war Japanese fighter, nearly three thousand were
completed between 1944 and 1945.
This volume examines the clashes between the Corsair and Ki-84 in the
closing stages of the war, revealing how Corsair pilots had to adapt
their techniques and combat strategies to account for these newer types,
which proved harder to shoot down. It also reveals how the eventual
six-to-one kill rate was largely driven by the reduced quality of
Japanese fighter pilots due to the high casualty rates inflicted on the
Japanese Air Force during the air battles over the Solomon Islands.