This third volume chronicles aerial warfare in the South Pacific during
the critical months of May and June 1942. It can be read alone or as
part of a trilogy that spans the first six months of the Pacific War and
culminates in the Battle of the Coral Sea.
In early May 1942 the Japanese launched Operation MO, a complex plan
that involved the seizure of Tulagi and Port Moresby. Within the context
of an ongoing regional war waged by land-based air forces, opposing
fleet carriers were drawn into conflict for the first time in history.
The result was the Battle of the Coral Sea, resulting in the loss of the
USS Lexington and the withdrawal of the remaining American carrier.
The orthodox view of Coral Sea is of an Allied victory whereby the
Japanese were forced to abandon their plan to capture Port Moresby.
However, the authors make a compelling argument that the Japanese
capacity to mount the invasion was largely intact and it was a serious
error by their rigid and hierarchical command structure to postpone the
invasion at this critical time.
Following the Coral Sea battle, the bloody aerial campaign continued in
earnest between the land-based air forces. This resembled something of a
slugfest between the opposing bases of Lae and Port Moresby - just one
hour's flying time apart.
The Allied offense was waged by American B-17 Flying Fortress, B-25
Mitchell and B-26 Marauder bombers shuttling up from Australia.
Protecting their critical base at Port Moresby were a few hard-battling
P-39 Airacobra squadrons, which suffered an astounding loss rate during
this period.
On the Japanese side, their formations of Betty and Nell bombers
regularly pounded Moresby, and by June had begun targeting its
vulnerable harbor. These were protected by the wide-ranging Zero
fighters of the famed Tainan Kokutai, whose fighter pilots were
amongst the best and most experienced to be found on any front during
the Second World War.
Never before has this campaign been chronicled in such detail, with
Allied accounts matched against Japanese records and supported by the
most accurate artwork ever produced of this era. Both authors are
uniquely qualified to tell this story. Raised in Port Moresby, Michael
Claringbould is a globally acknowledged expert on the New Guinea
conflict and both Japanese and USAAF aviation of this period. Peter
Ingman is an acclaimed military history author specializing in the early
part of the Pacific War.
