Herder, Brian L./Hector, Gareth (Illustr.) Central Pacific 1943-45. Seventh Air Force's island-hopping war

After the destruction of Pearl Harbor, the US 7th Air Fleet stationed in Hawaii was rebuilt and given responsibility for the new "Central Pacific Area", which (apart from Midway) was very quiet at the time. However, when the Navy launched its counter-offensive in late 1943, the US 7th Air Fleet was sent into action as the USAAF's contribution to the Central Pacific. In this book, military historian Brian Lane Herder describes in detail the role of the US 7th Air Fleet in the Pacific War, whose actions were long overshadowed by the Navy's carrier war. He explains how the 7th fought in every major campaign in the Central Pacific from 1943 to 1945 - on the Gilberts, Marshalls, Marianas, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. After the capture of each island, and sometimes while the airfield was still under Japanese fire, a detachment would fly ashore to provide organic air defence and begin attacking the next targets. The 7th provided much of the air power on Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and as the end of the war approached, its P-51s and P-47s then flew ultra-long-range B-29 escort missions. Researched almost exclusively from primary sources, this book is spectacularly illustrated with many unpublished photos, original artwork, maps and 3D diagrams. It is a long overdue account of the unjustly overlooked Pacific War of the US 7th Air Fleet.