America in the air war
by Jablonski, Edward
Published by : Time-Life Books (Alexandria, Virginia) Physical details: 176 p.Includes Index and Bibliography
The fall and rise of U.S. air power --
Target Europe --
Little Friends to the rescue --
Acme of destruction --
"One damned island after another."
When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the Army Air Forces had only 1,100 combat-ready planes. No one could have imagined then that within the next four years the AAF would become the mighty weapon commemorated in the paintings reproduced on the following pages, or that it would have to scope to engage in what its commander, General Henry H. "Hap" Arnold, described as a "global mission." Nevertheless, by 1944 the AAF had grown into 16 separate air forces stationed around the world, and its 1,100 planes had grown to nearly 80,000.