Air Commandos Against Japan

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.

A bold, unconventional use of American air power to support British ground troops in Burma, Operation THURSDAY 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.

A bold, unconventional use of American air power to support British ground troops in Burma, Operation THURSDAY 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 anytime, any place, anywhere.

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.

This is the story of the Allied air campaign across Australia, Sumatra, Java, the Philippines, Burma and Ceylon during World War II. It documents the Allied underestimation of Japanese ability, and ends with the Japanese at the extremities of their advance.

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.

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