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This is Volume One of The Army Air Forces in World War II, titled Plans and Early Operations, January 1939 to August 1942, edited by Wesley Frank Craven and James Lea Cate. The University of Chicago Press first published it in 1948, and the Office of Air Force History reprinted it in 1983. The front matter explains how the AAF historical program was set up during the war. The index covers Pacific, Atlantic and European operations, and nothing in the text concerns unidentified aerial phenomena.
“The Invaders”15 pages
D E P L O Y M E N T O N T H E E V E O F H O S T I L I T I E S security of the route; for the islands in the South Pacific were virtually defenseless, and the lack of troops for permanent garrisons meant that slim forces had to be shifted from posts in the Hawaiian Islands. Gen- eral Short was preparing garrisons of approximately 144 officers and men for shipment to Canton and Christmas, but they were not sched- uled to sail until mid-December. Pending their arrival, the defense of the island bases would have to be provided by construction personnel, whose hands already were more than full. In the effort to extend air route facilities from Australia to the Philippines, General MacArthur's representatives had surveyed a route that could be used for the ferry- ing of pursuit aircraft.'" Given time, the prospects for speedy rein- forcement of the Philippines by air were promising, but obviously time was running out. O n I December, General Arnold had written to the commander of the Hawaiian Air Force: "We must get every B-17 available to the Philippines as soon as possible." And on 6 December he arrived at Hamilton Field for a personal inspection of preparations for the air movement of the 38th and 88th Reconnaissance Squadrons to Hawaii on the first leg of a flight to Mindanao. That evening, thirteen B-17'~ of the two squadrons took off from Hamilton and headed for Oahu, where they were scheduled to arrive on the morning of 7 December."8 T h e eve of hostilities thus found no slackening in efforts to reinforce the Philippines. AAF planes deployed outside the continental United States had reached a total of 91 3 aircraft-636 pursuit planes and 61 heavy, 157 medium, and 59 light bombers-and they were divided among Newfoundland, Greenland, Iceland, Panama, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, the Virgin Islands, British Guiana, the Windward and Lee- ward islands, Alaska, Hawaii, and the Philippines."' But the overseas deployment which had begun with an emphasis toward Europe was now focused on the western Pacific. '93
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