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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 Wash”17 pages
T H E A R M Y A I R F O R C E S I N W O R L D W A R I 1 the American fleet, it was a t the same time necessary for the Japanese to eliminate the danger of an effective reaction from the Hawaiian Air Force. Accordingly, and simultaneously with the initial attack on the fleet, twenty-eight bombers in three waves escorted by pursuits car- ried out a ten-minute raid on buildings of the Hawaiian Air Depot and the hangar line at Hickam Field. After a fifteen-minute lull, the attack was renewed by five or six high-level bombers which fruit- lessly bombed the baseball diamond; six to nine others dropped down to 150 feet for a more damaging attack on the No. I Aqua System, the technical buildings immediately behind the hangar lines, the con- solidated barracks, and on planes parked almost wine tip to wing tip on the warming-up apron. A third attack at approxlmately 0900 by from six to nine planes scored hits on technical buildings, dispersed planes, barracks, the parade ground, and the post exchange.’ At Wheeler Field, principal pursuit base, the first bombs fell shortly after 0800. Approximately twenty-five dive bombers approzched the field a t an altitude of about 5,000 feet, went into a dive, and released their bombs over the hangar line. Within a few minutes the air seemed full of planes circling in a counterclockwise direction but otherwise maneuvering according to no apparent pattern. Though this attack lasted for no more than fifteen minutes, other planes strafed the field shortly after 0900. Bellows Field, third of the major Air Corps instal- lations, suffered less than did either Hickam or Wheeler. Only one plane out of the enemy’s first wave of attack, and that a fighter, directed its attention to this field. But nine more fighters came over soon after 0900 to give the field a thorough strafing for about fifteen rnin~tes.~ In comparison with the havoc wrought by the planes that the Japa- nese First Air Fleet threw against Hawaiian air and naval installations, the reaction of defending air units was pitiful. The enemy had achieved the crushing advantage of surprise. Moreover, under the alert in effect since 27 November AAF planes were concentrated for protection against sabotage, with an allowance of four hours’ notice to make them ready for flight, instead of being dispersed in readiness for a prompt take-off. In the circumstances, it was virtually impos- sible to put up anything approaching an effective air defense. In spite of handicaps, four P-40’s and two P-36’s took off from Wheeler Field thirty-five minutes after the initial attack, and from 0830 until 0930 Army pursuit planes flew a total of twenty-five sorties. Perhaps the 9 198
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