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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
L O S S O F N E T H E R L A N D S E A S T I N D I E S Gambonini, who had taken off with a partially filled fuel tank, landed back a t the field in the midst of a bombing attack. Together with several other aircraft on the ground, his plane was destroyed. Captain Lane, having accounted for one of the enemy, succeeded in reaching Java, where three others of the flight joined him. Within two days, an additional eight P-40,~of the same squadron had negotiated the ferry route with better luck, but two had crashed on the way.B3 On I I February nine more p-4O7S, belonging this time to the 3d Pursuit Squadron, came into Java. T h e first attempt by the 3d Squad- ron to move some of its planes through had ended in disaster. An initial flight of nine P-407S, accompanied by three A-24,~of the 91st Bombardment Squadron (L), had flown out from Darwin on 9 Febru- ary under the escort of an LB-30 only to find Timor closed in by storm clouds. T h e LB-30, having the necessary range, turned back to Darwin, but the P-40’s had no choice but to go on to forced landings in which they all crashed. T h e luck of the A-2q7Sproved only slightly better; they succeeded in landing a t Koepang but were mistaken for enemy aircraft, and all were badly damaged by antiaircraft fire. One of them, the first A-24 to reach Java, was able to fly on the next day, but the other two returned to Darwin for repair. With favorable weather, Captain Mahoney, squadron commander, left Darwin on the I 0th with the second flight of P-~o’s,which reached Soerabaja on the following day without mishap.64 Like the survivors of earlier flights, the new planes were immedi- ately incorporated into the I 7th Pursuit Squadron under command of Major Sprague. Little or no difficulty was experienced in achieving an effective squadron organization, but co-ordination between its own headquarters and the Dutch interceptor control remained imperfect. T w o Dutch officers and a radio detail had been attached to the squad- ron to facilitate a proper liaison, but the inadequacy of aircraft warn- ing and communications facilities created obstacles which could hardly be overcome b y even the most cordial of personal relations. In an attempt to improve the situation, Maj. W.P. Fisher, former squad- ron commander in the 19th Bombardment Group, on 16 February was placed in command of interceptor Though attrition had taken its persistent toll, the 17th Pursuit now stood at the peak of its strength. Even so, it was far from equal to the task confronting it, and there seemed to be no prospect that an adequate interceptor force could be built up in Java. Indeed, it had not been anticipated that the 3 87
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