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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.
“Churchill”21 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 attack of 7 December, thereby weakening the defense of the ferry line, there was some reluctance to send air units into the South Pacific in the days immediately following Pearl Harbor. On 9 December the Air Staff informed the War Department that in view of the present international situation it could not consider favorably the project for basing units at Christmas and Canton island^.^ One month later, opin- ion had altered. It was currently believed that the Japanese were able to assault New Caledonia or Fiji with at least one infantry division supported by strong naval and air force^.^ Recognizing that the de- fense of all the bases along the route depended ultimately upon their support by naval and air forces, on I Z January the Combined Chiefs of Staff approved a plan to garrison all the islands on the ferry route leading down to Au~tralia.~Initially some difference of opinion per- sisted as to the extent of AAF ability to commit air units to the islands. But there was agreement that the United States should arrange for the local defense of Palmyra, Christmas, Canton, American Samoa, and Borabora, and that New Zealand, assisted by U.S. forces and materiel, should bear responsibility for local defense of the Fiji island^.^ The defense plan called for the dispatch to New Caledonia of one pursuit squadron of twenty-five aircraft and one medium bombard- ment squadron of thirteen planes, and although it failed to designate which one of the Allies would provide the garrison, it was generally assumed that the pursuit unit would come from the United States. In fact, A-3 of AAF Headquarters already had prepared a squadron, the 68th, which was ready for embarking. The unit later was replaced by the 67th, which sailed from New York on 23 January.' General Arnold took issue with the plan to place AAF units on New Cale- donia. H e had no squadrons available except at the expense of forces in the ABDA area, nor did he regard the priority of New Caledonia as outranking that of Fiji or Samoa. H e pointed out that his own problem differed drastically from that facing General Marshall: the Army possessed sufficient ground forces to permit simultaneous dis- patch to Australia and Northern Ireland and Iceland, but there was inadequate shipping to carry the troops, while the AAF, on the other hand, simply lacked the units.' Believing that the British should pro- vide the necessary aircraft for the New Caledonia air garrison and that Australia should furnish the pilots, he urged that the former be requested to meet this need, whereupon arrangements were made to 430
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