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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.
“Natal”13 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 devices. Leaders of the AAF were fortunate in the opportunity to base their major effort in one of the highly industrialized countries of the world, for the British were in a position to render a variety of substantial services that would hasten greatly the Eighth's entry into operations. Fortunately, too, there had been opportunities before Pearl Harbor to consider with British leaders some of the particular problems to be faced, and to agree tentatively on an approach to their solution. The RAF had operated with American-built aircraft long before America's entrance into the war. American-built Catalinas had played a prominent part in the North Atlantic search for the battleship Bis- marck in May 1941;P-40's had fought against the Italians and Ger- mans in Africa; and RAF Turbinlite night fighter squadrons and some bomber squadrons had been equipped with the American A-20 dur- ing 1941. Subsequent to the adoption of lend-lease in March of 1941, the RAF pool of American-built aircraft had been increased to such proportions that maintenance of the aircraft became a problem of special concern to the British. T o render assistance in this matter, and a t the same time to extract valuable information from the experi- ence of the RAF in the use of our equipment, a small number of American maintenance personnel was present in the United Kingdom as early as June 1 9 4 1 . ~ ~The following month, Prime Minister Churchill in conference with Messrs. Harry Hopkins and Averell Harriman requested that this assistance be greatly e~panded.'~ In accordance with War Department instructions, the AAF in August sent Maj. Gen. George H. Brett, Chief of the Air Corps, to England for study of the problem. Specifically, he was instructed to study British needs and to recommend such action as the Americans might take under a general plan to provide civilian personnel who could be spared without serious interference with American produc- tion."' The scope of his inquiries was broadened in September to include British needs in the Middle East;'"' and was still further extended by a request from SPOBS that in any consideration of facilities to be provided he bear in mind the needs of an American force much larger than that specified in RAINBOW No. 5 . Through Brig. Gen. Joseph T. McNarney it was indicated that SPOBS already had under consideration the establishment of a depot for the repair of American-built aircraft a t Langford Lodge in Northern Ireland.lo2 At the end of October, General Brett submitted his report to 634
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