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1942 began with the Japanese rampaging across the Pacific, conquering a massive empire at amazing speed, but ended with them on the defensive in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. For much of that year Zero units were fighting in those theatres, often getting the better of their Allied opponents.
At the start of this period the Japanese had a large number of experienced pilots, with combat experience in China, while the majority of Allied pilots in the theatre lacked that experience. The Allies also started the year with inferior fighters – Kittyhawk IAs of the RAAF and P-39 Airacobras of the USAAF. Unsurprisingly we see Allied fighter losses being much higher than their Japanese opponents, although Japanese losses were still significant – the first unit examined started with 39 pilots and had lost 14 by the summer of 1942 (and only six survived the war).
The author moved beyond the normal combat studies to give a feel for the human cost of these battles, in particular for those Japanese pilots who found themselves isolated in damaged aircraft at the far end of long missions. When combined with the ingrained unwillingness to surrender this saw several Japanese pilots in unsurvivable situations, sometimes with an audience of more fortunate pilots about to return to their base.
A key strength of the book is the extensive use of Japanese sources including some excellent eye witness accounts. A long account written by Kazuo Tsunoda describing the day he was shot down is particularily interesting, showing how confusing a large air battle could be. Tsunoda made several attempts to attack Allied aircraft attacking a Japanese convoy, but kept being frustrated, and was often unable to work out where the visible enemy aircraft were heading. Eventually his aircraft was damaged and he had to make a forced landing, before being rescued by a Japanese destroyer, making him one of the few survivors from his unit.
This is a good account of some of the key battles in the period when the Zero was still the best fighter in the theatre, showing that even then the Japanese were suffering losses that slowly eroded the skill of their fighter units.
Chapters
1 – In Battle
2 – Setting the Scene
3 – Path to Combart
4 – Weapon of War
5 – Art of War
6 – Combat
Author: Michael John Claringbould
Edition: Paperback
Pages: 80
Publisher: Osprey
Year: 2023