MacArthur's Eagles: The U.S. Air War Over New Guinea, 1943-1944 [Hardcover]

Lex McAulay (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2004

During 1943 and 1944, the 5th Air Force near decimated its Japanese opponent three times, eventually opening the way for the advance - ahead of schedule - of MacArthur's Allied forces through New Guinea to the Philippines and the Dutch East Indies. This book describes these crucial operations in unprecedented breadth and detail, exploring the varying degrees of understanding of the requirements of air power exhibited by both Japanese and US commanders. Air-combat missions come vividly and dramatically to life through first-hand accounts that cement the book's authoritativeness.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 408 pages
• Publisher: US Naval Institute Press (November 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591144795
• ISBN-13: 978-1591144793
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #616,826 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #43 in Books > History > Australia & Oceania > Papua New Guinea

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Needed 5th Air Force History, September 29, 2008

By 

R. E. Spalinger "AF Veteran" (Lee, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: MacArthur's Eagles: The U.S. Air War Over New Guinea, 1943-1944 (Hardcover)

For a number of years there has been a need for a detail history of the air conflict over New Guinea in late 1943 through much of 1944. The WW II USAAF Official History provides plenty of event/factual data, leaves out much of the human element, and says next to nothing about the Japanese side. This volume rectifies that.

The author tells the story well, and in conjunction with the Bergerud volume ("Fire In The Sky"), the interested party can immediately grasp "how" and "why" the USAAF [along with the RAAF] dismantled the Imperial Japanese Air Forces in the South Pacific.

This volume concentrates on the destruction of the Wewak complex, and later the Hollandia fields and their IJAF forces. It depicts the air efforts as the driving function in moving the ground forces forward towards the Philippines. The major actions are well covered from both sides, and personal pilot/aircrew narratives are included to bolster the development of the history. Further, the logistical and maintainer support factors are woven into the story, which depict the stark contrast in philosophies between the opposing nations. This - along with the contrast in leadership between the USAAF & the IJAF - provides telling insight on why Japan failed miserably in the South Pacific.

McAulay also weaves in the intelligence and reconnaissance aspects that were key elements in the USAAF drive up the northern coast of New Guinea. These factors haven't been included in much of what has previously been written, and deserve mention here.

The volume is replete with unit level facts and figures that McAulay has included to plot the continuing ascendance of USAAF, and decline of IJAF airpower. It's an eye opening account. These figures cast a long shadow on the overall Japanese warmaking potential when compared to the Allied side in what was considered a "third rate" theater of war.

Highly recommended.

14 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Definitive Book on the Turning Point in the SW Pacific, March 21, 2005

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: MacArthur's Eagles: The U.S. Air War Over New Guinea, 1943-1944 (Hardcover)

As the says, up until about 1942 the Germans and Japanese pretty much had control of the air, with a few places like the Battle of Britain being the exception. But by 1943 the situation was changing. The production lines in the United States were beginning to turn out new and advanced planes like the P-47, B-17 and B-24 in quantities that our enemies could only imagine.

In 1943, MacArthur was ready to begin the long road back to the Philippines and from there to Japan itself. MacArthur was fortunate to have General George C. Kenney to command his air force. The road back started in New Guinea, the first set of islands north of Australia. Here in 1943 the 5th American Air Force went to war against the 4th Army Air Force of Japan. Here the 5th American Air Force demolished the 4th Japanese Army Air Force. And here the 5th American Air Force developed the specialized modifications and tactics that they used until the end of the war when a 5th Air Force P-38 was the first American airplane to land in Japan.

This is supurbly researched book, drawing on every available bit of information from unpublished Japanese documents, interrogations of prisoners, and decoded Japanese radio traffic and similar information including official reports from the American side.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fire in the South Pacific, October 8, 2006

By 

N. Trachta (Colorado Springs, CO United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: MacArthur's Eagles: The U.S. Air War Over New Guinea, 1943-1944 (Hardcover)

MacArthur's Eagles deals with the air war over New Guinea between the 5th Air Force and the Japanese between 1943 and 1944. The book opens by describing how the situation goes from air superiority for the Japanese to air parity between them and the Americans. Then the book focuses on how the Americans achieved air superiority by performing a series of concentrated raids against the Japanese airbases at critical times. In this book, Mr. McAulay is very complementary toward General Kenny and his men, while not being complementary toward MacArthur (interesting given the name of the book. While I don't disagree with Mr. McAulay's assessment of General MacArthur's abilities, I couldn't help but feel that part of his feelings were driven from Mr. McAulay being Australian). Mr. McAulay's description of the Japanese was interesting, complementary toward the individual soldier but very harsh toward the Japanese Generals and their aircraft industry. In addition to the story, the book contains some very good photgraphs, maps, and some great appendices for those interested in the statistical side of things

Rating wise, this book is very complex. There are two pieces to this. For the casual reader, this book is probably a 3 star book; Mr. McAulay's writing is a little flat and he fails to deliver what could be a powerful story. However if you have an interest in the 5th Air Force and how they gained control over the skies of New Guinea, the book rises to 4 stars. Since this was my interest for this book, I'll give the book 4 stars.