Japan’s Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto, the mastermind behind the Pearl Harbor attack, believed that once his country started a fight with America, it could last no longer than 18 months. Six months after the Dec. 7, 1941 attack, the Japanese Imperial Navy was decimated at the Battle of Midway and could no longer take the offensive, but was forced to conduct a defensive war of attrition. As the months progressed into years, the Americans conducted their island-hopping campaign to reach the Japanese mainland. As thousands of servicemen landed on various islands in the Pacific to take them by force, another element of the U.S. military played a smaller, yet very significant role: the patrol bombers.
Detailing the Planes
Mr. Young details four specific aircraft during the Pacific War and how both countries worked to modify these products of war in order to make them their most efficient and effective. Testing was constant in order to achieve the necessary requirements for speed, distance, and load capacity.Mr. Young indicates how, through the many months of testing these planes, at times weight was offloaded to garner more speed or distance, or how speed was circumvented in order to extend the plane’s flight longevity. It was the American patrol bombers, however, that proved in the end most efficient and effective, at least in comparison to its Japanese counterpart.
These alterations, as the author notes, were incredibly important due to the vast expanse these planes had to cover over the Pacific Ocean. The book’s map definitively expresses just how much area these bombers and seaplanes had to cover.
An additional element that contributed to the success or failure of these planes were the number of turrets and the type of ammunition used. Mr. Young discusses how these were adjusted to best defend the aircraft. The book dedicates graphic images to demonstrate what these turrets were like in both the Japanese and American planes. In addition, there are graphics of the planes’ cockpits. These graphics label all the pertinent information in the turrets and cockpits, ranging from switches to steering to seats.
Training the Pilots
As Mr. Young points out, an elaborate and capable plane is only as effective as the pilots that fly them. The author discusses the multi-month training processes for both the Japanese and American pilots. He mentions two decisions that played vital roles for each nation: 1) America’s decision to start training pilots in droves during the 1930s, which enabled pilots to be ready to fly at an elite level before war broke out against the Japanese, and 2) Japan’s decision to choose the exceptional cadets as their pilots, which worked well in the short-term, but as the war wore on, it proved detrimental as many of the pilots were soon killed in battle.After addressing the creation and alteration of the bomber and seaplanes, and the effectual piloting programs, Mr. Young addresses what mattered the most: the planes in action. As aforementioned, these planes played a smaller, but significant role compared to the soldiers that were disembarked upon islands.
An Insightful Read
Mr. Young takes the reader on an action-by-action basis, pinpointing the moments of discovering an enemy plane, engaging it, the attempts (often poorly conducted) to escape, and the end result of sending the aircraft (the Japanese seaplane) to a watery grave. Although the author indicates that the H8K was adjusted to be more comparable to the Liberator, it appeared that the American aviation doctrine, tactics, and overall training was superior to the Japanese.For readers interested in the lesser-known aspects of the Pacific War, Mr. Young’s “H6K ‘Mavis’/H8K ‘Emily’ Vs PB4Y-1/2 Liberator/Privateer: Pacific Theater 1943-45,” is an insightful read that includes beautiful and intricate images and graphics. For Pacific War history buffs, it’s a nice addition to a collection.
