Whispering death
This book explains vividly how more than 130,000 Australian airmen fought Japan from the Pacific War's first hours in 1941 to its last in 1945. They clashed over a vast area, from India to Noumea, Bass Strait to the Philippines. Merely flying over that region's boundless oceans and wild weather was dangerous enough for Australia's fliers, but their formidable enemies made it much more perilous. In their Zero fighters and Betty bombers they were initially too numerous, experienced and well-armed for the few Australians who opposed them in Malaya, the Northern Territory and New Guinea. February 1942 brought the RAAF its darkest hour: the bombing of Darwin, which no Australian fighter planes contested
History
xxii, 514 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 23 cm
9781741759013, 1741759013
733607074
A difficult childhood: Australian air power to 1939
'They follow you through hell':the RAAF and war in Europe
'We may not have much time to spare'
'We were actually going into action!!: Malaya
The fight for Singapore
'We who are about to die, salute you!'
'Thrilling but terrifying': the Netherlands East Indies
Crisis of leadership: Darwin and the RAAF
The fight over Port Moresby
The 44 days
Trouble at the top
Codename 'Fall River'
Milne Bay: the decisive factor
From Kokoda to the beaches
'Whispering death'
Wau to the Bismarck Sea
Newton and Yamamoto
Spitfires at Darwin
'Show of force'
Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier
Nuisance raids and bloody good shows
Burma and India
Island hopping
The rise of 'TAF-RAAF'
'Brothers in arms' and 'mutineers'
The final battles
Appendixes A-E
Cover subtitle: Australian airmen in the Pacific War