Prelude<\/h2>\n
When in July 1942 American aerial reconnaissance discovered that an airfield was being constructed on the island of Guadalcanal, at the time occupied by the Imperial Army, the Allies became aware of the threat which this posed to supply routes from the USA to Australia. At the time, their forces were being driven from New Guinea and the Solomon Islands (under Australian administration). The Allies retained control over the New Hebrides, Fiji and American Samoa. And although New Caledonia belonged to the Vichy government, the local French administration had no choice and accepted an American protectorate.<\/p>\n
On 7 August 1942, the US Navy commenced its counter-attack. A team of aircraft carriers hit Guadalcanal and neighbouring Tulagi, and the 1st<\/sup> Marine Division quickly captured both islands.<\/p>\n Japanese expansion, Summer1942. Map – wikipedia<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Japanese could not ignore the American attack on Guadalcanal. Before the Imperial Army\u2019s reinforcements arrived on the island, they launched a naval air force strike. However, the first aircraft \u2013 reconnaissance G4M-1 Betty bombers \u2013 failed to hit their targets. They had been preparing to attack land-based targets at Milne Bay in New Guinea, and were sent ad hoc, as a stopgap assault force. The next day, the Japanese sent twenty-seven bombers armed with torpedoes, escorted by 15 A6M2 Zero fighters.<\/p>\n G4M “Betty” approaches US fleet, Guadalcanal August 8th,1942 r. PhotoWikipedia<\/a>.<\/em> But when the bombers emerged from the clouds at around 13:15, they were intercepted by eight F4F-4 Wildcats from Fighting Squadron 5, which was based on the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga<\/em>. Lieutenant James J. \u201cPug\u201d Southerland II became the first Allied flier to gain a kill in the Guadalcanal campaign, shooting down the leading bomber, piloted by Petty Officer 1\/c Shisuo Yamada. The Japanese gave as good as they got, and bullets from the machine guns of the remaining bombers soon hit Southerland\u2019s armoured windscreen and the rear of the fuselage. Pug turned his attention to another bomber. There was little room for manoeuvre, especially as his opponent was getting ready to launch a low-level torpedo attack. Despite the difficulties, Southerland managed to bring down another bomber, piloted by Petty Officer 1\/c Yoshiyuki Sakimoto; it was then that the Japanese escorts finally intervened. Fifteen Zeroes from the elite Tainan Kokutai (Tainan Air Group) immediately shot down two Wildcats and engaged in a fierce battle with the others. But the American pilots did not give up and, using the Thach weave, they put up a stiff resistance.<\/p>\n F4F-4 Wildcat \u201eblack F-12\u201d BuNo. 5192, pilot Lt. James \u201ePug\u201d Southerland II, VF-5\/USS Saratoga. On 7th August 1942, this aeroplane downed the first Japanese bomber over Guadalcanal before Saburo Sakai himself shot it down in epic lonely combat against a flight of \u201cZeros\u201d. Aeroplane colours are discussed in “First Team and Guadalcanal” (see recommended reading at the end of text). See info on Pacific Wrecks link<\/a>. Artwork by Zbyszek Malicki.<\/em><\/p>\n It was then that Pug fought the fight of his life. Having used up all of his ammunition on the bombers, he was pitched into a fight with the legendary Saburo Sakai \u2013 an ace with fifty kills. Southerland knew that he could not harm the Zeroes without any ammunition. He therefore lowered his seat in order to better hide behind the armoured plate, and manoeuvred in such a way so that enemy fire hit the rear of the fuselage. The Zeroes attacked in pairs from different directions, and for five minutes he managed to successfully determine which of the two would attack first. Just before the Japanese pilot opened fire, he would turn sharply towards him and thus avoid being hit in the engine or cockpit.<\/p>\n As time passed, Saburo Sakai became increasingly frustrated with Pug\u2019s manoeuvres. He could not believe that the Wildcat was still fighting after receiving so many hits. He was full of admiration for the courage and determination displayed by the most difficult opponent he had ever met. Finally, he took aim at the fighter\u2019s wing root and opened fire with the last of his 20 mm cannon shells; the American aircraft simply exploded.<\/p>\n However, this was not the end of Southerland. With the aircraft literary falling apart mid-air, he somehow opened the cockpit and slipped out. And then the holster of his Colt caught on the canopy slide rail. We do not know how he managed to free himself from this deadly trap and open his parachute at a minimal height. After a few days he was rescued by natives and sent back to the aircraft carrier. The wreckage of his Wildcat \u2013 with the Colt still in the cockpit \u2013 was found many years later in the thick brushwood of Guadalcanal. Saburo Sakai did not enjoy his victory for long, however. During the same flight, he was seriously injured while attacking SBD Dauntless naval dive bombers, which he mistook for fighters, and, with great difficulty, losing consciousness several times, only just managed to reach Rabaul.<\/p>\n Wounded Saburo Sakai after return from Guadalcanal, August 8th, 1942. Photo Wikipedia link<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The attack of the G4M-1 bombers was repelled by the carrier-borne Wildcats and the anti-aircraft artillery of the cruisers which were escorting the landing. A destroyer was hit by a torpedo, while a damaged bomber rammed one of the transport ships. The next night, a group of Allied cruisers was routed by a Japanese task force during the Battle of Savo Island. The defeat forced the American fleet of aircraft carriers and transport ships to withdraw to the open ocean, beyond the range of enemy reconnaissance, leaving the Marines without any naval protection. The siege of the island began.<\/p>\n At the airstrip, work proceeded with feverish haste. What the Japanese had been unable to do for more than a month, the Marines completed \u2013 albeit using machines \u2013 within two weeks. The airfield which they built was named after Lofton Henderson, the commander of a Marine bomber squadron who had perished in the Battle of Midway.<\/p>\n The first Marine aircraft \u2013 SBD bombers from VMSB-232 and F4F-4 Wildcat fighters from VMF-223, transported on board the aircraft carrier USS Long Island<\/em> \u2013 landed there on 20 August. Two days later, they were joined by P-400 Aircobras from 67th<\/sup> Squadron USAAF. This method was used regularly to supplement the Cactus Air Force. From time to time, escort carriers would supply complete Marine aerial units from Samoa or New Caledonia, two important bases which supplied the Solomon Islands front that included Guadalcanal. The island became home to a unique \u201cfighter pilots\u2019 commune\u201d. Available pilots from various USMC units flew on combat missions on aircraft that were available at any given time. Each Wildcat received its own individual number, and the \u201c100\u201d mark was exceeded well before the end of the campaign. Captain Joseph Foss had to change his original number \u201c13\u201d to \u201c53\u201d, because when he arrived on the island in early October it was already used by Captain Marion Carl\u2019s second aeroplane (he had two \u201c13s\u201d, one after the other).<\/p>\n Henderson Field, late August 1942. Photo taken by aircrew from USS Saratoga.<\/em><\/p>\n The USAAF operated somewhat differently. Each rear echelon archipelago had its own separate Fighter Squadron, which was responsible for its defence. The most important was the 67th<\/sup> Fighter Squadron, which was located on New Caledonia, where it administered aerial operations. It arrived at the French colony in March 1942, together with crates containing forty-five P-400 \u201cCaribous\u201d supplied by the RAF and painted in British land camouflage, and two P-39D Aircobras. The pilots assigned to the unit had little operational experience, and none at all on the P-39, but after assembling their aircraft they commenced training and started to patrol the airspace over the island. They were scattered between various airstrips, the best known of which was Patsy Field (whose crew was called the Patsy Flight). Initially, fifteen aircraft were sent to Guadalcanal in two groups. After a flight with stops on Efate and Espiritu Santo, the Cobras, having covered hundreds of miles over the sea, were led to their destination by a B-17 Flying Fortress. Later, elements of squadrons stationed on the other archipelagos were redirected to Guadalcanal. Even then, however, the 67th<\/sup> Fighter Squadron was the command unit and provided logistical support.<\/p>\n From the beginning of September, Guadalcanal had its own radar station, which was operated by the Marines.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n P-400 Airacobra \u201ewhite 12\u201d, BW156, pilot Lt. Richard Johnson 67FS\/347FG \u201eFancy Nancy\u201d, Guadalcanal August-September 1942. See photo in\u00a0 Wolf William, “13th Fighter Command in World War II” p. 45. Artwork byZbyszek Malicki. The Aircobras were poorly adapted to operating from field airstrips. The undercarriage with the front wheel made it very difficult to land even on good surfaces. The aeroplane itself, without the second engine compressor stage, lacked power at higher altitudes. However, the 20 mm (P-400 and P-39D-1) and 37 mm (other versions) cannon, shooting through the propeller axis, was excellent for strafing ground targets. The Aircobra could carry 250- and 500-pound bombs, and even 375-pound depth charges, which were used to murderous effect. Tongue in cheek, pilots of the first Aircobras from the 67th<\/sup> Fighter Squadron referred to themselves as the \u201cJagdstaffel\u201d (German for fighter squadron), although they achieved their successes primarily as dive bombers. Time and again, they provided invaluable ground support to the Marines. Their biggest success consisted in repelling an attack launched on their base on 14 September 1942, when the Marines were ejected from Edson\u2019s Ridge, which towered over the approach to Henderson Field. After dropping their bombs, three P-400s strafed some 2,000 Japanese infantry soldiers from a height of no more than 25\u201330 feet (!). They were so effective that the entire attack collapsed, and the Marines regained their positions. For their role in the fighting, General Vandegrift, the commander of Allied forces on Guadalcanal, awarded Captain Thompson with the Navy Cross (the highest US Navy medal), and lieutenants Brown and Davis with the Silver Star. General Geiger (commander of the Cactus Air Force) discreetly awarded them with the last bottle of whisky from his own stocks.<\/p>\n P-400 Airacobra on Guadalcanal, Summer 1942.<\/em><\/p>\n The Marines\u2019 aerial detachment was occupied primarily with the provision of fighter defence for the island. The airfield and supply routes were under constant attack by Japanese aircraft from New Britain \u2013 G4M-1 Betty bombers escorted by in the A6M2 Zeroes. But the Zeroes, hitherto unmatched in the skies of South-East Asia, found the Marine Corps pilots a worthy opponent. The rules of warfare introduced by Colonel Bauer turned out to be effective. The Wildcats, operating as teams, made use of the advantage of \u201csituational awareness\u201d (Australian coastguardsmen on the Solomon Islands, the so-called Coastwatchers, provided advance information of incoming aeroplanes) and, guided in by radar, waited for the enemy in the air. The advantages of Japanese naval aircraft, that is, range, speed and manoeuvrability, had been achieved at the cost of heavier armour and self-sealing fuel tanks. Properly hit, the Betty became a \u201cflying lighter\u201d, while the Zero would explode in the air. Whereas the Wildcat was difficult to shoot down. Joe Foss claimed that he only once saw an exploding F4F-4. American losses were the result of engine damage or pilot death.<\/p>\n In addition to aerial attacks, the enemy regularly attacked Henderson Field with long-range naval artillery. Japanese ships would sail up to the coast at night and, under cover of darkness, make life as unpleasant as possible for the airfield\u2019s garrison. When morning came, they would flee beyond the reach of the Marine pilots. Until the US Navy sent in major reinforcements, nothing could really be done to counter the problem.<\/p>\n Although the first Marine Corps units were rapidly consumed in the fighting, by October, and especially after the arrival of VMF-121, which went on to become the most effective Marine squadron of the entire campaign, the situation began to stabilize.<\/p>\n Captain Joe Foss \u2013 The Deadliest Wildcat Pilot in the Marine Corps<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/armahobbynews.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/Pacific_Theater_Areas_map1-1024x746.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe First Engagement<\/span><\/h2>\n
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\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\nWildcats and Cobras at Guadalcanal<\/h2>\n
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\n<\/em><\/p>\nFighters and Bombers<\/h2>\n
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