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  • Pantelleria

    The capture of the islands of Pantelleria and Lampedusa, lying in the Mediterranean Sea between North Africa and Sicily, was vital to protect the flank of the planned invasion of Sicily. Geographic features made Pantelleria easily defended against an amphibious assault, so on May 18, 1943, an almost

  • North Africa

    In the spring of 1942, the German Afrika Korps, commanded by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, "The Desert Fox," had advanced eastward across North Africa to El Alamein, deep inside Egypt. The British called for U.S. aerial assistance and by July, the AAF had become sufficiently strong to join the RAF in

  • First Over the 'Hump:' The China National Aviation Corporation

    In early 1940, lone DC-3 passenger aircraft of the China National Aviation Corporation (CNAC) cautiously probed over and around the highest mountains in the world seeking air routes between China and India ... and to the outside world. CNAC's great success in finding these vital air routes led to

  • Air Force Association Lifetime Achievement Award

    The Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by the Air Force Association, recognizes not a single achievement, but a lifetime of work in the advancement of aerospace. In September 2009, the AFA presented this award to the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders.Click here to return to the Doolittle Raid Overview. 

  • 14th Air Force in China: From Volunteers to Regulars

    The great value of the American Volunteer Group (AVG or Flying Tigers) was psychological and diplomatic: Americans and Chinese hailed them as heroes during the early period of World War II when Japan had the upper hand. The Flying Tigers raised public hopes for eventual victory while Allied forces,

  • Aleutian Campaign

    As a diversionary move in conjunction with their strike against Midway, the Japanese in June 1942 bombed Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Island chain and landed troops on Kiska and Attu islands. Here the Japanese remained, primarily in a defensive situation, to prevent any movement by American forces

  • Combat Pacific

    For six months following the Pearl Harbor disaster, the outnumbered and ill-supplied Allied forces in the Pacific could do little more than attempt to delay the Japanese advance. Australia was a key stronghold for the buildup of Allied forces, but in early 1942 the last Allied outpost north of

  • Papua

    In July 1942 enemy troops on the Papuan peninsula on the northeast coast of New Guinea began an advance across the Owen Stanley Mountains against Port Moresby. Exhausted Australian ground forces, reinforced by troops flown to the scene, halted the enemy less than 30 miles from Port Moresby and then

  • Day of Infamy: The Pearl Harbor Attack

    At 7:55 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, a Japanese force of 183 airplanes attacked U.S. military and naval facilities on Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands without warning. For 30 minutes, dive bombers, level bombers and torpedo planes struck airfields and naval vessels.After a 15-minute lull, a second wave

  • Flak 36 88mm Multipurpose Gun

    The versatile 88mm cannon was Germany’s main heavy antiaircraft—or “flak”—gun during World War II.  When an 88mm projectile exploded at altitude, it sent out jagged metal fragments that tore through nearby aircraft.  It also left a characteristic black cloud hanging in the sky.  The 88mm cannon’s