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  • The "Hump": Lifeline to China

    Burma lies like a giant wedge between India and China, and after its occupation by the Japanese, the only link between these two countries was a hazardous air route across the rugged Himalaya Mountains -- the famed "Hump." The obstacles posed by terrain and the extremes in climate were difficulties

  • Turning the Tide in New Guinea

    Attacking at treetop level, Allied aircrews withstood deadly ground fire to strafe Japanese airfields and shipping. Adding to devastation inflicted by their machine guns, the low-flying attackers destroyed Japanese aircraft on the ground with 23-pound fragmentation bombs. At the suggestion of

  • The Eight Who Were Captured

    Following the Tokyo Raid, the crews of two planes remained unaccounted for. On Aug. 15, 1942, it was learned from the Swiss consulate general in Shanghai that the Japanese had eight American flyers at police headquarters in that city. On Oct. 19, 1942, the Japanese broadcast that they had tried two

  • The End in Bataan

    "You men remember this. You did not surrender ... you had no alternative but to obey my order." - Maj. Gen. Edward King Jr., commander on Bataan Although it was supposed to be a stronghold, Bataan had not been adequately supplied before the siege began. Most of its defenders had become sick with

  • The Cost of Being Unprepared: The Last Days on Bataan

    "It really must be getting serious when they have to take the mechanics and armament men and make infantrymen out of them." - Jan. 9, 1942, diary entry of 2nd Lt. John Posten, 24th Pursuit Group pilot On Dec. 8, 1941, Japanese aircraft crippled several USAAF airfields in the Philippines -- within

  • The Bataan Death March

    "Their ferocity grew as we marched ... they were no longer content with mauling stragglers or pricking them with bayonet points. The thrusts were intended to kill."- Capt. William Dyess, 21st Pursuit Squadron commander With few aircraft left, United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) personnel fought as

  • Tuxedo Trousers

    Tuxedo trousers worn by the donor, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Harry W. Brown, when he was one of the few USAAF pilots in Hawaii to take off to engage attacking Japanese planes.Click here to return to the Pearl Harbor Overview.

  • Taylorcraft L-2M Grasshopper

    Adapted for military use from the commercial, prewar Taylorcraft Tandem Trainer, the L-2 initially carried the designation O-57. The "L" for "liaison" replaced the "O" designation for "observation." In the summer of 1941, the L-2 Grasshopper performed its service tests during US Army maneuvers in

  • Transcript of a Beaufighter Combat Mission

    SECRET HEADQUARTERS 64TH FIGHTER WING JG/rar Office of the Senior Controller APO 374 1 October, 1944. SUBJECT : Interception on HE 111, 30 Sept, 1944. TO : CG, Hq 64th Fighter Wing, APO 374, U.S. Army. 1. At 0100 hrs, target "X-Ray 5", one aircraft at Angels 4 appeared about 4 miles South of Dole

  • Test Propellers

    (as shown from left to right in photograph)Hinged-Blade Research PropellerThis 10-foot experimental propeller was ground-tested at McCook Field for the U.S. Navy. Built by Paragon Engineers Inc., it was designed with hinged blades to permit it to adapt to changes in air pressure.Micarta Controllable