Fully illustrated, this is the first book to examine US Pacific War tactical airpower at its peak, in the last and greatest island campaign, Okinawa.The battle for Okinawa turned out to be the last major campaign of World War II, and the largest amphibious invasion of the Pacific War. After years of improvement, Okinawa saw American tactical aviation at its most effective, yet little has been written about how the huge and complex air operation here was organized and fought.In this book, airpower scholar James S. Corum presents a full portrait of US Navy, Marine and Army Air Force aviation in the battle for Okinawa. Unique to the campaign was the formation of a Marine-commanded Tactical Air Force to support the Army-Marine Tenth Army, which provided the ground forces battling for the island with unparalleled close air support, with only ten recorded instances of friendly fire from 14,000 sorties. He also examines air operations flown from Okinawa after the surrender, and provides an overview of the planned air support for the invasion of the Home Islands from Okinawa.Fully illustrated with superb original artwork, 3D diagrams and maps, this is an expertly researched study of the ultimate tactical air campaign of the Pacific.
