Captain Rodman adapted his MA thesis into this book, but don't let that but you off. This is a carefully constructed and researched account of the development of attack aviation, using the overlooked Fifth Air Force in the South West Pacific Theater. General Kenney, who served as General MacArthur's air commander, faced many difficulties when he assumed command in the dark days of 1942. US airpower in the theater had suffered massive losses in the Philippines. Reinforcements would be sporadic, as Europe and the Central Pacific took priority. The sheer scale of the theater, with thousands of kilometers separating islands, meant that strategic targets were out of range. And finally, Army Air Corps doctrine was based around massed formations of heavy bombers operating from around 10,000 feet, but in practice accuracy from that altitude was abysmal and bombers simply could not hit stationary targets, let alone moving fleets.

Kenney reorganized local forces under his unified command, and began developing tactics of low-level bombing using field made expedients. Legendary pilot 'Pappy' Gunn mounted up to 12 .5o caliber machine guns in the noses of medium bombers, turning them into scything strafers. Crews developed daring tactics of mast-level skip-bombing, making their runs in at about 100 feet, and using short salvos to ensure a hit by skipping one bomb off the sea and dropping another directly on deck. Small parachutes attached to bombs created parafrags, parademos, and daisy clippers, deadly against soft targets like air bases. Even 75mm cannons were mounted on planes, though ultimately pilots preferred more machine guns, which were better at suppressing flak.

Kenney's reforms paid off. In the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, his squadrons destroyed a major Japanese convoy, killing thousands of enemy soldiers at sea and leaving those already in New Guinea without supplies. The subsequent raid on the airbase at Wewak caught Japanese bombers fueled up and minutes from take-off. That attack ended the offensive threat against Kenney's forces. As pilots rotated home, the hard-learned lessons of 1943 were forgotten, and losses rose in 1945 as the Fifth Air Force moved towards Japan.

Rodman makes a strong case for tactical flexibility in the face of field conditions as key component in air power. This perspective was elided post war, with the 8th Air Force over Europe and the new atomic bomb serving as models for airpower. And as a bonus, this book is available as free pdf courtesy of the USAF, and has some incredible pictures of attack planes in action!