AirSols
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AirSols was an abbreviation of Air Solomons, the Allied air units in the Solomon Islands campaign of World War II, from April 1943 to June 1944. Its units came from the United States Navy (USN), United States Marine Corps (USMC), United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) and the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF). AirSols superseded and absorbed the Cactus Air Force of 1942-43. It was under the Allied Supreme Command known as Pacific Ocean Areas (POA).
The Allied fliers fought the Japanese 11th Air Fleet and 4th Air Army, based at Rabaul, New Britain.
On June 15, 1944, AirSols was replaced by AirNorSols (Air North Solomons), which would have 40 squadrons (including 23 USMC squadrons). That same day, responsibility for Allied units west of 159° East Longitude and south of the Equator passed from POA to the South West Pacific Area (SWPA). However, seven USAAF squadrons in AirNorSols were transferred, as part of the Thirteenth Air Force, to the U.S. Far East Air Forces (SWPA) and eight USN and RNZAF squadrons were moved to garrison duty in South Pacific.
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[edit] Commanders
- Vice Adm. Marc A. Mitscher (USN): April 1, 1943
- Maj. Gen. Ralph J. Mitchell (USMC): November 20, 1943.
- Maj. Gen. Hubert R. Harmon (USAAF): March 15, 1944
- Maj. Gen. Field Harris (USMC): April 20, 1944
- Maj. Gen. James T. Moore (USMC): May 31, 1944
[edit] See also
- United States Marine Corps Aviation
- No. 14 Squadron RNZAF
- No. 15 Squadron RNZAF
- Marine Aircraft Group 23
- VMF-214
- VMF-223
[edit] References
[edit] Books
- Bergerud, Eric M. (2000). Fire in the Sky: The Air War in the South Pacific. Boulder, CO, USA: Westview Press. ISBN 0-8133-3869-7.
- Blackburn, Tom (1989). The Jolly Rogers. New York, NY, USA: Orion Books. ISBN 0-5175-7075-0.
- Boyington, Gregory "Pappy" (1958 (reissue 1977)). Baa Baa Black Sheep. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-26350-1.
- Gamble, Bruce (2000). Black Sheep One : The Life of Gregory "Pappy" Boyington. New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-89141-801-6.
- Griffith, Brig. Gen. Samuel B (USMC) (1974). "Part 96: Battle For the Solomons", History of the Second Wold War. Hicksville, NY, USA: BPC Publishing.
- McGee, William L. (2002). The Solomons Campaigns, 1942-1943: From Guadalcanal to Bougainville--Pacific War Turning Point, Volume 2 (Amphibious Operations in the South Pacific in WWII). BMC Publications. ISBN 0-9701678-7-3.
- Morison, Samuel Eliot (1958). Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, vol. 6 of History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Castle Books. ISBN 0-7858130-7-1.
- Sakaida, Henry (1996). The Siege of Rabaul. St. Paul, MN, USA: Phalanx. ISBN 1-883809-09-6.
- Sherrod, Robert (1952). History of Marine Corps Aviation in World War II. Washington, D.C.: Combat Forces Press.
[edit] Web
- Craven, Wesley Frank; James Lea Cate. Vol. IV, The Pacific: Guadalcanal to Saipan, August 1942 to July 1944. The Army Air Forces in World War II. U.S. Office of Air Force History. Retrieved on Oct 20, 2006.
- Mersky, Peter B. (1993). Time of the Aces: Marine Pilots in the Solomons, 1942-1944 (English). Marines in World War II Commemorative Series. History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps. Retrieved on October 20, 2006. Account of U.S. Marine involvement in air war over Solomon Islands and Rabaul.
- Miller, John, Jr. (1959). CARTWHEEL: The Reduction of Rabaul (English). United States Army in World War II: The War in the Pacific 418. Office of the Chief of Military History, U.S. Department of the Army. Retrieved on Oct 20, 2006.
- Shaw, Henry I.; Douglas T. Kane (1963). Volume II: Isolation of Rabaul. History of U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War II. Retrieved on 2006-10-18.
- Title: THE ASSAULT ON RABAUL. Operations by the Royal New Zealand Air Force December 1943 — May 1944. Retrieved on 2006-05-30.
- Air War Against Japan, 1943–1945 (RAAF)
- The Pacific
[edit] Notes
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