Buy The 5th Air Force

Originating from the Philippine Department Air Force, the 5th US Army Air Force was officially created on February 5, 1942, in the emergency caused by the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Initially equipped with limited resources and outdated and inefficient equipment, its various fighter and bomber units were initially tasked with defending Australia, which was seriously threatened by the Japanese advance in the Southwest Pacific. Led by the charismatic Major General George Kenney, and gradually reinforced by new, better-armed squadrons from the United States, the 5th Air Force, often alongside the Royal Australian Air Force, would participate in the long and fierce battles in New Guinea, then in the various islands of the Southwest Pacific, its zone of influence, positions recaptured one after the other by the Allies, becoming General MacArthur's spearhead in this march towards Japan. Its record at the end of the conflict is a measure of its effectiveness, notably with an unequalled record of more than 3,400 aerial victories obtained and the presence in its ranks of the two greatest American aces of all time, Majors Bong and McGuire.