This heavily illustrated work is the only book to describe the entire history of the U.S. Marine Corps' air arm. With hundreds of rare photographs, this fourth edition represents a major redesign and update of the last edition, published more than a decade ago. Chapters include descriptions of early development and training, as well as combat deployments during World War I and in Central America. World War II and Korea, Vietnam, the Balkans, and Southwest Asia campaigns are also well covered. The book's emphasis is on the Marines who made up the air squadrons, developed the aircraft and tactics, and fought the battles as the main support of troops on the ground. The text includes first-person accounts and comments from many participants--aviators and crewmen alike.

"Selection of oral histories"--CD surface.

The return of Allied forces to the Philippines in the fall of 1944 further throttled Japan's already tenuous pipe line to the rich resources of Malaya and the Netherlands Indies, and with it the last vestige of her ability to meet the logistical requirements of a continuing war. The Battle for Leyte Gulf marked the end of Japan as a naval power, forcing her to adopt the desperation kamikaze tactic against the United States Fleets. The Philippine victories were primarily Army and Navy operations. Marines, comprising only a fraction of the toal forces engaged, played a secondary but significant role in the overall victory. The campaign was important to the Corps in that the Marine aviatiors, who had battled two years for air control over the Solomons, moved into a new role, their first opportunity to test on a large scale the fundamental Marine doctrine of close air support for ground troops in conventional land operations. This test they passed with credit, and Marine flyers contributed materially to the Philippines victory. Lessons learned and techniques perfected in those campaigns form an important chapter in our present-day close air support dotrines.--Foreword.

Beskrivelse af Marine Corps Aviation. Fortæller bl.a. om de særlige forudsætninger for at støtte kampen på jorden og om udviklingen af helikopter-støtten.