The core of the text is divided into three parts. In Part I I examine the battlefield. This includes the seizure and construction of air-base networks that defined the strategic parameters of the campaign. It also includes an examination of the beastly terrain and climate that plagued every aspect of the campaign and made service in the theater dangerous for every person regardless of service. In Part II I examine the aircraft employed by both sides.
Technology is an indispensable part of any sound account of air warfare.
My chronicle is not highly specialized, but I hope to show how technical matters limited and influenced operations on both sides of the battle line. I wish also to show to what degree technical changes that benefited the Allies and a more developed industrial base on the part of the United States helped to bring the proud Japanese air arm to its knees. I also look at the men who conducted the air war. I examine their training, their preparation for battle, and the complicated but fascinating subject of morale. In Part III I analyze the dynamics of air combat from the points of view of fighter pilots as well as the aircrews who projected power in bombers.