Desperate Gambit: Project X and American Airmen in the Dutch East Indies, 1941-42
 

From the Stone & Stone site:


Bill Bartsch, author of superlative books such as Victory Fever on Guadalcanal, sent us this information about his current project:
"I've been working the past few years on the untold story of the Army Air Forces' Project X to transfer 65 B-17Es and 15 LB-30s to MacArthur in the Philippines in December 1941 and then shifted to Java from early January 1942 when no bases remained in the Philippines from where the heavy bombers could operate. This was a highly secret operation pushed by Chief of Staff Marshall at the instigation of FDR in an effort to help MacArthur. I have found records for most of the flights from MacDill Field in Tampa, Florida to the Far East, an unprecedented effort to ferry so many bombers with mostly green crews over half way around the world. I pick up the story of the experiences of the crews in combat over the Dutch East Indies in January-February 1942. I also include the story of the 19th Bomb Group survivors of the Philippines campaign who flew missions out of Australia and then Java in their few outmoded B-17Ds up to mid-January 1942. Tentative title: Desperate Gambit: Project X and American Airmen in the Dutch East Indies, 1941-42."

Desperate Gambit: Project X and American Airmen in the Dutch East Indies, 1941-42
 

Can't wait for this. Mr. Bartsch is a brilliant author. Thanks for the information.

James

Re: Desperate Gambit: Project X and American Airmen in the Dutch East Indies, 1941-42
 

You're welcome James. I enjoy looking for such things.



Ed

Re: Desperate Gambit: Project X and American Airmen in the Dutch East Indies, 1941-42
 

Update via Bill Stone - 29 December 2022

Author William H. Bartsch tells us he has a new book on the way:

"Texas A&M University Press has accepted my new book proposal for publication, hopefully in 2023. It is tentatively entitled Desperate Gambit: Project X, ABDACOM, and the American Bomber Defense of Java, December 1941-March 1942. For the first time, it will cover the story of the secret USAAF plan to transfer 80 heavy bombers two-thirds the way across the world to Java in the hope of blunting the Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies."

Author's website
http://www.writingthepacificwar.com/index.html