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Allied Opinion of IJN vs. IJA Fighter Pilots
Another interesting fact contained in John B. Lundstrom's, The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign : Naval Fighter Combat from August to November 1942 is the incredible distance Japanese pilots were flying to engage marine and navy F4F Wildcats, all of 560-miles ONE WAY (Lakunai airfield, Rabaul to Lunga Point.) The marines went ashore on 7 August, (Henderson Field became operational on 20 August,) and by 12 September, after only thirty-six (36) days of flying that enormous distance back and forth, mission after grueling mission, Base Air Force Rabaul was down to 97 operational aircraft from a pre-invasion T.O. of 277 aircraft. (45 operational Zero fighters, out of 106 operational Zeros on 6 August, (BUT only 17 of these were Type 21's that could actual get to Guadalcanal, the rest were Type 32's,) and 30 operational Bettys out of 120.)
Japanese planners took giants steps down the Solomons...without constructing intermediate support bases and airfields!
Bronc
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