"After Hollandia – Air Combat in Western New Guinea, April-May 1944 – Part 1"
by Richard Dunn
23 September 2026
"The Hollandia air combat of 1944 marked the beginning of a rapid Allied advance into western New Guinea. With Japanese air strength already badly reduced by attacks on Hollandia and nearby bases, American heavy bombers pushed farther west against Noemfoor, Biak and other Japanese positions. The air operations that followed were relatively small compared with the larger Pacific campaigns underway, but they included hard-fought engagements and helped clear the way for the next stage of the Allied advance."
"This article highlights operations that seem a rather modest part of a much larger picture of aerial activities in the Pacific. In the month of April 1944, the U.S. Fifth Air Force conducted more than 5,600 sorties and dropped over 7,200 tons of bombs in New Guinea. Over the course of just a few days during the month U.S. Navy carrier based aircraft flew over 2,000 sorties there. Amphibious operations along New Guinea’s northwest coast in May were soon overshadowed by the invasion of Saipan and the related carrier battle in the central Pacific. This study attempts to illuminate operations which have received relatively little attention."
https://rldunn.com/after-hollandia-1944-part-1/