Savage Skies, Emerald Hell

The U.S., Australia, Japan, and the Ferocious Air Battle for New Guinea in World War II

Jay A. Stout

• Publisher: Stackpole Books
• Year: 2024
• eBook ISBN: 9780811775649
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: World War II
• Index: History

While the Marine Corps island-hopped across the Pacific from Guadalcanal to Saipan to Iwo Jima, the U.S. Army was locked in a grueling, multiyear fight for the jungle island of New Guinea, which in Japanese hands threatened both Australia and the vital supply lines stretching to the United States. Forces under Douglas MacArthur intended to deny the Japanese this opportunity and use New Guinea as a stepping stone on the road back to the Philippines and, beyond it, Japan. A critical component of that campaign was waged in the air, where American pilots supported ground troops and took the battle to the Japanese in scattered villages and beaches, along the way fighting not only the Japanese, but also the dangers of the island’s mountainous terrain and thick jungles, the weather, and the surrounding ocean.

Savage Skies, Emerald Hell is the story of the stirring and terrible air combat that made winning the fight for New Guinea possible. It includes accounts from fighter, bomber, and transport crews—primarily George Kenney’s Fifth Air Force—and places their actions within the broader context of strategy and tactics, also providing descriptions of equipment and the experiences of the mechanics and support men who made it all possible. It is a riveting narrative of World War II in the air, combining deep primary research and Jay Stout’s personal experience as a fighter pilot. More than a great read, Savage Skies, Emerald Hell is an important contribution to World War II history.

Table of contents

• Acknowledgments
• Preface
• Prelude
• 1 “It Was Trickling Down My Legs”
• 2 “He Never Said a Word”
• 3 “I Decided to Go to Horn Island”
• 4 “A Very Attractive and Polished Gentleman”
• 5 “He Had Avoided Combat Often”
• 6 “He Had No Parachute”
• 7 “Father, Don’t Try to Persuade Them”
• 8 “I Would Be Loyal to Him”
• 9 “We Pray for Absolute Victory”
• 10 “One’s Head Lying on Another’s Chest”
• 11 “Most of Us Went Away Shaking Our Heads”
• 12 “Send Troops Immediately”
• 13 “It Was More Than I Could Stand”
• 14 “What We Didn’t Get, the Sharks Got”
• 15 “The Zero Exploded Just Before Hitting the Water”
• 16 “We Never Did See Them”
• 17 “Sell the P-47 or Go Back Home”
• 18 “Making Fool of the Jap Man”
• 19 “My God, What a Sight!”
• 20 “But He Was Always Cheerful”
• 21 “Great Gushing Gouts of Fuel Ignited”
• 22 “Tickling a Giant’s Throat with a Feather”
• 23 “He Was Lying”
• 24 “We Tended to Black Out”
• 25 “I Don’t Remember a Lot Being Made of It”
• 26 “Everyone Except MacArthur Looked Skeptical”
• 27 “Part of a Burned Body Slipped from the B-25”
• 28 “We Had Hoped to Catch a Few Jap Planes in the Air”
• 29 “He Cursed and Shouted”
• Epilogue
• Notes
• Bibliography