Aviation Specials Magazine Pacific Hell Edizione speciale

The attack by Japanese carrier-borne aircraft on the US Pacific Fleet base at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 stunned the world. All eight American battleships that formed the backbone of the Pacific Fleet were either damaged or destroyed, along with 11 other vessels and more than 300 aircraft. This pre-emptive strike was only the first stage in Emperor Hirohito’s plan to seize territories across the Pacific which would enable Japan to acquire the raw materials it needed to maintain the war and dominate East Asia.

Japanese forces seized Wake Island, Guam and the British colony of Hong Kong before the end of 1941, and in the early months of the following year the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), Malaya, Singapore, and Burma also fell. But rather than seeking to reach a peace deal as the Japanese had hoped, the Allies fought back with just as much relentless determination as the Japanese had shown.

Pacific Hell – The War in the Far East 1941-1943 details the land, sea and air battles over two terrible years that eventually led to the utter defeat of Imperial Japan.