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NOTES TO TABLE 18

South Pacific combat activity has already been discussed, and will be covered in more detail in studying the Solomons-Bismarck area in later tables.

In the Southwest Pacific VPB were the sole naval aircraft until transfer of the South Pacific air force to this command in June 1944. From November 1943 to March 1944 these VPB were the celebrated PBY Black Cats, on their nightly anti-shipping sweeps of the Bismarck Sea and New Guinea coast. Thereafter PB4Y and later PV search planes began to operate from SoWesPac bases, and by 1945 a major part of the land-based Naval air force was under SoWesPac control, and was shifted progressively westward and northward to meet the changing needs of that command's campaigns.

The Central Pacific data also represent a series of campaigns in successive areas (see Table 33). First came the early actions at Wake and Midway, then the attacks on the Gilberts and Marshalls from bases in the Ellices and Gilberts, successively. Then as short-range planes came into the Marshalls to maintain pressure on local targets, the VPB reached out to the Carolines. Acquisition of the Marianas and Peleliu took the VF to these islands to wipe out enemy remnants, while the VPB extended their range still farther. Finally the VF and light bombers moved from the mandated islands to Okinawa, and VPB based there covered Japan, Korea, and the entire Yellow and China Sea areas.

The North Pacific air campaign had three phases. First came the holding period, when Naval PBYs were confined largely to patrol. This culminated with the capture of Attu in May 1943. Then for three months the Naval PV force helped to hammer Kiska. Finally, beginning in the early winter of 1944 the PVs began regular night strikes (and later day searches and strikes) on Jap installations and ships in the Kuriles. These continued until the end of the war, rocket loadings being substituted for bombs during some months, and the PVs being relieved by PB4Ys at the end.

TABLE 18. CONDENSED MONTHLY DATA ON OPERATIONS AND RESULTS, NAVAL AND MARINE LAND-BASED AIRCRAFT By Operational Theatre and by Type of Aircraft
A. SOUTH PACIFIC THEATRE
MONTH	VF			VSB - VTB			VPB
MONTH	ACTION SORTIES	TONS OF BOMBS ON TARGETS	ENEMY AIRCRAFT DESTROYED IN COMBAT	ACTION SORTIES	TONS OF BOMBS ON TARGETS	ENEMY AIRCRAFT DESTROYED IN COMBAT	ACTION SORTIES	TONS OF BOMBS ON TARGETS	ENEMY AIRCRAFT DESTROYED IN COMBAT
May 1942	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	3	0
Jun 1942	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	0
Aug 1942	57	0	52	31	12	0	1	0	2
Sep 1942	259	0	111	247	73	0	1	0	0
Oct 1942	478	0	164	360	155	13	0	0	0
Nov 1942	175	0	70	431	184	7	0	0	0
Dec 1942	40	0	17	291	83	2	2	0	0
Jan 1943	84	0	52	310	97	2	0	0	0
Feb 1943	10	0	15	386	173	6	33	75	0
Mar 1943	8	0	0	316	178	1	34	33	0
Apr 1943	197	0	46	240	152	0	8	7	0
May 1943	116	0	15	331	226	0	5	0	0
Jun 1943	237	0	128	488	305	0	11	10	0
Jul 1943	525	0	174	2,555	1,633	6	45	31	6
Aug 1943	414	0	108	689	398	0	19	22	1
Sep 1943	599	0	97	951	563	2	88	36	7
Oct 1943	456	0	64	999	595	0	92	86	5
Nov 1943	915	0	86	1,723	1,101	0	110	46	9
Dec 1943	690	0	94	1,978	1,260	0	75	18	2
Jan 1944	1,591	0	346	1,342	589	15	92	65	3
Feb 1944	1,899	1	138	1,983	951	2	54	31	9
Mar 1944	1,257	3	7	4,081	2,072	0	295	223	3
Apr 1944	565	14	0	2,839	1,569	0	243	116	5
May 1944	524	4	0	2,348	1,225	0	228	115	3
*Jun 1944 ()**	538	74	1	838	393	0	184	84	1
1942 TOTAL	1,009	0	414	1,360	507	22	10	5	2
1943 TOTAL	4,251	0	879	10,966	6,681	17	520	364	30
1944 TOTAL	6,374	96	492	13,431	6,799	17	1,099	634	24
GRAND TOTAL	11,634	96	1,785	25,757	13,987	56	1,629	1,003	56
* – South Pacific Theatre combat areas were placed under operational control of the Southwest Pacific area command on 16 June 1944. The figures here for June 1944 cover the entire month, and no division is practicable. No action was reported during months not noted above.

TABLE 18. CONDENSED MONTHLY DATA ON OPERATIONS AND RESULTS, NAVAL AND MARINE LAND-BASED AIRCRAFT By Operational Theatre and by Type of Aircraft
B. SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATRE
MONTH	VF			VSB - VTB			VPB
MONTH	ACTION SORTIES	TONS OF BOMBS ON TARGETS	ENEMY AIRCRAFT DESTROYED IN COMBAT	ACTION SORTIES	TONS OF BOMBS ON TARGETS	ENEMY AIRCRAFT DESTROYED IN COMBAT	ACTION SORTIES	TONS OF BOMBS ON TARGETS	ENEMY AIRCRAFT DESTROYED IN COMBAT
Dec 1941							19	5	2
Jan 1942							13	0	1
Feb 1942							6	0	1
Sep 1942							2	0	0
Oct 1943							27	5	0
Nov 1943							45	32	0
Dec 1943							46	67	0
Jan 1944							43	37	0
Feb 1944							28	28	0
Mar 1944							43	45	0
Apr 1944							33	25	5
May 1944							7	2	4
Jun 1944							25	6	13
Jul 1944	1,486	431	0	1,095	585	0	273	150	4
Aug 1944	2,343	725	0	1,074	515	0	312	170	2
Sep 1944	2,041	593	0	1,348	620	0	449	232	1
Oct 1944	2,192	681	0	1,405	663	0	458	301	6
Nov 1944	2,278	593	0	644	285	0	772	587	6
Dec 1944	1,001	239	54	152	74	0	881	729	34
Jan 1945	1,058	292	4	280	111	0	559	566	8
Feb 1945	1,644	919	0	3,989	1,719	0	1,011	850	26
Mar 1945	1,348	555	1	4,350	2,032	0	953	781	24
Apr 1945	1,994	698	2	3,016	1,392	0	1,265	1,270	7
May 1945	800	303	0	2,911	1,475	0	1,438	1,512	12
Jun 1945	300	146	0	1,947	982	0	700	620	5
Jul 1945	515	294	0	1,012	475	0	727	744	2
Aug 1945	129	53	0	181	89	0	194	148	2
1941-43 TOTAL	0	0	0	0	0	0	158	109	4
1944 TOTAL	11,341	3,262	54	5,718	2,742	0	3,324	2,312	75
1945 TOTAL	7,788	3,260	7	17,686	8,275	0	6,847	6,491	86
GRAND TOTAL	19,129	6,522	61	23,404	11,017	0	10,329	8,912	165
NOTE: From 1 July 1944 the data include aircraft operating in the Solomons-Bismarcks area, transferred from the South Pacific command on 16 June 1944. 1941 and early 1942 figures cover activities by VPB of PatWing 10 before establishment of Southwest Pacific Command, in territory later assigned to that command. No action was reported for months not shown above.

TABLE 18. CONDENSED MONTHLY DATA ON OPERATIONS AND RESULTS, NAVAL AND MARINE LAND-BASED AIRCRAFT By Operational Theatre and by Type of Aircraft
C. CENTRAL PACIFIC THEATRE
MONTH	VF			VSB - VTB			VPB
MONTH	ACTION SORTIES	TONS OF BOMBS ON TARGETS	ENEMY AIRCRAFT DESTROYED IN COMBAT	ACTION SORTIES	TONS OF BOMBS ON TARGETS	ENEMY AIRCRAFT DESTROYED IN COMBAT	ACTION SORTIES	TONS OF BOMBS ON TARGETS	ENEMY AIRCRAFT DESTROYED IN COMBAT
Dec 1941	49	0	10	0	0	0	2	0	0
Mar 1942	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
May 1942	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
Jun 1942	27	0	15	45	15	6	14	3	0
Oct 1942	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Jul 1943	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
Aug 1943	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
Oct 1943	0	0	0	0	0	0	24	3	0
Nov 1943	6	0	0	0	0	0	30	2	3
Dec 1943	38	0	1	5	2	0	57	26	9
Jan 1944	0	0	0	0	0	0	200	159	6
Feb 1944	0	0	0	0	0	0	211	116	0
Mar 1944	476	67	8	404	175	0	247	234	2
Apr 1944	1,030	234	2	620	260	0	178	162	2
May 1944	1,428	375	0	673	242	0	331	279	11
Jun 1944	1,025	96	0	736	266	0	188	82	6
Jul 1944	1,438	314	0	1,021	398	0	117	68	0
Aug 1944	1,988	695	0	1,278	532	0	266	183	1
Sep 1944	1,566	498	0	670	295	0	53	22	6
Oct 1944	2,555	877	1	533	229	0	108	48	12
Nov 1944	2,870	809	0	383	170	0	142	67	4
Dec 1944	1,957	817	0	315	140	0	151	134	2
Jan 1945	1,375	329	1	374	182	0	94	36	2
Feb 1945	1,680	208	1	139	48	0	79	9	0
Mar 1945	1,673	418	0	214	130	0	180	123	1
Apr 1945	1,634	475	143	414	212	0	186	81	4
May 1945	1,863	621	217	754	455	1	306	132	31
Jun 1945	2,685	830	117	888	482	1	350	200	15
Jul 1945	2,025	473	18	773	474	0	394	183	8
Aug 1945	448	80	3	189	90	0	151	56	6
1941-43 TOTAL	124	0	27	50	17	6	135	34	12
1944 TOTAL	16,333	4,782	11	6,633	2,707	0	2,192	1,554	52
1945 TOTAL	13,383	3,434	500	3,745	2,073	2	1,740	820	67
GRAND TOTAL	29,840	8,216	538	10,428	4,797	8	4,067	2,408	131
NOTE: Includes all operations by aircraft based at Hawaii, Midway, Wake, the Ellice and Gilbert Islands, the former Japanese Mandated Islands (Marshalls, Carolines, Marianas), Iwo Jima, and the Ryukyus. No action was reported during months not listed above.

TABLE 18. CONDENSED MONTHLY DATA ON OPERATIONS AND RESULTS, NAVAL AND MARINE LAND-BASED AIRCRAFT By Operational Theatre and by Type of Aircraft
D. NORTH PACIFIC THEATRE (All Planes are VPB)
MONTH	1942		1943		1944		1945
MONTH	ACTION SORTIES	TONS OF BOMBS ON TARGETS	ACTION SORTIES	TONS OF BOMBS ON TARGETS	ACTION SORTIES	TONS OF BOMBS ON TARGETS	ACTION SORTIES	TONS OF BOMBS ON TARGETS
January	0	0	2	0	25	19	4	0
February	0	0	1	0	26	18	20	0
March	0	0	3	0	30	18	15	0
April	0	0	1	0	41	27	18	0
May	0	0	2	0	98	47	22	1
June	12	0	39	29	53	26	28	16
July	4	1	17	11	24	9	0	0
August	9	6	8	7	64	27	20	3
September	5	1	0	0	68	22
October	9	2	2	0	19	3
November	0	0	0	0	8	0
December	1	0	6	4	0	0
YEAR TOTALS	40	10	81	51	456	216	127	20
GRAND TOTALS: 704 sorties, 297 tons. Two enemy aircraft were destroyed, in August 1942, one in August 1944, two in September 1944.

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TABLE 18. CONDENSED MONTHLY DATA ON OPERATIONS AND RESULTS, NAVAL AND MARINE LAND-BASED AIRCRAFTBy Operational Theatre and by Type of Aircraft

TABLE 18. CONDENSED MONTHLY DATA ON OPERATIONS AND RESULTS, NAVAL AND MARINE LAND-BASED AIRCRAFTBy Operational Theatre and by Type of Aircraft

TABLE 18. CONDENSED MONTHLY DATA ON OPERATIONS AND RESULTS, NAVAL AND MARINE LAND-BASED AIRCRAFTBy Operational Theatre and by Type of Aircraft

TABLE 18. CONDENSED MONTHLY DATA ON OPERATIONS AND RESULTS, NAVAL AND MARINE LAND-BASED AIRCRAFTBy Operational Theatre and by Type of Aircraft

TABLE 18. CONDENSED MONTHLY DATA ON OPERATIONS AND RESULTS, NAVAL AND MARINE LAND-BASED AIRCRAFT
By Operational Theatre and by Type of Aircraft

TABLE 18. CONDENSED MONTHLY DATA ON OPERATIONS AND RESULTS, NAVAL AND MARINE LAND-BASED AIRCRAFT
By Operational Theatre and by Type of Aircraft

TABLE 18. CONDENSED MONTHLY DATA ON OPERATIONS AND RESULTS, NAVAL AND MARINE LAND-BASED AIRCRAFT
By Operational Theatre and by Type of Aircraft

TABLE 18. CONDENSED MONTHLY DATA ON OPERATIONS AND RESULTS, NAVAL AND MARINE LAND-BASED AIRCRAFT
By Operational Theatre and by Type of Aircraft