Resolute

The Australian Air War in Burma 1942-1945

By Andrew Kilsby and Daryl Moran

Published by Big Sky Publishing

 

RRP $36.99 in paperback | ISBN 9781923300903

Authors Andrew Kilsby and Daryl Moran, both sons of World War Two RAAF veterans, are noted historians who were determined to pursue their objective of producing the first comprehensive history of RAAF airmen involved in the Burma campaign.

The strategic importance of Burma was heightened by Japanese control of the Chinese seaboard. China needed another route by which to import materials. Burma’s production of rice was also important to India yet, for the British, its defence was a low priority. They did very little to prepare Burma for a possible Japanese invasion.

This book follows the success of their edited volume In the Fight: Australians and the War in Burma 1942–1945.

More than 1,700 Australian airmen were engaged in the air war across the Southeast Asian theatre. Integrated into Royal Air Force (RAF) squadrons centred on the Burma campaign, they were joined by other Australians serving directly within the RAF.

These airmen flew a wide range of aircraft—fighters, bombers, flying boats, dive bombers, medical evacuation planes, and transports—across one of the most challenging and diverse combat environments of the war.

They undertook perilous sorties over ‘the Hump’ into China, dropped agents into Burma, Thailand, Malaya, and Indo-China, and conducted bombing raids and ground attacks on targets throughout Southeast Asia.

They delivered vital supplies to forward troops and flew anti-submarine patrols and convoy protection missions across the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean.

More than 245 Australian airmen lost their lives during these operations.

VERDICT: This is a thoroughly researched book that will readily find an appreciative readership.