VLR P-51 Mustang vs Japanese Fighters - Japan 1945

An illustrated study of some of the final and most fierce aerial clashes of the Pacific War, featuring first-hand accounts and combat reports. For four months in 1945, the skies over Tokyo saw USAAF P-51 Mustang pilots clash with Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF) and Imperial Japanese Naval Air Force (IJNAF) fighters in some of the most intense aerial battles of the Pacific War. The Japanese marshalled ten different fighter types to defend the relatively small and well-defined target area, but the already iconic Merlin-engined P-51D Mustang, with its game-changing Very Long-Range (VLR) capabilities, would prove more than a match for their combined forces. In this engaging new study, respected Pacific War historian Carl Molesworth employs combat reports and first-hand accounts to tell the story of how VII Fighter Command''s Mustang pilots went from escorting B-29 bombers to actively seeking out enemy aircraft to attack. Newly commissioned armament, cockpit and battlescene illustrations, as well as a wealth of archive photos, bring the narrative to life, giving a vivid and illuminating sense of what it was like to be a fighter pilot in the air war over Japan in 1945.

Product details

• Authors: Carl Molesworth, Molesworth Carl
• Assisted by: Gareth Hector (Illustration), Hector Gareth (Illustration), Jim Laurier (Illustration), Laurier Jim (Illustration)
• Publisher: Osprey Publishers
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.12.2025
• EAN: 9781472866400
• ISBN: 978-1-4728-6640-0
• No. of pages: 80
• Dimensions: 182 mm x 248 mm x 8 mm
• Series: Duel
• Subjects: Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; USA, Japan, HISTORY / Asia / Japan, Military vehicles, Air forces & warfare, Second World War, United States of America, USA, c 1938 to c 1946 (World War Two period), Air forces and warfare, Pacific Ocean, Military aircraft, Aviation skills / piloting, HISTORY / Modern / 20th Century / General, HISTORY / Military / Aviation & Space, HISTORY / Military / Vehicles / Air, HISTORY / Wars & Conflicts / World War II / Pacific Theater