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by U. S. Army Command and General Staff Col (Author)
In 1941, the Far East Air Force (FEAF) was activated in support of Operation Philippines-Luzon-Unaccompanied-Manila (PLUM). Their mission was to deter Japanese aggression by presence and, if ordered, conduct offensive operations against the Japanese. However, following the attacks on Clark Airfield, the FEAF lost 50 percent of their aircraft in a single day. Two weeks later, the remaining offensive aircraft retreated to Austraila unable to deter the Japanese. Under the new leadership of General George Kenney, the FEAF turned their retreat into a offense supporting General Douglas MacArthur's "triphibious concept." By September 1944, the FEAF was striking the Japanese on the Philipines. The research question presented in this thesis is, how effective was the FEAF in shaping and supporting ground operations in the retaking of the Philippines in 1944? Air superiority is a requirement in any area of responsibilty; however, the thesis focuses on shaping and supporting operations by means of counterland and airlift operations, both direct and indirect. The thesis is taken from a operational lens and compares the operations on Letye and Luzon up until March 1945. The secondary question compares the historical significant of Kenney's operations with today's land based aviation challenges in the Pacific.
