The US Navy's 1944 Philippines raids were the first time naval aircraft had challenged and beaten a land-based air force. With artwork and rare photos, this is the first book to study them.

During September 1944, the US Navy's Task Force 38 launched a series of huge airstrikes against Japanese forces in the Philippines. Seventeen carriers, wielding over 1,000 combat aircraft, made up the most powerful naval fleet assembled to date. It was the first time aircraft carriers had dared to confront a major land-based air force. Over a period of two weeks, TF 38 demonstrated the power and mobility of the Fast Carrier Task Force. The strike forces claimed 368 Japanese aircraft shot down and 446 destroyed on the ground, with over a hundred ships destroyed and significant damage to ground installations.

This book is the first to focus on the campaign, and is illustrated with archive photos, original artwork, maps and 3D diagrams. Renowned Pacific War historian Edward M. Young draws upon after-action reports and other primary sources to explain how these September strikes impacted the reeling forces of Imperial Japan. Soon overshadowed by the invasion of Leyte and the enormous Battle of Leyte Gulf, few detailed accounts of this campaign exist. But it was an important stage in the Pacific War, for the relative ease of these raids prompted the planned invasion of Leyte to be brought forwards by two months.

Edward M. Young is a retired financial executive with a BA degree in Political Science from Harvard University and an MA from the University of Washington. In 2015 he received an MA in the History of Warfare from King's College, London and in 2020 completed a PhD in History at King's College. During his career he had assignments in New York, London, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. He is the author of numerous books and articles on aviation history. He lives with his wife in Seattle, Washington.

INTRODUCTION
- Japan's shrinking defensive barrier
- Choosing the best route to Japan
CHRONOLOGY
ATTACKER'S CAPABILITIES
- The Fast Carrier Task Force
- Commanders
- Aircraft
- Targets and tactics
- Carriers and air groups
DEFENDER'S CAPABILITIES
- The Japanese in the Philippines
- Air units and commanders
- Aircraft and weapons
- Targets and tactics
- Air crews
CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVES
- First steps in the Philippines
- American plans and objectives
-Japanese plans and objectives
THE CAMPAIGN
- The carriers move in
- Preliminary actions, August 28 to September 8, 1944
- The strikes on Mindanao, September 9-10, 1944
- The strikes on the Visayas, September 12-14, 1944
- The strikes on Luzon, September 21-22, 1944
- The second strike on the Visayas, September 24, 1944
ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION
FURTHER READING
INDEX