Sunderland 0ver Ear Eastern Seass

An nAF nying Boat Navigato/s Sto-

unique part of RAF heritage for futtrre

generations and be a fitting tribute to his

spondence with suwivors.

ry. By Derek E. Empson- SouthYorkshire:

comrades; he succeeds on both counts.

Empson is a good writer who presents his
material clearly and without ornamenta-

paigr *as the longest sustained attack of

World War II, conducted from January
1942 until the Japanese surrender in

Appendices. Glossary. Index. Pp. 272.

tion. Someone looking for lyrical descrip

tions of flying at wavetop height over tlrc
Sea ofJapan in a snowstorm should look

August 1945. Recognizing that it would be

Pen and Sword,2010. Maps. lbbles. Diagrams. Illustrations. Photographs. Notes.

825.00. ISBN: 9?8-1-848&L16S-5

Histary is made by people; unfortu-

elsewhere, but his matter-of-fact presenta-

It is

tion still paints a vivid picture that helps

the reader appreciate the dangers and

nately, their memories are perishable.

always a pleasur, ttrerefore, to read well

written remiuisces of someone who partic*,
ipated in past events big and small. Gnoup
Captain Empson's account ofhis senrice as
a Sunderland flying boat navigator in the
Far East sixty years ago is typical ofa veteran's account of his day-today life and

work. These accourts often take in the

larger events
them but pr+
vide a unique glimpse at a world we rarely
see through more conventional histories
overing }arger canvasses. Empson's orperiene takes in the Korean War, but only
peripherally, since the Sunderland's mission was not directly engaged with opera-

tions on shore. Bather it provides a fascinatinglook at thelife of anormal RAF officer flyingin the early ColdWar performing
a mission that was soon taken over by
more modern, although perhaps less inter-

sting, airoaft.

The book

is

taking an airplane fum Singapore to the

IIK with the attendaat maintenanee and
weather issues. ?his odys,sey is something
todals newly minted aviators could hardly bqin to fatlrom. Empson was a navigator and naturally spends a good deal of
time talking about his duties and procedures. Someone less interestd in a flight

oer/s inner workings might fnd

these

discussions tedious (he devote an errtire

appendix as $rell as coasiderable portions
ofthe text to dead reckoning and other
navigational procedures) but, as an aviator and history bufr, I was delightcd. lhis
sort offlight navigation is a vanishing art,
and his descriptions ofits intrieacies ane a
testament to the dedication and skill of all
who earned the title "navigator." Having
flown military reconnaissance missions in
many of the same areasr and with similar
taskings aturing my Air Force caree4 I

found the contrasts and similarities

between different airffaft and time periinhiguing.

Empsonwas a career RAF officer, but

this book covers just his first operational

(and only flying boat) assignment. He

hopes his memories

50

departure and recovery operations that

took as mudr seamanship as airmanship.
My only complaint was redundancy of
some of his descriptions of activities and
procedures. More carefirl editiag might
have elimina'ted these redrmdancies,but

it

is a very minor criticism of an otherwise

excellent work Ttre seecidized subject

isn't for everyone, and the price tag may
give some people pause; but for those

Allid air cam-

impossible in a single volume to discuss in

detail the entire assault on Rabaul,
Gamble closed his work with a chapter

about the successful interception and

killing of Japanese Admiral Isoroku

Yamamoto by Urdted States Army Air

Force Iodrheed P-38 pilots in April 1943.

Ile

suggests a succeediag volume may be

in the works.
Organized in thronological order, the

book focuses on Allied bomber operations-those of the Royal Ausbalian Air

Fbrce, United States Army Air Forces'

Fifth Air Force, and United States Navy
carrier-task-forces-and the Japanesi
cor:rrter pundres against bases on New
Guinea and the Solomons. Alied fighter
operations receive limitd mention compared to those ofthe Japanese.

The emphasis on

will help presenrc a

personalities

interested in flVrng boat operations and a

look at life as a young RAF officer in a van-

enhances the booHs readability. Prisoners

ished time,

describe the bombs

enjoyed

it.

it is worth it. I thoroughly

of war and Japanese service personnel

fa[ing on

Lt. Col. Golda

Eld,ridee, USAF {Rct.),

Ed.D.

@@o6so
Fortress Rabauk

Ihe Battle for

Rabaul.

Numerous anecdotes recall the experiences of coast watc,hers and

arranged primarily

chronologically, but Empson diverges from

this forrrat to discuss eveuts he felt particularly illustrative of flying boai operations. He creates a wonderf.rl picture of the
challenges aviators faced a mere 5&r- years
ago in discussinghis crert's S7dayjourney

ods

rewards of the mission.

The book is exceptionally well made
with exellent photos, maps, and diagrams
that help explain the texb. Empson takes
the time to explain now arcane flyingboat

Gamble argues the

ordinary crew

members. Individual drapters are devoted

to Medal of Honor winners Edward H.

"Butch O'Hare, Harl Pease, Jr., and
Kenneth N. rvYalker. High-lwel decision
makers also receive considenable atten-

the

Southwest Pacifrc, January 1942April 194i. By Bruce Gamble. Minneapolis, Minn.: Zenith Press, 2010. Maps.
Photographs. Notes. Bibliography. Index.
Pp. xvii, 398. $28.00 ISBN: 97M-7603235G2

tion.
AIso commendable is a fine attempt to

correlate as much as possible victory

claims and bomb-drmage assessments

vsith rcrurded losses and destruction. Both
sides repeatedly exaggeratd their successes. In some instances, the inaccurate

reports misled headquarters and negative-

The authods fouth book on Wbrld

War II in the southwest Pacific fts neatly
between his other efforts: Dorhest Hour:
The ThE Story of La.rk Foru. at RebauJ
describes the resistance offered by

ly affected future mission planning. I

would have preferred that Gamble had
used the Allied ode name for Japanese
airrraft

(e.g., Betty, Oscar, Zeke)

from the

start ratler than waitiug until the final

Marine Corps fighter squadron VIVIF-214;

wtttle Blark Sluep anc orarnines Greg

quarter of the work. I'hat criticism aside,

taken as a whole, For*ess.Babaul nicely
complements Eric Bergenrd's more comprehensive treatrnent of the southwest
Pacific air campaiga,Fi,rc in thz Sky.

?app/Boyingtons life.
In his preface, Gamble ootes that he

Lt. Col.

Australian troops attempting to repel the

Japanese invasion of New Britain; ?Ire

Blank Sluep discusses the activities of

was atbractd to exploring the Allied air

assault on Rabaul afier he disovered pertinent documents among his late uncle's
possessions: John Steinbinder flew

Steuen D. Ellis, USAFR

deenl, M useum of Wt\ Seottln

ses@@@

forlr-

tlrree missions as a Boeing B-17 navigator. Besides using the standard se@ndaqi
sources, he also relied on significant
Ausbalian lVar Memorial documents and
translations ofJapanese histories in addition to numerous interviews and eorre-

(Ret-),

Unbroken: A Yorld War II Story of

Sunrival, Resilience, and Redemptiol By Laura Hillenbrand. New York:
Bandom House, 2010. Map. Diagram.
Photographs. Notes. Bibliography. Index.

ArR

Fowm,

t{ktory / surtryon zorr