Hale’s Handful . . . Up from the Ashes
Research Report
Hale’s Handful . . . Up from the Ashes: The Forging of the Seventh Air Force from the Ashes of Pearl Harbor to the Triumph of VJ-day
Peter S. H. Ellis
Copyright Date: Jul. 1, 2002
Published by: Air University Press
Pages: 93
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https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep13845
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  1. Front Matter
    Front Matter (pp. i-i)
  2. Disclaimer
    Disclaimer (pp. ii-ii)
  3. Dedication
    Dedication (pp. iii-iv)
  4. Table of Contents
    Table of Contents (pp. v-vi)
  5. Abstract
    Abstract (pp. vii-viii)
  6. About the Author
    About the Author (pp. ix-x)
  7. Acknowledgments
    Acknowledgments (pp. xi-xi)
  8. Chapter 1 Introduction
    Chapter 1 Introduction (pp. 1-8)

    The Seventh Air Force grew out of the ashes of the attack on Pearl Harbor and was initially established to provide defense for the Hawaiian Islands and to serve as a “feeder” command to orient incoming troops to the theater, then distribute them to other combatant commands. However, despite chronically low manning and equipment shortages, beginning in the summer of 1943, the Seventh Air Force transitioned from a defensive and training-oriented command to an offensive, highly mobile combat command. Hale’s Handful—as the initial small Seventh Air Force came to be known—took on the challenges of strategic bombing, island...

  9. Chapter 2 Beginnings—The Forging of Seventh Air Force
    Chapter 2 Beginnings—The Forging of Seventh Air Force (pp. 9-20)

    The Hawaiian Air Force, activated on 1 November 1940, was the direct predecessor of the Seventh Air Force.¹ It was also the first command of the US Army Air Corps (later redesignated AAF) to see combat in World War II, when Japanese carrier planes bombed and strafed Hickam and Wheeler Fields and Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941.²

    The tremendous naval loss from the attack at Pearl Harbor is well known—10 ships sunk or put out of commission (including five battleships) and eight other ships damaged.³ Less well known is that the AAF lost more than 100 planes, about...

  10. Chapter 3 Early Campaigns: The Gilberts and the Marshalls
    Chapter 3 Early Campaigns: The Gilberts and the Marshalls (pp. 21-42)

    The summer of 1943 marks the transition of Seventh Air Force from a defensive and training-oriented command to an offensive, highly mobile combat command.¹ While training and service support to other commands would continue, as well as Fighter Command’s charge to provide for air defense, Seventh Air Forces’ energies became increasingly devoted to support of its own offensive operations in the Central Pacific.² In July 1943 Seventh Air Force received its first major combat assignment when the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) issued orders for Operation Galvanic—a joint amphibious assault against the Gilbert Islands, marking the beginning of a...

  11. Chapter 4 Later Campaigns: Neutralization of the Carolines, Marianas Campaign, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa
    Chapter 4 Later Campaigns: Neutralization of the Carolines, Marianas Campaign, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa (pp. 43-74)

    While the planners in Washington were wrestling with the decision to bypass Truk and invade the Marianas instead, Seventh Air Force bombers continued to pound the bypassed islands in the Marshalls, enabling the consolidation of gains taken by US forces during the drive through that archipelago.¹ However, even as this decision was being debated and new bases were being constructed in the Marshalls, initial bombing raids were simultaneously launched against enemy bases in the Carolines—Ponape in the Eastern Carolines and the great enemy bastion at Truk.²

    In March 1944, new bases in the Marshalls became available, and the decision...

  12. Chapter 5 Conclusion
    Chapter 5 Conclusion (pp. 75-81)

    As the scarcity of published literature on the subject attests, the accomplishments of the Seventh Air Force in the Central Pacific in World War II have largely gone unsung. This is unfortunate because this was arguably the most joint theater of World War II. This theater provides many relevant lessons about the challenges of joint C² and the development of joint operational procedures to offer airmen today.

    While the Central Pacific was clearly a Navy-dominated theater, it was also the only theater in World War II where all the services were major contributors in most combat operations. Army Air Forces...