5. The Second World War

Abstract

‘The Second World War: the air war in the Pacific’ describes the maritime and air operations in the Pacific that were truly epic in scale. It outlines the strategic bombing in the Far East as well as the two atomic raids carried out on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. Prior to the atomic strikes on Japan, strategic bombing to coerce capitulation had failed in the combined operations against Germany. Even then, it seems likely now that the atomic raids contributed to rather than caused Japanese surrender. Command of the air was indispensable. However, air power alone could not deliver success. When used as a component of an integrated pragmatically founded strategy, it was nonetheless vital.