LEADER 03249nam 2200469 450 001 9910154885303321 005 20200520144314.0 010 $a1-5267-1106-0 035 $a(CKB)4340000000018482 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC4749291 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL4749291 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr11306647 035 $a(OCoLC)965157601 035 $a(BIP)055721539 035 $a(BIP)058474198 035 $a(EXLCZ)994340000000018482 100 $a20161212h20162016 uy 1 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurcnu|||||||| 181 $2rdacontent 182 $2rdamedia 183 $2rdacarrier 200 10$aAmerican airline's secret war in China $eproject seven alpha, WWII /$fLeland Shanle 210 1$aSouth Yorkshire, England :$cPen and Sword Aviation,$d2016. 210 4$d2016 215 $a1 online resource (198 pages) 311 $a1-4738-8771-2 330 8 $aWINNER OF THE HISTORICAL FICTION AWARD for 2012; by the Military Writers Society of America (MWSA). P7A IS THE FIRST IN A TRILOGY SET IN WWII: In late 1941, President Roosevelt agonized over the rapid advances of the Japanese forces in Asia; they seemed unstoppable. He foresaw their intentions of taking India and linking up with the two other Axis Powers, Germany and Italy, in an attempt to conquer the Eastern Hemisphere. US naval forces had been surprised and diminished in Pearl Harbor and the army was not only outnumbered but also ill-prepared to take on the invading hoards. One of Roosevelt's few options was to form a defensive line on the eastern side of the Patkai and Himalayan Ranges; there, he could look for support from the Chinese and Burmese. It was the only defense to a Japanese invasion of India. To support and supply the troops who were fighting in hostile jungle terrain, where overland routes had been cut off, he desperately needed to set up an air supply from Eastern India. His problem was lack of aircraft and experienced pilots to fly the dangerous Hump, over the worlds highest mountains. Hence the inception of Operation Seven Alpha, a plan to enlist the aircraft - DC-3s - and the pilots - veterans of World War One - of American Airlines. This newly formed elite Squadron would fly the medium-range aircraft in a series of long-distance hops across the Pacific and Southern Asia to the Assam Valley in India. They would then create and operate the vital supply route, carrying arms, ammunition and food Eastward to the Allied bases, before returning with wounded personnel. This is the story of that little-known operation, carried out in the early days of the Burma Campaign. The book is based on firsthand experiences of those who were involved, and it serves as a fitting tribute to the bravery and inventiveness of a band of men who answered their country's desperate call at the outset of the war against Japan in Asia. 606 $aWar stories 610 $aUNITED STATES 610 $aWORLD WAR, 1939-1945 610 $aHISTORY 615 0$aWar stories. 676 $a811.54 700 $aShanle$b Leland$01379950 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910154885303321 996 $aAmerican airline's secret war in China$93420563 997 $aUNINA