The Battle of the Bismarck Sea

The Battle of the Bismarck Sea was a watershed in the history of military aviation. On the heels of victory in the Solomon's Island chain, the battle marked the destruction of a major Japanese convoy reinforcing New Guinea by air power alone. The Allied forces had completely turned the tide against the Japanese in the Pacific theater at a time when the Japanese still possessed the capability to resist. The Japanese planned a thorough and comprehensively joint operation in order to ensure the safe arrival of the convoy. Especially critical to the operation were their combined army and navy air forces; the Japanese fully understood the lessons of air power and intended to contest allied air superiority. The Japanese, however, had poor command and control, inferior technology and tactics and lacked the flexibility to take full advantage of airpower.