The Moroccan War in 1923-24 was changed by the accession to power of Primo de Rivera, a popular general who would overthrow the decaying constitutional government and become dictator in September 1923.  This man would attempt to break the impasse in the protectorate by a redeployment of his armies behind more defensible lines.  Though this idea was opposed by the more warlike Spaniards, it was partially implemented in 1924, when the Spanish withdrew from most of their territory in the western half of the protectorate.  This operation was fraught with danger, and resulted in anot ..read more

In mid-1942, Finnish squadron LeLv 24, using the Brewster 239 export variant of the Buffalo, was tasked with opposing Soviet naval aviation over the Gulf of Finland.  Flying from Karelian bases, the Finnish pilots confronted Russian aircraft operating out of the naval base at Kronstadt and the surrounding area.  Newer Soviet aircraft, including advanced fighters like the Yakovlev Yak series, were appearing to oppose the veteran pilots of LeLv and their Brewster fighters.  In addition to the enemy opposition itself, the Finns contended with difficulties in maintaining their Ameri ..read more

In mid-1943 the Soviet opposition facing the Finnish Air Force was improving.  The fighter pilots of squadron LeLv 24, flying the Brewster model 239, continued to battle it out with the Soviets.  While their combat record remained outstanding, losses both in combat and due to wear and tear on their planes caused their numbers to dwindle.  By mid-1944, however, new fighters began to reach the Finns in the form of Bf-109Gs provided by their German co-belligerents.  The Brewsters remained in the fight alongside the newer planes right up until the end of the war with the Russia ..read more

The latter half of 1943 in the Solomons saw US Navy and Marine dive bomber units equipped with the SBD Dauntless engaged in dozens of strikes against Japanese installations on the islands of the archipelago.  Flying in company with Avenger torpedo planes, the Dauntlesses struck airfields, harbors and engaged in close support of land battles and amphibious assaults throughout the island chain.  As the Americans invaded the last big island in the Solomons, Bougainville, carrier-based squadrons began their campaign to neutralize the center of Japanese air and naval strength in the area ..read more

In the early months of 1943, after the end of the battle for Guadalcanal, the campaign in the Solomons Islands was still far from over.  The American forces in the archipelago would spend the remainder of the year fighting their way through the islands to Bougainville and  towards the Japanese base at Rabaul on New Britain beyond.  As the troops fought their way from island to island,  dive-bomber units of the US Navy and Marine Corps flew against Japanese reinforcement convoys at sea and carried out close support missions against land forces.  By November, American ca ..read more

As the end of 1941 came near, the Finnish armies took back most of the territory lost the previous year at the end of the Winter War.  As the front stabilized from the Gulf of Finland northwards to the White Sea, air combat continued to rage between the Finnish Air Force and the Soviet air units in the theater.  Squadron Llv 24, one of the Finn's best fighter units, flew against the Russians with great success in their Brewster model 239 fighters.  The pace of winter air combat in the far north was dictated by the weather, but when it permitted battles between the Finnish Brewst ..read more

Though the Brewster F2A Buffalo saw little service with the American forces, the design was exported to other nations, in whose services it saw much more action.  One of these was Finland, who purchased the fighter, or rather the Model 239 export variant, for its air force as the threat of war with the Soviet Union came closer and closer in late 1939.  Though they arrived too late to have much impact in the Winter War, these aircraft would form the backbone of the Finnish fighter force in the Continuation War that commenced along with Germany's Operation Barbarossa in July of 1941.&n ..read more

A great deal of the pioneering work in the modern technique of the assault from the sea was carried out by the Japanese military in the years between the world wars.  Most of this was the work of the Imperial Japanese Army, which led the way in the development of the doctrine and equipment needed to take a defended beach on a hostile shore.  The Navy also created an amphibious force of its own, specialized in the kind of warfare likely to be fought between the Empire and the Americans in the Pacific.   ..read more

In the mid-1930s the world's air forces were discarding their biplanes and acquiring all-metal monoplane aircraft in front line service.  The United States Navy was no exception.  American  naval aircraft for shore-based use, as well as floatplanes and carrier aircraft, underwent a similar type of development as their counterparts in the Army.  By 1935, prototypes were being produced to replace the Navy's biplane fighters.  This would result in the F2A Buffalo, a product of the new Brewster Aeronautical Corporation.  This fighter would gain an unfavorable reputati ..read more

During the decades between the world wars, a great deal of military innovation was undertaken.  One field in which advances occurred was that of the assault from the sea, the landing of attack forces on defended shores.  The second world war would see many such operations in almost all theaters.  With their history of seapower, the British in particular were in a position to exploit such a capability.  Budgetary constraints, doctrinal considerations, and the difficulties of coordinating the actions of the Army, Navy and Air Force acted to curtail this effort. The tragic leg ..read more