The 49th FG was sent to Australia in early 1942 to help stem the tide of Japanese conquest in Java. Too late to save the island, the group went into action in the defence of Darwin, Australia, where the Forty-Niners' handful of P-40E Warhawks were thrown into combat alongside survivors from the defeated forces that had fled from the Philippines and Java. This book assesses the outstanding performance of the 49th FG, pitted against superior Japanese forces. By VJ-Day the group had scored 668 aerial victories and won three Distinguished Unit Citations and ten campaign stars for its outstanding efforts.

CHAPTER ONE
FORGING THE 49th
CHAPTER TWO
JUNGLE WARRIORS
CHAPTER THREE
DOBODURA DAYS
CHAPTER FOUR
LIGHTNINGS AND THUNDERBOLTS
CHAPTER FIVE
ISLAND HOPPING
CHAPTER SIX
PHILIPPINES FINALE
APPENDICES
COLOUR PLATES COMMENTARY
INDEX