Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Dutch Naval Air Force—or Marine Luchtvaart Dienst (MLD)—played a significant but largely overlooked role in the opening months of the Pacific War. With 175 aircraft, the MLD greatly outnumbered the combined forces of its American and British allies. In three months of intense combat, the MLD lost 50 percent of its personnel and 80 percent of its aircraft, as the Netherlands’ colonial empire was stripped away.
This book details MLD operations during the Japanese invasion of Dutch East Indies, giving a comprehensive overview of organization, personnel, aircraft, equipment and tactics. For the first time in English, the failed evacuation of Java is examined.

Tom Womack is the director of public relations for a leading global provider of community management services and has written more than 50 magazine articles. He lives in Dallas, Texas.

Tom Womack
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages:
Bibliographic Info: 95 photos, maps, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2022
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7888-7
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4818-7
Imprint: McFarland

Reviews of the first edition:

• “Recommended reading…excellent”—Stone & Stone Second World War Books

• “Very well written…run, don’t walk to your nearest mail box to post your check to the publisher. You won’t be disappointed”—Small Airforces Observer

• “Womack gives now for the first time in the English language an extensive and detailed account of this battle…excellent”—Let Let Let Warplanes