Cactus Air Force

E33727

Cactus Air Force was the informal name for the composite Allied air units that defended Guadalcanal from Henderson Field during the critical early stages of the Pacific War in World War II.


Statements (50)
Predicate Object
instanceOf Allied air formation
military air unit
baseCondition austere forward airfield
codeNameOfLocation Guadalcanal
commandStructure First Marine Aircraft Wing
composedOf Royal New Zealand Air Force units
United States Army Air Forces units
United States Marine Corps aviation units
United States Navy aviation units
conflict Guadalcanal Campaign
Pacific War
World War II
country United States
endTime 1943-02
facedOpponent Imperial Japanese Army Air Service
Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
hasAlias CAF
Cactus
locatedIn Guadalcanal
Solomon Islands
namedAfter code name Cactus
notableCommander John S. McCain Sr.
Roy Geiger
notableFor air defense of Guadalcanal
defense of Henderson Field
interdicting Japanese reinforcement convoys
participation in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons
participation in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands
participation in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
supporting U.S. Marine ground forces
operatedAircraft Bell P-39 Airacobra
Bell P-400
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Curtiss P-40 Warhawk
Douglas C-47 Skytrain
Douglas SBD Dauntless
Grumman F4F Wildcat
Grumman TBF Avenger
Lockheed P-38 Lightning
Martin B-26 Marauder
operatedFrom Henderson Field
partOf Allied forces
primaryMission air superiority
close air support
maritime strike
reconnaissance
startTime 1942-08
supportedOperation U.S. 1st Marine Division landings on Guadalcanal
defense of the Lunga perimeter
theaterOfOperations South Pacific Area

Referenced by (2)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Henderson Field
airUnitsBasedAt
Cactus
relatedCodename

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