Note 10 — Chapter VI · The Japanese Reaction

After 1 November the Japanese increasingly felt the American air power through attacks upon their air bases and shipping. Their fighter units, which had suffered considerable losses in protecting the convoys, were ordered to counterattack. They were not successful. At the same time the 4th Air Army received orders to protect the reinforcement convoys in the Manila area. By this time the Japanese air forces’ wings had been clipped and “what had once been a formidable weapon was transformed into a sacrificial army of guided missiles.”10 The suicidal kamikaze pilot became the sole hope of the Japanese air forces.