<p>The Hawaiian Air Force was the first to see air combat in World War II, when a few of its fighters fought against the Japanese armada that December morning. On 5 February 1942, Hawaiian Air Force became the Seventh Air Force.
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<p>Its first major action was in the 3 June Battle of Midway. Heavy and medium bombers staged through Midway Island and sortied against the Japanese fleet, with poor results.
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<p>The first major air offensive for the Seventh was part of Operation Galvanic, the amphibious assault of the Gilbert Islands. The Seventh moved to the Ellice Islands in August, leaving six of its fighter squadrons on Hawaii for the defense of the islands. Heavies from Seventh AF supported the task force in the invasion that began on 20 November 1943.
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<p>Operation Flintlock, an amphibious assault directed against Kwajalein atoll, began on 31 January 1944. The Seventh AF heavy and medium bombers helped soften Japanese air installations on Maloelap and Wotje. Part of the Seventh's weaponry for those engagements was a 75-mm cannon mounted in the nose of some of its new B-25Gs. The overwater missions required the range of medium and heavy bombers, and so Seventh sent its single-engined equipment back to Hawaii in March and April.
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<p>The Marianas campaign was next; Saipan, Tinian and Guam were needed as bases for the Superfortresses, and Seventh AF was assigned to the pre-invasion support task. It began with a thorough photo-reconnaissance of Saipan. On 15 June 1944, the first wave of American troops hit the beaches. with the P-47s of Seventh AF flying in close support alongside Marine and Navy fighters. The Japanese defended the island from an extensive network of caves, pillboxes, trenches and other strongpoints. Thunderbolts of the 318th Fighter Group were first to use napalm in battle; they bowled their fire bombs into Japanese defenses on Tinian Island.
