There was a serious shortage of properly trained and experienced pilots and other aircrew to man the warplanes Japan had -- .
Such large numbers of pilots and crewmen had perished fighting over the Solomon Islands and during the Battle of the Philippine Sea in mid-1944 .
There was a serious shortage of properly trained and experienced pilots and other aircrew to man the warplanes Japan had -- because such large numbers of pilots and crewmen had perished fighting over the Solomon Islands and during the Battle of the Philippine Sea in mid-1944 .