The fighter is often seen as the most glamorous of all combat aircraft during the Second World War; flown by a single pilot, armed with a battery of machine guns andor cannon or, very often, bombs and rockets. Many who wanted to join an air force to fly and fight would initially set their sights on being a fighter pilot. Those who were successful were given a unique opportunity to fly a machine in combat in many theatres against a variety of opponents of varying experience. The many young men who volunteered to serve with the USAAC were no exception and there was no shortage of recruits following the United States' abrupt entry into the Second World War following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.