based Allied aircraft in the South Pacific. Vandegrift and his operational commanders, however, exercised local command over the Allied aircraft operating out of Henderson Field. On 3 September 1942, the fortunes of the beleaguered aviators changed with the arrival of Brigadier General Roy Geiger on board the first Marine Aircraft Group 25 plane to land on the island, an R4D Skytrain. As the "Commander, Aircraft, Guadalcanal" (ComAirCACTUS) and the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, Geiger established his headquarters in a wooden Japanese pagoda on a hill about from the airfield. Through his energy, example, and sheer force of personality, he raised the collective spirits of the squadron's survivors. He was described as "...curt, cold, and some said ruthless....he was determined to squeeze the ultimate ounce of performance from men and machines". During his time in command, press-releases said there was a "sense of desperation but never defeatism," Ultimately, the strain of command and harsh living conditions seriously fatigued, both mentally and physically, the 57-year-old Geiger. Geiger turned over the command on 7 November to his Chief of Staff, Brigadier General Louis E. Woods. Brigadier Woods, a 21-year aviation veteran, commanded the Cactus fliers during the lowest point of the campaign. He quickly transformed from a "kindly colonel to a blood thirsty brigadier general." The day after Christmas, Woods turned the Cactus command to Brigadier General Francis P. Mulcahy, Commanding General of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. Japanese The majority of the Japanese aircraft engaged by the Cactus Air Force were from Imperial Japanese Navy air units. On 7 August, during the Guadalcanal campaign, 5th Air Attack Force, under Rear Admiral Sadayoshi Yamada, operated from Rabaul, New Britain, and Lae, Papua New Guinea, and were responsible for naval air operations in eastern New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. The 5th was a hybrid organization consisting of attached units from the 25th Air Flotilla, and reported to the 11th Air Fleet (also called the "Base Air Force"), under Nishizo Tsukahara. On the morning of 7 August, the 5th's air strength consisted of 39 fighters, 32 medium bombers, 16 dive bombers, and 17 seaplanes, including the 15 seaplane aircraft at Tulagi destroyed in the initial Allied air strikes during the landings on Tulagi and Guadalcanal. The 5th's principal bomber unit was the 4th Air Group operating Mitsubishi G4M Type 1 "Betty" bombers. Twenty-four of the fighter aircraft in the 5th belonged to the Tainan