Carrier Warfare in the Pacific: An Oral History Collection (Smithsonian History of Aviation and Spaceflight Series) [Hardcover]

E. T. Wooldridge (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1993 | Series: Smithsonian History of Aviation and Spaceflight Series

Capturing the times when lives and victory were in peril, this book records the exploits of the men who fought in WWII in the air and on the sea, including pilots and air crewmen of carrier squadrons, officers and men of the ship's company, and admirals and their staffs. Compelling personal accounts. Illus.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor marked the end of the battleship as the centerpiece weapon of the U.S. Navy--in the future, the aircraft carrier would be the star of the fleet. In this oral history edited by Wooldridge, Ramsey Fellow at the National Air and Space Museum, we see how Colonel Jimmy Doolittle's flyers learned to launch their B-25s off the Hornet . Admiral John S. Thach details his "Thach Weave," a fighting tactic which allowed slower American planes to fight the fast Japanese Zero on equal terms. The outspoken Thach also charges that the Yorktown would not have been sunk at the Battle of Midway if Admirals Fetcher and Spruance had been carrier admirals. A major part of the story lies in the shear might of American industry. During the course of the war the U.S. would build 17 Essex- class carriers; many Independence -class carriers; and an extraordinary 109 escort, or jeep, carriers. As the war winds down we are a part of the excitement of the "Turkey Shoot" in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, in which Navy pilots could choose their targets, and we share the terror of trying to find a carrier to land on at night. We witness the destructiveness of the kamikazes as the Franklin loses 800 of its crew and we see equal destructiveness when two typhoons wreck the fleet. This is a story of guts, sacrifice, terror and exhilaration to be savored by anyone interested in the carrier as the ultimate war machine. Photos.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 309 pages
• Publisher: Smithsonian Inst Pr (October 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560982640
• ISBN-13: 978-1560982647
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,093,703 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Smithsonian books never fail, July 28, 1998

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[e-mail] (Helsinki, Finland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Carrier Warfare in the Pacific: An Oral History Collection (Smithsonian History of Aviation and Spaceflight Series) (Hardcover)

History can be made two ways: interesting and uninteresting. Wooldridge and Connally rank in the former, with flying colours.

The general public often feels that after Pearl Harbor it was just a matter of time before the US Navy beat its Imperial adversary, but there were a great number of trials and tribulations in developing the carrier force into the jackhammer it was in 1944.

The authors have included material from many key players in the drama, who all provide vitally important and extremely interesting information. For example, there is data on the design of carriers, which was constantly enhanced as battle experience became available. There's also a piece of a member of the enlisted crew, who describes life on a carrier in such vivid detail that one is completely taken by his tale. Captains, pilots, crew members, top brass, all get to say their piece in this most interesting book, which is not to be missed by any student of WW2 in the Pacific.