Corsairs and Flattops: Marine Carrier Air Warfare, 1944-1945 [Hardcover]

John Pomeroy Condon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1997 | ISBN-10: 1557501270 | ISBN-13: 978-1557501271 | Edition: First

Today, U.S. Marine infantry and armored units can count on timely and effective close air support thanks in part to the intrepid Marine pilots and crews who pioneered carrier-based air support of amphibious landings in the final push to defeat Japan in World War II. This little-known part of the Pacific campaign is explored fully for the first time in this detailed history by one of the program's architects. This absorbing study traces the hurried training and deployment and the carrier combat operations of eighteen Marine F4U Corsair fighter squadrons from late 1944 through March 1945. Based on extensive interviews with pilots and enlisted crew, official records, and his own experience, John Condon describes heart-stopping dogfights, attacks against shipping, and strikes deep into Japan's heartland - as well as costly mistakes in the air and around the carriers. His analysis of the Corsairs' participation in the battles for Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Indochina, the Philippines, and Tokyo includes lessons learned about weather, night flying, tactics, squadron organization, and carrier launch and recovery. Special sections cover the Wasp and Franklin disasters and the controversies surrounding the tragic lack of close air support at Tarawa and Iwo Jima.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 138 pages
• Publisher: Naval Inst Pr; First edition (November 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557501270
• ISBN-13: 978-1557501271
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,610,091 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not much for the money., June 25, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Corsairs and Flattops: Marine Carrier Air Warfare, 1944-1945 (Hardcover)

This slim little volume would have made it better as a couple of magazine articles, and is really only 118 pages if you don't count the appendices. A considerable use of of not very interesting photos, white space and charts enhance the impression that you've bought a bunch of fluff. To make matters worse, the text of the card catalog insert is both inaccurate and misleading. In summary, spend your money on a volume with higher value. I guarantee you can do better with a random choice from the booklist.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good short history of USMC carrier ops late in WWII., November 5, 2001

By 

David F. Anderson (Raleigh, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Corsairs and Flattops: Marine Carrier Air Warfare, 1944-1945 (Hardcover)

I believe this book does what it set out to do - to give a short history of Marine Corps carrier operations in the final months of World War II. It is not long on detail, but it does fill a void.
General Condon, the author, points out that having Marines fly from fleet carriers was a weapon of expediency. Additionally, the Marines wanted to experiment with having their own "all Marine" torpedo bombing and fighter squadrons on escort carriers, to give better support to Marines and Army troops on the ground during invasions.
Gen. Condon died before the book came into print, which may explain why it is thin in places. But I believe the book is rich enough in the details it does give.
The author flew from the carrier Essex as one of the carrier-based Marines, and participated in operations against Formosa, Indo China (Vietnam), the first and second strikes on Tokyo and the invasion of Iwo Jima. Here is where the majority of his facts are.
Gen. Condon also traces the history of Marines on carriers. He shows that in the 1930's many carrriers had a temporary detachment of a Marine fighter squadron. Late in World War II, the Navy was short a few fighter squadrons to combat the Kamikazes. More fighters were suddenly necesary for the survival of carriers - about 72 versus the 36 fighters that had been standard by the summer of 1944. The Marines were called upon, and stepped forward to fill a temporary void. At different times from late 1944 to May 1945, Marine Corps Corsairs made up about half of the total fighters on the carriers Wasp, Essex, Franklin, Bunker Hill, and Bennington.
This book is not a "be-all, end-all," work. There are some gaps, and one probably needs other books to supplement this one concerning the late war time frame. But I feel that it is a most worthwhile volume, and gives a USMC perspective on the latter war in the Pacific.