KAMIKAZES, CORSAIRS, AND PICKET SHIPS: Okinawa 1945 [Hardcover]

Robin L. Rielly (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2008

This is the previously untold story of one of the most ferocious and prolonged air/naval battles ever: the battle at the radar picket stations during the American assault on Okinawa in the spring of 1945. It weaves together the experiences of the ships and their crews, in a way that no one has attempted before. The US fleet and its accompanying airpower that took station off Okinawa was of gigantic proportions, such that the Japanese could only rely on suicide attacks to inflict critical damage. While losses in the main fleet, including damage to ships such as the Enterprise and Intrepid, have been well covered, less well known is the terrific battle waged on the radar picket line, the fleet's outer defense against Japanese marauders. Of the 206 ships that served on radar picket duty, 29 percent were sunk or damaged by Japanese air attacks, making theirs the most hazardous naval surface duty in World War II. The great losses were largely due to the relentless nature of the kamikaze attacks, but also the improper use of support gunboats, failure to establish land-based radar at the earliest possible time, the assignment of ships ill-equipped for picket duty, and, as time went on, crew fatigue. The nature of the US air cover is also described in full, as squadrons dashed from their carriers and land bases to intercept the Japanese swarms, resulting in constant melees over the fleet. At times, US pilots "chased" enemy planes into walls of AA fire while often having to brave it themselves. Toward the end of the battle, the radar picket ships became the prime kamikaze targets as Japanese pilots despaired of getting through the "big blue blanket" of American fighter planes to reach larger prey. This work is based on primary sources, including ship and aircraft action reports, ship logs, and personal interviews. Robin L. Rielly has written an engrossing narrative of air/naval combat, combining firsthand action with astute tactical and strategic analysis.

REVIEWS

"To any who want to learn more about the age of the Kamikaze at Okinawa, this book is to be desired. For the serious historian who wants a "blow by blow" coverage of the US defense against the Japanese airpower portion of the battle for Okinawa, it is a must. And for the casual reader...you'll gain insight even if you just peruse this book." Airborne Quarterly, Winter 2009

"...a masterpiece of research and dedication... classic study in how to write about a non mainstream military subject and still make it accessible to the military lay person." Play History, 11/2008

"fantastically well documented story..."Flypast, 11/2008

"...if you want to know anything about this topic... this is the book to read. Profusely illustrated with maps, photographs and drawings, the subject is covered as completely as possible..."IPMS, 12/2008

"... an enlightening and captivating account of radar picket duty...a worthy resource for anyone interested in naval war tactics and battle strategies during this era of maritime history..."The Northern Mariner, 03/2009

"...a fascinating account replete with photos, maps and insightful analysis."Proceedings, 02/2009

"...an engaging, well-documented, fast moving and previously untold history of 150 days and nights of continuous attacks on the picket boats. ..highly documented, extensive and well-written account of the picket line ordeal and the air action provided to combat the kamikazes."The Hook, Spring 2009

"...crisp, engrossing narrative...puts the reader right onto the blazing decks and into the cockpits of the attackers and defenders during one of the most hard-fought engagements of the entire war." World War II History, 01/2010

"...brings a scholar's attention to detail to the task...extremely useful as a reference resource...will naturally appeal to naval officers and aviators, but its insights on how to combat terror warfare has relevancy for a much broader audience."Military Review, May/ June 2010

"The subject matter of this book by Robin L Rielly is actually very simple... however this is not a simple book at all, it is a master piece of research and dedication that makes it look simple."Wargamer.com

"Highly detailed yet accessible account on the Pacific War."

Airfix Model World, 04/01/2011

"... a day-by-day, blow-by-blow, retelling of the attacks on Okinawa in 1945. As a historian, this is one of the best, most researched books I have ever seen. The bibliography is extremely detailed, and the use of primary sources and evidence makes for a very "real to life" book.... Rielly has done some amazing research and painstaking time to tell this story..."San Francisco Book Review, 03/2011

Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Casemate; First American Edition edition (September 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932033866
• ISBN-13: 978-1932033861
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #368,365 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bodycrashers vs. Small Boys off Okinawa, 1945!, December 30, 2008

By 

Michael OConnor "Wordsmith" (Wausau, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: KAMIKAZES, CORSAIRS, AND PICKET SHIPS: Okinawa 1945 (Hardcover)

There seems to be a spate of kamikaze-themed books lately; witness AT WAR WITH THE WIND, DANGER'S HOUR and INFERNO. The latest 'Bodycrasher' entry is this well-researched, well-written account of the 'small boys' - the DDs, DEs, LSMs and misc. craft - who served as radar pickets off Okinawa in the spring and summer of 1945. Serving as the first line of defense for the American troops and naval ships besieging Okinawa, the picket ships fought off horrific attacks from Japanese aircraft.

Since the fall of Okinawa was seen as a precursor for an invasion of Japan, the Japanese military determined to eradicate the American invaders using the only effective weapon they had left - airpower. Yet the Bettys, Zeros, Tonys, Kates and other aircraft that soon swarmed towards Okinawa from Japan and Formosa were on one-way trips, determined to body-crash into USN ships. Though carriers and battleships were the preferred target, the radar pickets ievitably drew the bulk of the attackers. And, although American planners assumed attacks would come, they seriously underestimated the scale of those attacks and made other errors that resulted in the radar pickets being swamped by waves of kamikazes. Hundreds of Japanese aircraft were splashed but 29% of the radar pickets were sunk or damaged by the time the attacks ended in July/August.

Author Robin Reilly does a marvelous job of retelling the ordeal the radar pickets underwent. After chapters explaining the nature of picket duty, the navy ships assigned to that duty, the aerial adversaries that would clash over the radar pickets, Japanese tacics and so on, he chronicles the attacks that begun on 1 April 1945. Along with relating the frenzied attacks that pitted a variety of IJAF and IJN aircraft against the radar pickets and their USN/USMC/USAAF protectors, Reilly also points out the various mistakes American brass made that inadvertently aided the suiciders.

Putting the reader right in the middle of the seemingly endless attacks, Reilly interweaves the air and surface actions into a seamless, gripping whole. Often the attacks were followed by equally desperate attempts by USN crews to save their badly battered craft and here too Reilly effectively captures the drama. The book is illustrated with dozens of photos of U.S. and Japanese sailors and airmen, ships and aircraft along with maps and damage diagrams.

KAMIKAZES, CORSAIRS AND PICKET SHIPS is, at once, a gripping history of some horrendous air/sea battles and a tribute to the American sailors and airmen who were determined to persevere. And it's a great read to boot. Highly recommended.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Annotated after action reports., November 9, 2009

By 

Swift (Cambridge, UK) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: KAMIKAZES, CORSAIRS, AND PICKET SHIPS: Okinawa 1945 (Hardcover)

This is the story of the valiant men that served as radar picket ships to warn the main US fleet of the approach of Japanese (often Kamikaze) aircraft. As these ships were generally small, isolated, and the first thing that the Japanese attackers saw, they often took the brunt of the attacks.

Rielly has picked what seems to be a relatively important, under-reported-upon topic. However, the telling is difficult (and the reading a bit tedious) due to two reasons.

First, there's no overall narrative to the underlying events (as there might be, to, say, the story of a battle) other than "somebody decided radar picket ships were a good idea. radar picket ships were put into place and over the course of their deployment the tactics and thinking changed slightly, but more or less what happened was that they got damaged and sunk a whole lot. then the war ended." So, taken as a whole, for most even pretty serious readers the book comes across as a general description of a phenomenon rather than the narration of a story. Rielly did what he could here and so I don't fault him as this might actually be the only way to tell this story, but this reality does no favors to the reader.

Second, it seems fairly clear that Rielly was doing his best but was working from a limited set of references. Since I don't have the book in front of me at the moment this is an educated guess, but basically I suspect much of middle of the book to basically be annotated after action reports. The problem with this is that both objectivity and "narrative effect" suffer. The author truly has done yeoman's work in getting the timetable right and fusing so many after action reports into, despite my previous paragraph, the closest thing to a narrative that could be hoped for. Unfortunately, he's not very good on technical details (much of the text dealing with aircraft operations - such as incredibly naive comparisons of aircraft speeds and altitudes - is one-star-worthy poor) and not much better in describing human interactions and feelings. After reading this book, I feel I have only a slightly better understanding of what being on those ships was actually like.

As you might have guessed by this point, the style of the book is fairly dry and analytical. And, to this end, the first few chapters (maybe it's just the first one - sorry again for not having it here) really shine and are worth the price of admission. I got 95% of the benefit from the first overview chapters and found the middle "action" stuff a very tough, repetitive slog especially since it seemed that the after action reports, doubtlessly filled with over-claims and the like, seemed to largely be taken at face value. The author did a commendable job with what few relatively few English-language sources there are on the Japanese side of thing (such as coaxing a few relevant remarks from Ugaki's diary), but a better analysis of the Japanese side, difficult as that would have been, would have been very useful.

I vacillated between giving this three and four stars and finally settled on four since many of the "flaws" are fundamentally traceable to the fact that it' a very hard topic to research and tell and at the end of the day despite the prose bizarrely dropping into colloquialisms here and there, the author has done his best to keep the work well organized, scholarly and professional, which puts it well above the dewy-eyed nonsense that passes for "history" simply because it is published in a too flattering hardback edition for the local big box book store. No, "Kamikazes, Corsairs, and Picket Ships" is better than that, and is a valuable if imperfect addition to the serious student's library.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very detailed account of extremely hazardous duty, October 7, 2009

By 

Marc L. Tavasci (Pacifica, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: KAMIKAZES, CORSAIRS, AND PICKET SHIPS: Okinawa 1945 (Hardcover)

A very detailed book about the extremely hazardous duty endured by the various picket ships during the battle for Okinawa. Virtually every attack made on the picket ships is covered and there are many excellent drawings and photographs of the effects of Japanese attacks. I wish there had been more personal stories and reports, but that didn't seem to be the author's intent. If you love reading about tin cans or know someone who was a tin can sailor, this is the book for you.