Customer Reviews

USS Saratoga (CV-3): An Illustrated History of the Legendary Aircraft Carrier 1927-1946

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This a great book in terms of pictures and the history of the USS Saratoga. It is about as complete a book on this ship that you will find. From the moment she was created to the day she was sunk in Bikini Atoll's lagoon by the US weapons tests, this book covers it all in GREAT detail.

Laid down as a Battlecruiser, the USS Saratoga should have been scrapped as a result of the limitations imposed by the 1922 Washington Disarmament Treaty but survived because it was decided to convert the, then, unfinished hull into an aircraft carrier. At that time "carrier" was all that such ship was required to do in those uncertain years between WW1 and WW2.

In the event, USS Saratoga was one of only 3 aircraft carriers available to the USA when they entered WW2 and might so easily have been moored at Pearl Harbour when they Japanese attacked. Thankfully, she was at sea and survived not only that attack but also the War that followed.

There was always something rather special about the "Sara" as she became known. This was the ship on which those who would later fight the Japanese from US aircraft carriers were trained and this was the ship which later saw significant action. Always at the cutting edge of carrier warfare tactical development, there was a time when this was the only aircraft carrier available to the US forces.

It says much for the importance of her role and the threat she posed to her enemies that Japan announced her sinking on a number of occasions. Torpedoed twice and also hit by a kamikaze attack, this ship, however, survived when others did not.

In 1946, however, she was subjected to two experimental atomic bomb explosions at Bikini Atoll and it says much for the gallant ship that she survived the first and almost survived the second. All things considered, this ship probably played the greatest role of all time in the development of carrier warfare in the US Navy.

This book is as complete a work as one might hope to find and is written by an author whose father and two uncles both served on board the Saratoga. Containing an excellent selection of historic photographs reproduced on the highest quality paper, I was particularly impressed with the minutiae of detail also included - items such as menus and cartoons from the day alongside personal profiles of some of her more significant officers.

For those who thought they knew this ship, I suspect they will learn something they did not previously know from this book.

NM

I don't know much about the author. This is the only book I have written by him, and it may be the last.

Sure, the historical facts are covered very well. This book is essentially a chronology of events aboard the Saratoga. The book is commander-centric, devoting a chapter on each one, it seems. Frye does not provide any additional insights to the Saratoga's involvement and her impact on the battles she participated. Very little is offered about the design and construction of the ship.

Where this book fails in my honest opinion is in the lack of photographs showing Sara, specially her innards, which have remained a mistery to modelers. There are some very clear photos of the elevator but only 1 of the hangar. There are none of the midships, bow, stern or any close up's that would represent some value to folks trying to build replicas or who simply have an additional interest in her construction other than the personalities that served on her.

The other failing is that the average rating does not get to voice his story here. It's almost 100% centered on officers. Was expecting more from this book, as references on this ship are fairly rare. The Osprey series book on this class offers more relevant info than this book and those cost not even half the price of this one.

Save your money and buy the Robert Stern book.