The new breed of American fast aircraft carriers could make thirty-three knots, and each carried almost 100 strike aircraft. Brought together as Task Force 58, also known as the Fast Carrier Task Force, this awesome armada at times comprised more than 100 ships carrying more than 100,000 men afloat. By 1945, more than 1,000-combat aircraft, fighters, dive- and torpedo-bombers could be launched in under an hour. The fast carriers were a revolution in naval warfare - it was a time when naval power moved away from the big guns of the battleship to air power projected at sea. Battleships were eventually subordinated to supporting and protecting the fast carriers, of which, at its peak, Task Force 58 had a total of seventeen. This book covers the birth of naval aviation, the appearance of the first modern carriers in the 1920s, through to the famous surprise six-carrier _Kid? Butai_ Japanese raid against Pearl Harbor on 8 December 1941 and then the early US successes of 1942 at the Battles of the Coral Sea and Midway. The fast carriers allowed America, in late 1942 and early 1943, to finally move from bitter defence against the Japanese expansionist onslaught, to mounting her own offensive to retake the Pacific. Task Force 58 swept west and north from the Solomon Islands to the Gilbert and Marshall Islands, neutralising Truk in Micronesia, and Palau in the Caroline islands, before the vital Mariana Islands operations, the Battle of Saipan, the first battle of the Philippine Sea and the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot. The strikes by Task Force 58 took Allied forces across the Pacific, to the controversial Battle of Leyte Gulf and to Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Task Force 58 had opened the door to the Japanese home islands themselves - allowing US bombers to finally get close enough to launch the devastating nuclear bombing raids on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Task Force 58 participated in virtually all the US Navy's major battles in the Pacific theatre during the last two years of the war. Having spent many years investigating naval shipwrecks across the Pacific, many the result of the devastating effectiveness of Task Force 58, diver and shipwreck author Rod Macdonald has created the most detailed account to date of the fast carrier strike force, the force that brought Japan to its knees and brought the Second World War to its crashing conclusion.

Battleships conjure a golden age of naval history, when these floating powerhouses ruled the waves, carrying the military might of their respective countries around the globe. The battleship was the ultimate embodiment of naval power during the latter stages of the British Empire, with the Royal Navy the first to build the dreadnought battleship in 1906. The new design, with a uniform main battery and steam turbines making it faster and more accurate than ever before, sparked a naval race with the German navy which culminated in the Battle of Jutland in 1916, the only fleet-to-fleet naval battle during the First World War. With major losses on both sides, and several treaties during the inter-war years banning the construction of new battleships, a new generation emerged only in the Second World War, with Japan secretly creating Yamato and Musashi, two of the most powerful battleships ever built. World War Two saw the zenith of the battleship, with many pivotal battles such as the battle of Denmark Strait during which the iconic battleships HMS Hood was sunk, the second battle of Guadacanal and the battle of Leyte Gulf to name but a few. The Germans, the Japanese, the Royal Navy and the US Navy were locked in a titanic struggle across vast distances, in which battleships for a time played a decisive role, until the development of new aircraft carriers and growing use of torpedoes began to make them obsolete. Since the 1990's, no battleship has seen active service. This accessible short history gives an expert overview of the history of the battleship, looking at its origins, the role played by battleships in both World Wars, famous ships and their stories, as well as the weaponry and technology they employed.

Four pipes and flush decks - these ships were a distinctively American destroyer design. Devised immediately prior to and during the United States' involvement in World War I they dominated the US Navy's destroyer forces all the way through to World War II.

They were deployed on North Atlantic and Norwegian Sea convoys, and virtually everywhere in the Pacific, from Alaska to Australia. Fifty were given to Great Britain in its hour of need in 1940, and many would serve in other navies, fighting under the Soviet, Canadian, Norwegian, and even the Imperial Japanese flags. They also served in a variety of roles becoming seaplane tenders, high-speed transports, minesweepers and minelayers. One was even used as a self-propelled mine during Operation Chariot, destroying the dry dock at St. Nazaire.

Fully illustrated throughout with commissioned artwork and contemporary photographs, this volume reveals the operational history of these US Navy ships that fought with distinction in both World Wars.

On a map the Azores appear as nine tiny specks in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, but their location was to prove strategically vital in two world wars The Atlantic became a crucial battleground twice within the space of 25 years, as the US arsenal of democracy' sent firstly stores, arms and equipment, followed by many thousands of troops to fight in Europe. In both desperate and closely fought struggles at sea, Germany sought to stem the flow and thereby win the war, by cutting this vital lifeline, using a new weapon -the ocean-going submarine. In the First World War the Azores became a mid-Atlantic refuelling location, a base for US and Portuguese naval vessels and -in a hugely innovative contribution to the anti-submarine war -for the patrol seaplanes and flying boats of the US Marine Corps. Portugal was neutral during the Second World War but when Winston Churchill invoked a treaty dating from 1373, permission was given in 1943 for an RAF Coastal Command base to be very rapidly established at Lagens. From there convoys could be protected and U-boats could be harried and sunk, so closing the notorious mid-Atlantic gap. Later, it also became an important staging post for US aircraft, as it had been in the previous conflict. The significance of the Azores has been overlooked in most military histories, but this extensively researched and copiously illustrated book from historian Guy Warner provides a detailed but balanced appraisal. The author has had access to archives and photographic collections in the UK, USA, Portugal and the Azores, consulting with local historians to produce a book that sheds much new light on a hitherto under-appreciated facet of twentieth-century history.

The Italian Royal Navy (Regia Marina) operated one of largest cruiser forces of World War II. As a signatory to the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty, the Regia Marina immediately attempted to reinforce its treaty-limited battleship force by building seven large 10,000-ton heavy cruisers. Italian light cruisers also possessed an interesting design history and were involved in every major fleet engagement in the Mediterranean, as well as several smaller encounters with units of the British Royal Navy.

Fully illustrated with specially commissioned artwork, this fascinating volume examines the history of the Regia Marina's cruisers during World War II where they came up against the might of the British Royal Navy.

"A WW2 heroine." - Dan Snow Love, duty and true-life adventure in the shadow of the Second World War Christian Lamb is one of the last surviving Wren Officers to have served throughout the Second World War, from Blitz ravaged London, to the important Radar and Operations rooms and undertaking a vital role in D Day. Escaping both the Spanish Flu pandemic when she was born and the pandemic we are emerging from today, she has reached the impressive age of 101. Now she leads us through the story of her extraordinary life and the wartime experiences of her fellow Wrens.

One of the most significant warship designers of the twentieth century, Sir Stanley Goodall rose through the ranks of the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors to become its head in 1936. The Corps was responsible for every aspect of the design and construction of British warships, and its head, the Director of Naval Construction, was the principal technical advisor to the Board of Admiralty. Although Goodall was succeeded in this post in January 1944, he remained the Assistant Controller Warship Production until October 1945 so was probably the single most influential figure in British naval technical matters during the war years. His private diary was never intended for publication - indeed it seems to have been a vehicle for venting some of his professional frustrations - so his opinions are candid and unrestrained. His criticisms of many in the Admiralty and the shipyards are enlightening, and taken as a whole the diary provides new and unique insights into a wartime construction programme that built nearly a thousand major warships and a myriad of landing craft and coastal forces. Dr Ian Buxton, a well-known authority on British shipbuilding, has edited the entries covering Goodall's war years, identifying the various personalities and ships referred to (sometimes cryptically), while setting out the context in a number of introductory essays. As an insider's view of a complex process, this book offers every warship enthusiast much new material and a novel perspective on an apparently familiar subject.

While not as famous as their larger and faster sister ships such as the Essex- and Yorktown-class carriers, escort carriers made an enormous contribution towards Allied victory both in the Pacific and Atlantic theatres. Rather than relying on size or speed, it was their sheer numbers that made them so effective. Indeed, the Casablanca-class escort carrier was the most-produced aircraft carrier in history. In partnership with the Royal Navy, they provided the backbone of Allied anti-submarine efforts in the Atlantic, finally and irrevocably turning the tide of the war against the U-boats in 1943. In the Pacific, they provided the air cover for the series of landings which led to the doorstep of Japan by 1945. These robust ships faced submarine, air, and even surface threats from the Japanese, but proved able to contend with everything thrown their way. Fully illustrated with contemporary photographs and unique specially commissioned artwork, this book shines a new light on these unjustly overlooked workhorses of the US Navy - ships that helped usher in the Allied victory over the Axis powers in the Atlantic and Pacific.

For centuries, ships' commanders kept journals that recorded their missions. These included voyages of discovery to unknown lands, engagements in war and sea and general trade. Many of their logs, diaries and letters were lodged at The National Archives and give a vivid picture of the situations that they encountered. Entries range from Captain James Cook's notes of his discovery of the South Pacific and Australia, to logs of the great naval battles, such as Trafalgar and the Battle of the Nile. From the ships that attempted to stop piracy in the Caribbean, to the surgeons who recorded the health of the men they tended and naturalists who noted the exotic plants and animals they encountered, comes a fascinating picture of life at sea, richly illustrated with maps, drawings and facsimile documents found alongside the logs in the archives.

An Island Too Far provides a contemporary perspective of the baptism of fire of one of the oldest, most resourceful and well-trained war fighting institutions in Latin America: The Argentine Navy. It offers a rare insight into the relationship between institutional culture and modern warfare, with specific reference to the Falklands/Malvinas War of 1982, and is a case study of how a very modest navy with very few naval platforms engaged in a limited war against a major naval power and nevertheless was able to make its mark. This book examines the institutional culture that accounts for a great deal of the activities and rationale of the Argentine Navy as an instrument of state policy and includes a detailed reconstruction of all operations by the Argentine Navy during the Falklands/Malvinas War. The Falklands/Malvinas campaign was a major naval landmark for the Argentine Navy, but the influence of institutional culture was clearly identifiable in the actions of the service as a whole. An Island Too Far provides a much needed cultural interpretation of the Argentine Navy, and is essential reading for anyone interested in modern Argentine naval history and strategy. It includes over 100 photographs, specially commissioned maps and unique colour profiles.

This book examines the dynamics of coalition naval operations. Since the end of the Second World War, few nations possess the capacity for large scale, sustained and independent naval operations; and even those that do, such as the USA, often find it economically, militarily and politically expedient to act multilaterally. As such, coalition naval operations increasingly became the norm throughout the twentieth-century, and there is little sign of this abating in the twenty-first. Multinational operations provide a number of benefits, but they also present a number of challenges. Examining the dynamics of coalition operations involving the Royal Navy (RN), Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and the United States Navy (USN) during the Korean War, Vietnam War and the Iraq War, this book provides a broad overview of naval interoperability between the three navies. Using the naval gunfire support (NGS) capability as a lens through which to analyse operations, the study explores a diverse range of issues, including: command and control, communications, equipment standardisation, intelligence, logistics, planning, rules of engagement, tactics, techniques and procedures and training. Approaching the subject through both historical and contemporary perspectives not only provides a unique assessment of the variation in the effectiveness of interoperability over time, but also offers a platform for better understanding and enhancing the performance of future coalition naval operations. Based on extensive archival research in Australia, the UK and the US, as well as wide-ranging interviews, this book sheds new light on the dynamics of conducting coalition operations. This book will be of great interest to students of naval history, strategic studies, sea power, maritime security, military studies, and IR in general.

The story of the intelligence war in South Africa during the Second World War is one of suspense, drama and dogged persistence. In 1939, when the Union of South Africa entered the war on Britain's side, the German government secretly contacted the political opposition, and the leadership of the anti-war movement, the Ossewabrandwag. The Nazis' aim was to spread sedition, undermine the Allied war effort, and - given the strategic importance of the Cape of Good Hope sea route - gain naval intelligence. Soon U-boat packs were sent to operate in South African waters, to deadly effect. With the Ossewabrandwag's help, a network of German spies was established to gather and relay back to the Reich important political and military intelligence. Agents would send coded messages to Axis diplomats in neighbouring Mozambique. Meanwhile, police detectives and MI5 hunted in vain for illegal wireless transmitters. Hitler's South African Spies presents an unrivalled account of German intelligence networks in wartime South Africa. It also details the hunt in post-war Europe for witnesses to help the government bring charges of high treason against key Ossewabrandwag members.

Made famous by her final commanding officer, John F. Kennedy, PT-109 is one of the most celebrated warships in American history. However, a full chronicle of PT-109's wartime story has heretofore been lacking. Behind the familiar account of the future president and the boat's violent demise is the little-known record under two previous officers during the swirling battles around Guadalcanal. In these mainly nocturnal fights, when the Japanese navy was at its apex, America's small, fast-boat flotillas would sally out to probe enemy strength, vying with enemy destroyers, who were similarly roaming the waters and able to blast a PT-boat out of the water if main armament could be brought to bear. It was constant hit-and-run and dodging between searchlights across Iron Bottom Sound, as the PT-boats darted in among the enemy fleet, like a"barroom brawl with the lights turned out." Bryant Larson and Rollin Westholm preceded Kennedy as commanders of PT-109, and their fights with the brave ship and its crew hold second to none in the chronicles of US Navy daring. As the battles moved on across the Pacific the PT-boat flotillas gained confidence, even as the Japanese, too, learned lessons in how to destroy them. Under its third and final commander, Kennedy, PT-109 came a cropper as a Japanese destroyer suddenly emerged from a dark mist and rammed it in half. Two crewmen were killed immediately but Kennedy, formerly on the swim team at Harvard, was able to shepherd his wounded and others to refuge. His unsurpassed gallantry can not resist retelling, yet the courage of the book's previous commanders have not till now seen the light of day. This book provides the complete record of PT-109 in the Pacific, as well as a valuable glimpse of how the American Navy's daring and initiative found its full playing field in World War II.

The failed naval offensive to force a passage through the Straits of the Dardanelles in 1915 drove Winston Churchill from office in disgrace and nearly destroyed his political career. For over a century, the Dardanelles campaign has been mired in myth and controversy. For some, it was a brilliant concept that might have dramatically shortened the First World War and saved millions of lives. For others, it was fundamentally misconceived and doomed to fail. Churchill is either the hero of the story, or the villain. Drawing on a wide range of original documents, Christopher M. Bell shows that both perspectives are flawed. Bell provides a detailed and authoritative account of the campaigns origins and execution, explaining why the naval attack was launched, why it failed, and how it was transformed into an even more disastrous campaign on the Gallipoli peninsula. He untangles Churchills complicated relationship with Britains admirals, politicians, and senior civil servants, and uncovers the machinations behind the bitter press campaign in 1915 to drive him from power. The book goes on to explore the origins of the myths surrounding the ill-fated campaign. It provides the first full account of Churchills tireless efforts in the decades after 1915 to refute his legion of critics and convince the public that the Dardanelles campaign had nearly succeeded. Largely by his own exertions, Churchill ensured that the legacy of the Dardanelles would not stop him becoming Prime Minister in 1940.

The 'ShipCraft' series provides in-depth information about building and modifying model kits of famous warship types. Lavishly illustrated, each book takes the modeller through a brief history of the subject class, highlighting differences between sister-ships and changes in their appearance over their careers. This includes paint schemes and camouflage, featuring colour profiles and highly-detailed line drawings and scale plans. The modelling section reviews the strengths and weaknesses of available kits, lists commercial accessory sets for super-detailing of the ships, and provides hints on modifying and improving the basic kit. This is followed by an extensive photographic gallery of selected high-quality models in a variety of scales, and the book concludes with a section on research references - books, monographs, large-scale plans and relevant websites. The subject of this volume is the Second World War German Navy's motor torpedo boats called Schnellboote, known to the Allies as E-Boats. One of the most effective coastal attack craft of the time, the type was built in large numbers and constantly improved as the war progressed, giving many variants to interest modellers. With its unparalleled level of visual information - paint schemes, models, line drawings and photographs - it is simply the best reference for any modelmaker setting out to build one of these famous boats.

Admiral John Benbow was an English naval hero, a fighting sailor of ruthless methods but indomitable courage. Benbow was a man to be reckoned with. In 1702, however, when Benbow engaged a French squadron off the Spanish main, other ships in his squadron failed to support him. His leg shattered by a cannon-ball, Benbow fought on - but to no avail: the French escaped and the stricken Benbow succumbed to his wounds. When the story of his 'Last Fight' reached England, there was an outcry. Two of the captains who had abandoned him were court-martialled and shot; 'Brave Benbow' was elevated from national hero to national legend, his valour immortalized in broadsheet and folksong: ships were named after him; Tennyson later feted him in verse; in Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, the tavern where Jim Hawkins and his mother live is called 'The Admiral Benbow'. For the very first time, Sam Willis tells the extraordinary story of Admiral Benbow through an age of dramatic change, from his birth under Cromwell's Commonwealth; to service under the restored Stuart monarchy; to the Glorious Revolution of 1688; to the French wars of Louis XIV; and finally to the bitter betrayal of 1702. The Admiral Benbow covers all aspects of seventeenth century naval life in richly vivid detail, from strategy and tactics to health and discipline. But Benbow also worked in the Royal Dockyards, lived in Samuel Evelyn's House, knew Peter the Great, helped to found the first naval hospital, and helped to build the first offshore lighthouse. The second volume in the Hearts of Oak trilogy, from one of Britain's most exciting young historians, The Admiral Benbow is a gripping and detailed account of the making of a naval legend.

The American battleship USS "California" has almost thirty years of extraordinary history. Built in 1921, it was one of the most powerful battleships of the US Navy in the interwar period. It was characterised by an interesting and harmonious silhouette, which changed significantly several times. During the war, despite its age, the ship was still modern and heavily armed. The USS "California", known among naval enthusiasts and often chosen by modellers, became the subject of another study by Witold Koszela, who in a series of precise drawings recreated the silhouette of this battleship from the Second World War. On 24 A4 pages and 2 folded sheets we can find a historical description, technical data and professional drawings showing the ship in the years 1944-1945, as well as drawings of superstructures, armaments and details, together with sectional views and color charts.

The failed naval offensive to force a passage through the Straits of the Dardanelles in 1915 drove Winston Churchill from office in disgrace and nearly destroyed his political career. For over a century, the Dardanelles campaign has been mired in myth and controversy. Many believe it was fundamentally misconceived and doomed to fail, while others see it as a brilliant concept that might have dramatically shortened the First World War and saved millions of lives. Churchill is either the hero of the story, or the villain. Drawing on a wide range of original documents, Christopher M. Bell shows that both perspectives are flawed. Bell provides a detailed and authoritative account of the campaign's origins and execution, explaining why the naval attack was launched, why it failed, and how it was transformed into an even more disastrous campaign on the Gallipoli peninsula. He untangles Churchill's complicated relationship with Britain's admirals, politicians, and senior civil servants, and uncovers the machinations behind the bitter press campaign in 1915 to drive him from power. Churchill and the Dardanelles explores the origins of the myths surrounding the ill-fated campaign, and provides the first full account of Churchill's tireless efforts in the decades after 1915 to refute his legion of critics and convince the public that the Dardanelles campaign had nearly succeeded. Largely by his own exertions, Churchill ensured that the legacy of the Dardanelles would not stop him from becoming Prime Minister in 1940.

Throughout the chronicle of Britain's history, one factor above all others has determined the fate of kings, the security of trade, and the integrity of the realm. Without its navy, Britain would have been a weakling among the nations of Europe, could never have built or maintained the empire, and in all likelihood would have been overrun by the armies of Napoleon and Hitler. Now, for the first time in nearly a century, a prominent naval historian has undertaken a comprehensive account of the history and traditions of this most essential institution. N. A. M. Rodger has produced a superb work, combining scholarship with narrative, that demonstrates how the political and social history of Britain has been inextricably intertwined with the strength-or weakness-of her seapower. From the early military campaigns against the Vikings to the defeat of the great Spanish Armada in the reign of Elizabeth I, this volume touches on some of the most colorful characters in British history. It also provides fascinating details on naval construction, logistics, health, diet, and weaponry. "A splendid book. It combines impressively detailed research with breadth of perception.... Rodger] has prepared an admirable historical record that will be read and reread in the years ahead." Times London]"

On November 19, 1943, the submarine USS Sculpin, under attack by the Japanese, slid below the waves for the last time in what would become one of the most remarkable stories in U.S. Naval history. Not only did several crewmembers survive the sinking - an extremely rare event in World War II submarine warfare - but several were aboard a Japanese aircraft carrier enroute to a POW camp when it was in turn torpedoed and sunk by the Sculpin's sister ship, the USS Sailfish.
At the end of World War II, several unlikely survivors would tell a tale of endurance against these amazing reversals of fortune. For one officer in particular, who knew that being captured could have meant losing the war for the allies, his struggle was not in surviving, but in sealing his own fate in a heartbreaking act of heroism which culminated in the nation's highest tribute, the Medal of Honor.
Sculpin Lt. Commander John Phillip Cromwell was one of the few who knew that American Naval Intelligence had succeeded in cracking Japan's top-secret codes. Cromwell also knew that if the Japanese confirmed this by torturing him, it would force Naval Intelligence to change their encryption, which would potentially change the course of the war. This is Cromwell's story as well.
The incredible interconnection of the Sculpin and the Sailfish has been thoroughly researched by Jonathan McCullough. Through access to the few living survivors, scores of oral histories, never-before translated Japanese war documents, and interviews with Navy veterans, McCullough delivers a gripping and, intimate account for the reader.