In 1944, with the invasion of Europe underway and Battles in the
Atlantic and Mediterranean all but won, the Royal Navy`s strength
could be focussed on the Far East and the Pacific where the
Japanese were still a long way from defeat. Since the Battle of
Midway, in June 1942, the United States had been slowly forcing the
Japanese back, but it was a long, bloody process. The Allies needed
to combine their forces more effectively if they were to bring the
war to an end quickly. In response the Royal Navy massed its ships
to add weight to the US Navy. With an attack force of four fleet
carriers, and two more on the way, the RN`s role would be
significant, but would take time to work up to the state of
preparedness of their American cousins. And so a fleet was born for
use in the Indian Ocean and, later, the Pacific. From April 1944 to
August 1945 they would successfully fight many long, intensive
battles. In this time each carrier would contribute greatly to
victory, none more so than HMS Indomitable with her 5th Fighter
Wing. They would be in thick of the fighting, achieve success and
live perilously for a prolonged period, losing many men along the
way. It was a war of attrition, which allowed little room for
compassion or benevolence. The story told in this book is about the
exceptional group of young men, from Britain, Canada, New Zealand,
Holland and South Africa who joined the Fleet Air Arm as pilots.
With their American-built Hellcats they were in the thick of the
action, providing a hard, professional core to this fighting fleet
that few would equal. Although its operational history is second to
none, this was only achieved by the sacrifice and endurance of the
men who flew many dangerous missions and daily lived with the
spectre of a searing death. And so the book is about them, with war
providing a back drop that broods and eviscerates in turn. How did
these men come to be fighting as pilots with the Fleet Air Arm, how
were they trained, how did they live, how did they prepare
themselves to kill or be killed, what sustained them and what did
they feel about their extremely dangerous experiences? Luckily some
survived to record their thoughts and others left poignant memories
for the curious to follow and explore. And here the author was
lucky to meet or correspond with nearly all the survivors and be
privileged to hear their stories. He follows the young pilots lives
from selection, through training to operations. The 5th Wing went
to sea in 1944 and were in continuous action, in the Indian and
Pacific Oceans, from then until the last days of the war. They
participated in strikes on Sumatra with the aim of destroying its
highly important oil refineries, then they joined in the battles
for Leyte and Okinawa, before moving with the British Fleet to
begin the invasion Japan itself.
General
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