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Author: Mark Stille
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2017-10-24
Total Pages: 49
ISBN-13: 1472818105
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis fully illustrated book examines the US Navy's escort carriers of World War II, and the vital role they played in the victory at sea in the Atlantic and Pacific.
Author: Mark Stille
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2017-10-19
Total Pages: 49
ISBN-13: 1472818121
DOWNLOAD EBOOKWhile 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.
Author: Mark Stille
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2012-05-20
Total Pages: 102
ISBN-13: 1780967772
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe Imperial Japanese Navy was a pioneer in naval aviation, having commissioned the world's first built-from-the-keel-up carrier, the Hosho. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, it experimented with its carriers, perfecting their design and construction. As a result, by the time Japan entered World War II and attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor in 1941, it possessed a fantastically effective naval aviation force. This book covers the design, development and operation of IJN aircraft carriers built prior to and during World War II. Pearl Harbor, Midway and the first carrier vs carrier battle, the battle of the Coral Sea, are all discussed.
Author: Angus Konstam
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2019-09-17
Total Pages: 49
ISBN-13: 1472836251
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis is the fully-illustrated story of the Royal Navy's escort carriers which battled against deadly U-Boats during the Battle of the Atlantic, giving vital air cover to the convoys that kept Britain alive in World War II. In 1941, as the Battle of the Atlantic raged and ship losses mounted, the British Admiralty desperately tried to find ways to defeat the U-Boat threat to Britain's maritime lifeline. Facing a shortage of traditional aircraft carriers and shore-based aircraft, the Royal Navy, as a stopgap measure, converted merchant ships into small “escort carriers.” These were later joined by a growing number of American-built escort carriers, sent as part of the Lend-Lease agreement. The typical Escort Carrier was small, slow and vulnerable, but it could carry about 18 aircraft, which gave the convoys a real chance to detect and sink dangerous U-Boats. Collectively, their contribution to an Allied victory was immense, particularly in the long and grueling campaigns fought in the Atlantic and Arctic. Illustrated throughout with detailed full-color artwork and contemporary photographs, this fascinating study explores in detail how these adaptable ships had such an enormous impact on the outcome of World War II's European Theater.
Author: Angus Konstam
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2012-12-20
Total Pages: 78
ISBN-13: 1782008411
DOWNLOAD EBOOKWith war against Germany looming, Britain pushed forward its carrier program in the late 1930s. In 1938, the Royal Navy launched the HMS Ark Royal, its first-ever purpose-built aircraft carrier. This was quickly followed by others, including the highly-successful Illustrious class. Smaller and tougher than their American cousins, the British carriers were designed to fight in the tight confines of the North Sea and the Mediterranean. Over the next six years, these carriers battled the Axis powers in every theatre, attacking Italian naval bases, hunting the Bismark, and even joining the fight in the Pacific. This book tells the story of the small, but resilient, carriers and the crucial role they played in the British war effort.
Author: Mark Lardas
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2020-11-26
Total Pages: 49
ISBN-13: 1472839757
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe Destroyer Escort was the smallest ocean-going escort built for the United States Navy – a downsized destroyer with less speed, fewer guns, and fewer torpedoes than its big brother, the fleet destroyer. Destroyer escorts first went into production because the Royal Navy needed an escort warship which was larger than a corvette, but which could be built faster than a destroyer. Lacking the shipyards to build these types of ships in Britain, they ordered them in the US. Once the US unexpectedly entered World War II, its navy suddenly also needed more escort warships, even warships less capable than destroyers, and the destroyer escort was reluctantly picked to fill the gap. Despite the Navy's initial reservations, these ships did yeoman service during World War II, fighting in both the Atlantic and Pacific, taking on both U-boat and Japanese submarines and serving as the early warning pickets against kamikazes later in the war. They also participated in such dramatic actions as the Battle of Samar (where a group of destroyers and destroyer escorts fought Japanese battleships and cruisers to protect the escort carriers they were shielding) and the capture of the U-505 (the only major naval vessel captured at sea by the US Navy). The destroyer escorts soldiered on after World War II in both the United States Navy and a large number of navies throughout the world, with several serving into the twenty-first century. This book tells the full story of these plucky ships, from their design and development to their service around the world, complete with stunning illustrations and contemporary photographs.
Author: Mark Stille
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2012-05-20
Total Pages: 92
ISBN-13: 1780967500
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe USS Langley, the first American aircraft carrier, entered service in 1922. Despite being converted into an aircraft tender, it was the first step in a new direction for the US Navy and naval warfare. This book covers the design, development and operation of USN aircraft carriers built prior to World War II, including their aircraft and weaponry. It also explains their various successes and losses such as the first carrier vs carrier battle at Midway; the battle of the Coral Sea; the battle of the Philippine Sea; and the Operation Torch landings.
Author: Mark Stille
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2012-05-20
Total Pages: 106
ISBN-13: 1780967519
DOWNLOAD EBOOKAircraft carriers were the US Navy's principal weapon against Japan during the Pacific War. Development of the Essex class began in 1939, becoming the largest class of carrier ever to be built. Early in the Pacific War it became renowned for its 'Sunday Punch' of 36 fighter planes, 36 dive bombers, and 18 torpedo planes. Alongside the lighter Independence class, these carriers formed the formidable Fast Carrier Force in the Pacific. Featuring artwork detailing the interior and exterior features of the ships, this book explores their design, development, and the action they saw in the Pacific, including the climactic battles of Philippine Sea, Leyte Gulf, and Okinawa.
Author: Adrian Stewart
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
Published: 2013-06-19
Total Pages: 358
ISBN-13: 1783469323
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe author begins this fascinating book by tracing aircraft carrier development between the Wars. Eschewed by the Germans and Italians and with Britain squandering her early lead, the Americans and Japanese became front-runners.The Royal Navy learnt the hard way in the early stages of WW2 with the loss of HMS Courageous and Glorious but, following successes at Taranto and Matapan, the value of carriers was no longer in doubt. The sinking of Bismarck and the cataclysmic Pearl Harbor attack signaled the end of the Battleship era. Stung by such spectacular losses the US Navy threw its weight behind the carrier concept and the naval war in the Pacific (Guadalcanal, East Solomon Islands, Santa Cruz, Midmay and Leyte Gulf) revolved round carrier-borne aircraft.Meanwhile the carrier became pivotal in protecting vital convoys in the Atlantic, Arctic and Mediterranean. The author backs his arguments with copious examples of naval and air action.
Author: David Brown
Publisher: Seaforth Publishing
Published: 2007-11-15
Total Pages: 176
ISBN-13: 1844157024
DOWNLOAD EBOOKWinston Churchill famously claimed that the submarine war in the Atlantic was the only campaign of the Second World War that really frightened him. If the lifeline to north America had been cut, Britain would never have survived; there could have been no build-up of US and Commonwealth forces, no D-Day landings, and no victory in western Europe. Furthermore, the battle raged from the first day of the war until the final German surrender, making it the longest and arguably hardest-fought campaign of the whole war. The ships, technology and tactics employed by the Allies form the subject of this book. Beginning with the lessons apparently learned from the First World War, the author outlines inter-war developments in technology and training, and describes the later preparations for the second global conflict. When the war came the balance of advantage was to see-saw between U-boats and escorts, with new weapons and sensors introduced at a rapid rate. For the defending navies, the prime requirement was numbers, and the most pressing problem was to improve capability without sacrificing simplicity and speed of construction. The author analyses the resulting designs of sloops, frigates, corvettes and destroyer escorts and attempts to determine their relative effectiveness.
