History of the design, development, and deployment of USS Tennessee, survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack Chronicles the construction, launch, commissioning, and combat history of the Tennessee's 40+ year history Profusely illustrated with scarce archival photographs from diverse collections, including previously unpublished images
A naval historian draws on newly revealed primary documents to shed light on the tragic errors that led to the devastating attack, Washington's role, and the man who took the fall for the Japanese tactical victory. Michael Gannon begins his authoritative account of the "impossible to forget" attack with the essential background story of Japan's imperialist mission and the United States' uncertain responses--especially two lost chances of delaying the inevitable attack until the military was prepared to defend Pearl Harbor. Gannon disproves two Pearl Harbor legends: first, that there was a conspiracy to withhold intelligence from the Pacific Commander in order to force a Pacific war, and second, that Admiral Kimmel was informed but failed to act. Instead, Gannon points to two critical factors ignored by others: that information about the attack gleaned from the "Magic" code intercepts was not sent to Admiral Kimmel, and that there was no possibility that Kimmel could have defended Pearl Harbor because the Japanese were militarily far superior to the American forces in December of 1941. Gannon has divided the story into three parts: the background, eyewitness accounts of the stunning Japanese tactical victory, and the aftermath, which focuses on the Commander, who was blamed for the biggest military disaster in American history. Pearl Harbor Betrayed sheds new light on a crucial and infamous moment in history.
Pearl Harbor will long stand out in mens minds as an example of the results of basic unpreparedness of a peace loving nation, of highly efficient treacherous surprise attack and of the resulting unification of America into a single tidal wave of purpose to victory. Therefore, all will be interested in this unique narrative by Admiral Wallin. The Navy has long needed a succinct account of the salvage operations at Pearl Harbor that miraculously resurrected what appeared to be a forever shattered fleet. Admiral Wallin agreed to undertake the job. He was exactly the right man for it _ in talent, in perception, and in experience. He had served intimately with Admiral Nimitz and with Admiral Halsey in the South Pacific, has commanded three different Navy Yards, and was a highly successful Chief of the Bureau of Ships. On 7 December 1941 the then Captain Wallin was serving at Pearl Harbor. He witnessed the events of that shattering and unifying "Day of Infamy." His mind began to race at high speeds at once on the problems and means of getting the broken fleet back into service for its giant task. Unless the United States regained control of the sea, even greater disaster loomed. Without victory at sea, tyranny soon would surely rule all Asia and Europe. In a matter of time it would surely rule the Americas. Captain Wallin salvaged most of the broken Pearl Harbor fleet that went on to figure prominently in the United States Navys victory. So the account he masterfully tells covers what he masterfully accomplished. The United States owes him an unpayable debt for this high service among many others in his long career.
The battleship USS New York served the Navy from 1914 until just after WWII. New York was famously sent to reinforce the British Grand Fleet during WWI. Extensively rebuilt and modernized in 1927-28, New York continued to serve both in the Atlantic and the Pacific fleets and was in drydock being further modernized on December 7, 1941. It rejoined the fleet, first providing escort in the Atlantic, then providing gunfire support for Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa. Transferred to the Pacific Fleet in late 1944, New York turned its 14-inch guns on enemy positions at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Following the war, New York was declared obsolete and used as a target for the 1946 atomic blasts at Bikini Atoll, survived the tests, and was eventually sunk by conventional weapons in July 1948. The hundreds of photographs in this volume trace the history of this warship from its launching in 1914, through two world wars, to atomic bomb testing. Part of the Legends of Warfare series.