Carriers in Combat — www.praeger.com

Book flyer
MS Word
International
MS Word

Carriers in Combat The Air War at Sea

Chester G. Hearn

Book Code: C8557

ISBN: 0-275-98557-1

ISBN-13: 978-0-275-98557-8

DOI:

336 pages, maps; photos

Praeger Security International General Interest-Cloth

Publication: 9/30/2005

List Price: $51.95 (UK Sterling Price: £29.95)

Availability: In Stock

Media Type: Hardcover

Also Available: Ebook

Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4

Subjects:

Reviews:

This is a critical and instructive analysis of US carrier battles...
—The Naval Review August 2006
[A] useful introduction to the subject, beginning with Eugene Ely's historic shipboard flights of 1910-1911, up through U.S. carrier operations in Operation Iraqi Freedom of March 2003. The writing style is good and photographs and maps are suitable.
—Proceedings February 2006

Description: Since World War II, there have been no engagements between carrier air groups, but flattops have been prominent and essential in every war, skirmish, or terrorist act that could be struck from planes at sea. Carriers have political boundaries. They range at will with planes that can be refueled in the air to strike targets thousands of miles inland. From the improvised wooden platforms of the early 20th century to today's nuclear-powered supercarriers, Hearn explores how combat experience of key individuals drove the development, technology, and tactics of carriers in the world's navies. In the early 20th century, during the days of the dreadnaughts, innovators in Europe and North America began to fly contraptions made from wood, canvas, wire, and a small combustion engine. Naval officers soon wondered whether these rickety bi-planes could be launched from the deck of a surface vessel. Trials began from jury-rigged wooden platforms built upon the decks of colliers. The experiments stimulated enough interest for the navies of the world to begin building better aircraft and better aircraft carriers. The novelty of a ship that could carry its own airstrip anywhere on the world's oceans caught fire in the 1920s and helped induce a new arms race. While the rest of the world viewed carriers as defensive weapons, Japan focused on offensive capabilities and produced the finest carrier in the world by 1940. World War II would see the carrier emerge as the greatest surface ship afloat. Since then, no war has been fought without them.

Table of Contents:

Preface and Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Illustrations and Maps
The Dawn of Naval Air Power
From Dreadnoughts to Flattops
Mobilizing for War
Flattops in the Atlantic
The Rising Sun
Carriers at War
Fighting for Time
Coral Sea
Midway--The Turning Point
Evolution of Combat Tactics
The Eastern Solomons
The Battle for Guadalcanal
Refining Career Tactics
Island-Hopping in the Pacific
The Marianas Turkey Shoot
Ascent of the Air Admirals
The New Air Navy
Prelude to the Philippines
Leyte Gulf
The Setting Sun
Command of the Seas
Korea--Carriers and Politics
Vietnam--President Johnson's War
Cold Wars and Brush Fires
The Desert Wars
Afterword
Notes
Bibliography

LC Card Number: 2005017478

LCC Class: V874

Dewey Class: 359


All rights reserved. Copyright © 1999-2008 Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. 88 Post Road West, Westport CT 06881, (203) 226-3571