Part I: The Battles
Carrier
Warfare in the Pacific: An Oral History Collection
By E.T. Wooldridge
Smithsonian Institution Press
A series of vignettes by prominent
figures in world of carrier warfare in the Pacific. Some
great pieces by luminaries like Jimmy Thatch, who was Butch
O' Hare's CO in VF-3 and who, using matchsticks on his kitchen
table, invented the famous "Thatch Weave" two-plane
tactic that helped level the very tilted playing field for
the tubby F4F-3 Wildcat when fighting the A6M2 Zero. The
majority of the tales contained here are told from the strategic
level, but the information about carrier combat is excellent.
At
Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor
and Miracle At Midway
By Gordon W. Prange
Penguin Books
Gordon Prange was the penultimate
naval historian of WW II. These are two of his books. There
is so much detailed info available in these books, taken
from both sides of the war (luckily the Japanese Admirals
kept meticulous journals), that you almost feel as though
you have gained a total understanding of the true nature
of this conflict by reading these two outstanding books.
Keep in mind that these are not easy reads, but the journey
is more than worth the effort. These books are outstanding,
and key to a deeper understanding of naval warfare.
Wings
Of Gold: The U.S. Naval Air Campaign in World War II
By Gerald Astor
Ballantine Books (Presidio Press)
As the title suggests, Wings of
Gold primarily focuses on the Pacific Theater of WW II,
but it is so much more than a mere chronological trace of
that war. The book starts with a brief review of the development
of naval aviation from its humble origins, through lean
years of the depression era and its ultimate rise to ascendancy
as the primary striking arm of the Navy throughout World
War II. While most books that attempt to tackle the entire
chronology of WW II naval air combat in one volume have
failed to capture the key details, drama and human aspects
of the individual battles, Gerald Astor succeeds in this
well paced, concise and exciting text. Although there are
some typos and mis-identifications in the book that the
editors should be rightly ashamed of (eg, referring repeatedly
to the SBD Dauntless as the “SPD” or transposing
the designations and names of aircraft types such as the
F4F Wildcat/F6F Hellcat), Wings Of Gold still shines as
a magnificent work.
What makes Astor’s book so
good are his extensive interviews, quotes and journal entries
from naval aviators who lived and fought their way through
the skies of the South Pacific and Philippine Sea. The author
effectively weaves the big-picture tale of each battle with
the comments of naval aviators like Jimmy Thatch, Jim Flatley,
Tom Blackburn, David McCampbell, Noel Gaylor, Jim Ramage
and Alex Viraciu, along with a host of lesser-known heroes.
In effect, Astor uses his historical research to set the
stage for each battle, then takes you along for the individual
missions in the cockpits of these aviators’ planes
as they fly their Wildcats, Hellcats, Dauntlesses and Avengers
against the best the Imperial Japanese Navy had to offer.
If that weren’t enough, there are also chapters dealing
with Operation Torch, the U.S. invasion of North Africa,
and carrier aviation’s contribution to the war in the
Atlantic.
If you only have time to read one
book about naval aviation in World War II, this is the book
I’d recommend. It’s a concise, informative and
exciting book, warts and all. I think it will greatly enhance
your enjoyment of Pacific Fighters, and might also give
the mission-builder folks some great ideas for some historically
accurate mini-campaigns or single missions.
