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Manned almost entirely by reservists, the USS Abercrombie (DE343) and her sister ships did the dirty work of the Pacific War. They escorted convoys, chased submarines, picked up downed pilots, and led the landing craft to the invasion beaches, yet they received little credit and less glory. This book is a stirring tribute to their heroic efforts, written by a naval officer who served in the Abercrombie during the war and later became a best-selling author. First published in 1984, it has long been acclaimed for presenting a view of the navy as the sailors actually saw it--the joys and pains, the humor and gravity, the successes and defeats. Ed Stafford provides an authentic, day-by-day account of life on board DE343, from the Battle of Leyte Gulf and picket duty against kamikazes at Okinawa to the signing of the peace treaty in Tokyo Harbor. To create an accurate picture he consulted ship logs and after-action reports and interviewed members of the crew. Although the book focuses on events in a particular warship, it tells the story of every small ship and their valiant crews that rose to the challenge and fought with everything they had until the war was won.
Emerging like a butterfly from its chrysalis, a remarkable little ship, the Sheemaun, springs from her designer's drawing-board to sail through eight decades of history, gathering in her wake a unique collection of admirers, including former owners, former crews, and those who served courageously on her during WW2. Their stories are revealed here; tales of bravery and daring, accounts of bombs, mines, depth-charging and death; stories of espionage and smuggling; and memorable chronicles of Royal occasions, cruising, maritime festivals and much else.This fascinating, deeply engrossing true story takes the reader into the heart and soul of the Sheemaun and of all those who have loved her.
In a wartime Navy of giant carriers and battleships, tiny wooden subchasers did not command much attention. Yet these 110-foot warships, manned mostly by inexperienced reservists, performed vital chores for the fleet everywhere there was action in World War II. They led landing craft right up to the assault beaches, protected them from fire, fought off air attacks, swept for mines, laid down smoke screens, and patrolled the sea for killer submarines. One such doughty little ship, subchaser 692, is the subject of this book. Told by 692's commanding officer Ed Stafford, then a twenty-four-year-old lieutenant (jg) on his first warship, the story follows the thirty-man crew as they scrapped their way through the war, including action during the July 1943 invasion of Sicily. Filled with humor, tension, poignancy, and moments of high drama, this volume leaves today's readers with a vivid image of life on a very small ship in a very big war.
May 1940: 500,000 British and French troops are trapped in northern France by the Nazis. Their only escape is the sea, and an incredible armada of 800 craft known as the little ships. This is the story of a young girl and her father, who sail from Deal to Normandy to lend their help.
The title is derived from George Bernard Shaw’s comment that ‘England and America are two countries divided by a common language.’ It is not intended to imply that the two navies were seriously at odds with one another, but rather to suggest, as in the case of language, that common roots and usages varied significantly. And the Second World War is a pertinent moment for comparison. They fought on the same side against a common enemy for nearly four years, but Britain fought the war for the survival of itself and its empire, though in the long term it failed with the latter, while the American government fought to maintain its influence through the balance of power; its people fought for revenge for Pearl Harbor, and out of a sense of justice. In this new book, Brian Lavery describes and analyzes the differences and similarities between the two navies and in doing so sheds fascinating light on how the naval war was fought. For example, both navies had spectacular failures after entering the war – the Royal Navy off Norway, the USN at Pearl Harbor and Savo Island. Paradoxically, both commenced the war with quite amateur performances by professional navies and ended with highly skilled performances by largely amateur manned forces. The training systems for regular officers had flaws in both countries. In Britain, entry was largely dependent on family income, in America, on political influence. But American officers probably had a broader perspective by the time they entered active service. The book covers ships and weapons systems – for instance, the British used too many gun types in the 4 to 6in range, while the Americans concentrated on the well-designed 5in. And the author describes conditions onboard ships. British vessels were awash with alcohol, which had its attractions for Americans when alongside; the Americans offered ice cream in return. These examples represent only a tiny proportion of the subjects covered in this stimulating analysis. Aviation, the marines of both navies, anti-submarine and mine warfare, uniforms, propulsion systems, shipbuilding and building programs, commanders and national leaders, ratings and officers, ship design, geographical environments, naval bases, hammocks and bunks, the deployment of women – these are among the myriad big and small themes that will open the eyes of naval historians and enthusiasts, and show anyone with an interest in the Second World War how these two great allies came together to defeat the Axis forces.
A reference to the ideological, military, political, biographical, and social topics surrounding World War II, which is often considered the pivotal event of the twentieth century.
On May 8, 1945, Victory in Europe Day-shortened to "V.E. Day"-brought with it the demise of Nazi Germany. But for the Allies, the war was only half-won. Exhausted but exuberant American soldiers, ready to return home, were sent to join the fighting in the Pacific, which by the spring and summer of 1945 had turned into a gruelling campaign of bloody attrition against an enemy determined to fight to the last man. Germany had surrendered unconditionally. The Japanese would clearly make the conditions of victory extraordinarily high. In the United States, Americans clamored for their troops to come home and for a return to a peacetime economy. Politics intruded upon military policy while a new and untested president struggled to strategize among a military command that was often mired in rivalry. The task of defeating the Japanese seemed nearly unsurmountable, even while plans to invade the home islands were being drawn. Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall warned of the toll that "the agony of enduring battle" would likely take. General Douglas MacArthur clashed with Marshall and Admiral Nimitz over the most effective way to defeat the increasingly resilient Japanese combatants. In the midst of this division, the Army began a program of partial demobilization of troops in Europe, which depleted units at a time when they most needed experienced soldiers. In this context of military emergency, the fearsome projections of the human cost of invading the Japanese homeland, and weakening social and political will, victory was salvaged by means of a horrific new weapon. As one Army staff officer admitted, "The capitulation of Hirohito saved our necks." In Implacable Foes, award-winning historians Waldo Heinrichs (a veteran of both theatres of war in World War II) and Marc Gallicchio bring to life the final year of World War Two in the Pacific right up to the dropping of the atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, evoking not only Japanese policies of desperate defense, but the sometimes rancorous debates on the home front. They deliver a gripping and provocative narrative that challenges the decision-making of U.S. leaders and delineates the consequences of prioritizing the European front. The result is a masterly work of military history that evaluates the nearly insurmountable trials associated with waging global war and the sacrifices necessary to succeed.
In the last days of World War II, a new and baffling weapon terrorized the United States Navy in the Pacific. To the sailors who learned to fear them, the body-crashing warriors of Japan were known as "suiciders"; among the Japanese, they were named for a divine wind that once saved the home islands from invasion: kamikaze. Told from the perspective of the men who endured this horrifying tactic, At War with the Wind is the first book to recount in nail-biting detail what it was like to experience an attack by Japanese kamikazes. David Sears, acclaimed author of The Last Epic Naval Battle, draws on personal interviews and unprecedented research to create a narrative of war that is stunning in its vivid re-creations. Born of desperation in the face of overwhelming material superiority, suicide attacks-by aircraft, submarines, small boats, and even manned rocket-boosted gliders-were capable of inflicting catastrophic damage, testing the resolve of officers and sailors as never before. Sears's gripping account focuses on the vessels whose crews experienced the full range of the kamikaze nightmare. From carrier USS St. Lo, the first U.S. Navy vessel sunk by an orchestrated kamikaze attack, to USS Henrico, a transport ship that survived the landings at Normandy only to be sent to the Pacific and struck by suicide planes off Okinawa, and USS Mannert L. Abele, the only vessel sunk by a rocket-boosted piloted glider during the war, these unforgettable stories reveal, as never before, one of the most horrifying and misunderstood chapters of World War II.
Often overshadowed by other Pacific War engagements such as Midway or Guadalcanal, the Battle of Leyte Gulf was characterized by some of the most gallant hours in seagoing history: the U.S. Navy's defeat of the combined Japanese fleet during the invasion of the Philippines in October 1944. Involving more ships than even the gargantuan First World War Battle of Jutland and two hundred thousand men, it was the biggest naval battle in world history. It marked the last time that huge capital ships fought within sight and sound of each other. Using the personal accounts of the men who were there, Sears tells this mammoth and compelling story. This moving tale uses personal accounts of the veterans who achieved victory in the biggest and last great naval battle, largely fought with aging ships, untested reserve crews, and teenaged combat aircraft pilots. Often overshadowed by other Pacific War engagements such as Midway or Guadalcanal, the Battle of Leyte Gulf was characterized by some of the most gallant hours in seagoing history: the U.S. Navy's defeat of the combined Japanese fleet during the invasion of the Philippines in October 1944. Involving more ships than even the gargantuan First World War Battle of Jutland and two hundred thousand men, it was the biggest naval battle in world history. It marked the last time huge capital ships fought within sight and sound of each other. Using the personal accounts of the men who were there, Sears tells this mammoth and compelling story. The Battle of Leyte Gulf could have been the Pacific War's Battle of the Bulge. In a space of 12 hours, Japan, a beaten, cornered enemy, was able to devise and execute a strategy that very nearly pierced the heart of America's war machine. The real margin of victory would come from surprising quarters: from aging ships risen from the graveyard of the war's infamous first day; from small, hastily constructed ships with largely untested reserve crews; from fragile support ships never intended to be anywhere near battles of this scale; and from combat aircraft piloted by teenagers.
In "A Measureless Peril, " the historian Richard Snow captures all the drama of the merciless contest between the quickly built U.S. warships and the ever-more cunning and lethal U-boats that controlled the sea lanes of the Atlantic during WWII.