This vividly detailed WWII history chronicles the bitter conflict at sea between Allied and Japanese naval forces.The Pacific War was primarily fought at sea. Naval power allowed the Japanese to mount their attack on Pearl Harbor and then advance westwards and southwards. It also enabled the Allies to strike back and even take the war to Japan itself. The tide turned very quickly, with the US victory at Midway in June of 1942 ending any Japanese hope of domination.

Award-winning historian David Wragg's Second World War Carrier Campaigns explores how aircraft carriers changed the course of the war for Allied victory.Without the aircraft carrier, the Japanese would not have brought the United States into the Second World War through their attack on Pearl Harbor; without the carrier, the United States could not have rolled back the Japanese forces spread across the wide reaches of the Pacific and carried the war to Japan...

This is a narrative account of the operations of the Fairey Swordfish throughout World War Two. The most famous of these was the attack on the Italian fleet at Taranto, crippling three battleships and damaging several other ships as well as the seaplane base and an oil storage depot. The Swordfish played a prominent part in the Battle of Matapan and in the sinking of the Bismarck. Less happily, Swordfish were used in the unsuccessful and ill-prepared raid on the Germans at Petsamo and in t...

"A well-written yet concise history" of Hitler's plan to build a massive naval fleet, why it failed, and how it may have affected the outcome of WWII ( Nautical Research Journal).Except for the strength of the U-boat fleet at the height of the Battle of the Atlantic, the German Navy, or Kriegsmarine, was never a match for the Royal Navy, even though the latter was overstretched and fighting in the Atlantic, the Pacific, the Mediterranean,...

Compiled by the author of Janes Air Forces of the World, this book is a must for naval experts and enthusiasts. In one volume the reader will find the composition and details of all naval elements of a staggering 137 nations armed forces including paramilitary organizations as the US Coast Guard Service. The book starts with an introduction based on the situation today and the response of the leading maritime powers. This is an interesting period with considerable uncertainty for the Royal...

The author of A Century of British Naval Aviation, 1909-2009 examines the losses and successes of the Royal Navy during World War Two.On the declaration of war in 1939, the British Admiralty signaled all warships and naval bases "Total Germany, Total Germany."It was fortunate that of Germany's three armed services, the Kriegsmarine under Grosseradmiral Erich Raeder was the least well prepared. True, Admiral Karl Donitz's U-Boat force was t...

Dark, thrilling, and hilarious, The Black Hawks is an epic adventure perfect for fans of Joe Abercrombie and Scott Lynch.Life as a knight is not what Vedren Chel imagined. Bound by oath to a dead-end job in the service of a lazy step-uncle, Chel no longer dreams of glory – he dreams of going home.When invaders throw the kingdom into turmoil, Chel finds opportunity in the chaos: if he escorts a stranded prince to safety, Chel will be released from h...

Compiled by the author of Janes Air Forces of the World, this book is a must for aviation experts.In one volume the reader will find the composition and details of all air elements of a staggering 169 nations air forces and, where they exist, army air, naval air and such paramilitary organizations as the US Coast Guard Service.By definition such a book must be regularly updated and David Wragg has researched his subject right up to the minute. This latest book supersedes the authors early ...

Above the Waves is the history of the first century of British Naval aviation, with personal accounts adding color to the achievements both in technology, such as angled flight decks, mirror deck landing systems, helicopter assault and vertical take-off, and in operations, including the sinking of the Konigsberg and the daring attack on the Italian fleet at Taranto, convoy protection, operations with the United States Navy in the Pacific, then, post-war, Suez, and later the recovery of the...

The strategic importance of Malta sitting astride both the Axis and Allied supply routes in the Mediterranean was obvious to both sides during WW2. As a result the Island became the focal point in a prolonged and dreadful struggle that cost the lives of thousands of servicemen and civilians. After setting the scene for the action, this book tells the story of the Island's stand against the might of the Axis powers that led to the unprecedented award of the George Cross to the whole island ...

Operation BARBAROSSA, the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, was a turning point second only to Pearl Harbor. Russia became an ally overnight but a most difficult, dangerous and demanding one. Stalin desperately needed oil, equipment and modern technology but the only practical route was round the North Cape to the ports of Archangel and Murmansk. The dual enemies of the vulnerable merchantmen were the German naval and air forces and the weather.While no-one questioned that the R...

From the American Civil War onwards, railways have been an important aspect of war. So important were the railways that in the First World War, the state took control of the railways, and then repeated this exercise in the Second World War. Wartime on the Railways describes the part played by Britain's railways during the Second World War, dealing not simply with operational matters or the impact of enemy action on the railways, but also looking at financial arrangements, the part played b...