South Pacific Destroyer

Author : Estate of R S Crenshaw
Publisher : Naval Institute Press
Page : 255 pages
File Size : 46,6 Mb
Release : 2009-09-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9781612515502

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South Pacific Destroyer by Estate of R S Crenshaw Pdf

Today only a select few know firsthand what it is like to feel their ship shudder from the blast of their own guns, watch enemy guns flash back, and see friendly ships erupt in flames. Russell Crenshaw is one of those few. His riveting account of the savage night battle for the Solomon Islands in early 1943 offers readers a unique insider’s perspective from the decks of one of the destroyers that bore the brunt of the struggle. Russell Crenshaw was a gunnery officer on the USS Maury. His vivid, balanced, and detailed narrative includes the Battle of Tassafarounga in November 1942 and Vella Gulf in August 1943, actions that earned his warship a Presidential Unit Citation and sixteen battle stars. Crenshaw also discusses the impact of radar and voice radio, the shortcomings of U.S. torpedoes and gunfire, and the devastating effectiveness of Japan’s super torpedo.

Author : Frederick Jackson Bell
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 314 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 1943
Category : Destroyers (Warships)
ISBN : UCAL:$B42122

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Condition Red by Frederick Jackson Bell Pdf

Author : Russell Sydnor Crenshaw
Publisher : Tantor Media Incorporated
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 2014-05-10
Category : HISTORY
ISBN : 1452623864

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South Pacific Destroyer by Russell Sydnor Crenshaw Pdf

A riveting inside look at the experiences of a gunnery officer in the Solomon Islands on the highly decorated USS "Maury" during World War II.

Author : Frederick J Bell
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 288 pages
File Size : 51,8 Mb
Release : 2020-10-16
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 1716508258

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Condition Red by Frederick J Bell Pdf

In Condition Red, author Frederick J. Bell, commander of the USS Grayson, plunges the reader into action-packed naval encounters with the Japanese Navy or, as the author calls it, 'The Tokyo Express.' With its readable style, attention to detail and flair for capturing the whirlwind of conflict, there are few accounts that better document naval warfare during World War 2 than Condition Red.

Author : Frederick Jackson 1903- Bell
Publisher : Hassell Street Press
Page : 314 pages
File Size : 45,7 Mb
Release : 2021-09-09
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 1014224640

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Condition Red by Frederick Jackson 1903- Bell Pdf

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Author : John B Lundstrom
Publisher : Naval Institute Press
Page : 229 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 2014-04-15
Category : History
ISBN : 9781612513522

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The First South Pacific Campaign by John B Lundstrom Pdf

On May 7 and 8, 1942, fast carrier task forces from the United States and Imperial Japanese met in combat for the first time in the Battle of the Coral Sea. A strategic victory for the U.S. despite the loss of the carrier Lexington, the battle blunted the Japanese drive on Port Moresby, a valuable Allied air base on the island of New Guinea. Lundstrom offers a detailed analysis of the fundamental strategies employed by Japan and the U.S. in the South Pacific from January to June 1942, the efforts of Adm. Ernest J. King to reinforce the area in spite of Roosevelt’s Europe First grand strategy and Adm.Chester Nimitz's aggressive plans to fight in the Coral Sea. Now in paperback, The First Pacific Campaign provides a superb overview of the crucial first six months of the naval war in the South Pacific.

Author : Commander F. J. Bell
Publisher : Pickle Partners Publishing
Page : 415 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2015-11-06
Category : History
ISBN : 9781786252623

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Condition Red; Destroyer Action In The South Pacific [Illustrated Edition] by Commander F. J. Bell Pdf

Includes the Second World War In The Pacific Illustration Pack – 152 maps, plans and photos. Commander Frederick Bell recounts his wartime experiences on the USS G (Grayson) during the Pacific War. “CONDITION RED” was an expression that we used to indicate the imminence of any type of engagement. Aboard the G it was a colloquialism that served to express the conviction that the next few hours or days or weeks were going to be packed with action. We first heard it soon after we arrived in the Solomons, where the term was used on Guadalcanal and Tulagi to indicate the approach of the enemy, and when our voice radio blared out the words we went to General Quarters and prepared to greet the Tokyo Express or the Zeros and Mitsubishis when they came within view. Little has been written of the part that our destroyers are playing in the Pacific War, where they are called upon to fulfil such a variety of missions that they have become multipurpose ships, engaging in any form of combat. Because we lacked suitable escort ships we used destroyers to protect convoys as well as to guard our combatant Task Forces. We used them to bombard enemy shore positions and to carry bombs and aviation gasoline and stores to Guadalcanal during the lean weeks early in our campaign in those far-distant seas. By nature as well as by name, the purpose of the destroyer is wholly offensive. Bantamweights in comparison with the great battlewagons, they pack a punch out of all proportion to their size. They are triple-threat weapons, built to strike at any enemy on or over or under the sea. In the words of Rear Admiral Tisdale, “They are the fightingest thing afloat.”

Author : Ken Jones
Publisher : Lulu.com
Page : 278 pages
File Size : 45,7 Mb
Release : 2018-03-15
Category : History
ISBN : 9781387668076

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Destroyer Squadron 23 by Ken Jones Pdf

Destroyer Squadron 23 is the epic account of Commodore Arleigh Burke and the men and ships under his command in the South Pacific in World War II. Burke's leadership skills and innovative tactics, described in detail in the book, proved crucial to the U.S. defeat of the Japanese navy in the Pacific.

Author : James Richard Snellen
Publisher : Trafford Publishing
Page : 153 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 2008-06-05
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 1466953144

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South Pacific at Seventeen by James Richard Snellen Pdf

Finally convincing his parents to sign his papers at the age of seventeen, James Snellen enlisted in the Navy in 1944-the middle of World War II. A young farm boy from rural Kentucky, James was anxious to see some action! His boat crew was assigned to an Armed Personnel Destroyer, USS Cofer (APD-62). Being assigned the position of gunner, signalman, and radioman aboard a LCVP landing craft that would put assault troops ashore onto the enemy beaches in the South Pacific, he certainly saw more action than he had bargained for. His role later included sweeping for mines in between the Japanese boat docks before any other Navy ship could enter the enemy harbors. James Snellen successfully landed troops in all eight of the United States invasions in the South Pacific that led up to the surrender of the Japanese. From Balikipapan to Bora Bora, Okinawa, Japan to Fusan, Korea, he received two bronze starts and many other medals for his bravery and for doing his part. Even though I was awarded two bronze stars, the things that I did were the same things being done by countless others.' James is now the historian and coordinator representing the Cofer's association. Sixty-one years later, his remaining shipmates and families still get together yearly for a reunion to reminisce and renew old friendships.

Author : Marlene Olson
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 336 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 2020
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 0963787616

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Tales from a Tin Can by Marlene Olson Pdf

Tales From A Tin Can consists of 424 stories from 44 of the officers and crew who served aboard the destroyer USS Dale from 1941-1945. Their colorful eyewitness accounts include the major naval engagements from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay that earned Dale her 12 Battle Stars, as she steamed from the Pacific Coast to the South Pacific, and through the williwaws of the Bering Sea into the typhoons of the South China Sea. The stories they tell will bring the twenty-year olds of the Greatest Generation to life for you.

Author : Jeffrey Cox
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 441 pages
File Size : 53,6 Mb
Release : 2023-03-02
Category : History
ISBN : 9781472849885

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Dark Waters, Starry Skies by Jeffrey Cox Pdf

Esteemed Pacific War historian Jeffrey Cox has produced a fast-paced and absorbing read of the crucial New Georgia phase of the Guadalcanal-Solomons Campaign during the Pacific War. Thousands of miles from friendly ports, the US Navy had finally managed to complete the capture of Guadalcanal from the Japanese in early 1943. Now the Allies sought to keep the offensive momentum won at such a high cost. This is the central plotline running through this page-turning history beginning with the Japanese Operation I-Go and the American ambush of Admiral Yamamoto and continuing on to the Allied invasion of New Georgia, northwest of Guadalcanal in the middle of the Solomon Islands and the location of a major Japanese base. Determined not to repeat their mistakes at Guadalcanal, the Allies nonetheless faltered in their continuing efforts to roll back the Japanese land, air and naval forces. Using first-hand accounts from both sides, this book vividly recreates all the terror and drama of the nighttime naval battles during this phase of the Solomons campaign and the ferocious firestorm many Marines faced as they disembarked from their landing craft. The reader is transported to the bridge to stand alongside Admiral Walden Ainsworth as he sails to stop another Japanese reinforcement convoy for New Georgia, and vividly feels the fear of an 18-year-old Marine as he fights for survival against a weakened but still determined enemy. Dark Waters, Starry Skies is an engrossing history which weaves together strategy and tactics with a blow-by-blow account of every battle at a vital point in the Pacific War that has not been analyzed in this level of detail before.

Author : Robert C. Stern
Publisher : Naval Institute Press
Page : 376 pages
File Size : 48,6 Mb
Release : 2023-02-15
Category : History
ISBN : 9781682478530

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Knife's Edge by Robert C. Stern Pdf

While the resounding American victory at Midway in June 1942 blunted Japanese momentum to a great extent, it left the opposing forces precariously balanced, particularly in the South Pacific. In Knife‘s Edge Robert C. Stern provides an account of the Battles of the Eastern Solomons and the Santa Cruz Islands, the two pivotal carrier air battles that followed the initial engagements at the Coral Sea and Midway between the U.S. Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy. Three U.S. aircraft carriers were sunk or badly damaged over the two months following Midway, including USS Enterprise at the Battle of the Eastern Solomons. Had it not been for the fortuitous arrival of USS Hornet at the end of August, the Americans would have been without an aircraft carrier in the South Pacific until Enterprise returned from repairs on 24 October. At that moment, another major Japanese offensive was afoot, again led by two large carriers, this time supported by another light carrier and a mid-sized merchant-hull conversion. The resulting Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands on 26 October 1942 was a solid tactical victory for the Japanese, who managed to sink Hornet and once again damage Enterprise. Stern has written a history of the two final early carrier battles fought between the U.S. Navy and Imperial Japan. These pivotal battles, coming after the triumph of the U.S. at Midway, illustrate lessons learned from these earlier battles of the Pacific War. Readers already familiar with the history of World War II at sea should find this account a riveting new look at a chapter of the Pacific War rarely covered until now.

Author : Mark Stille
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 226 pages
File Size : 47,9 Mb
Release : 2012-09-20
Category : History
ISBN : 9781780968964

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Santa Cruz 1942 by Mark Stille Pdf

Despite myth, the Japanese carrier force was not destroyed at Midway but survived to still prove a threat in the Pacific Theater. Nowhere was this clearer than in the battle of Santa Cruz of October 1942. The stalemate on the ground in the Guadalcanal campaign led to the major naval forces of both belligerents becoming inexorably more and more involved in the fighting, each seeking to win the major victory that would open the way for a breakthrough on land as well. The Japanese were able to gain a tactical victory at Santa Cruz and came very close to scoring a strategic victory, but they paid a very high price in aircraft and aircrew that prevented them from following up their victory. In terms of their invaluable aircrew, the battle was much more costly than even Midway and had a serious impact on the ability of the Japanese to carry out carrier warfare in a meaningful manner.

Author : John Wukovits
Publisher : Da Capo Press
Page : 489 pages
File Size : 43,8 Mb
Release : 2017-03-14
Category : History
ISBN : 9780306824319

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Tin Can Titans by John Wukovits Pdf

An epic narrative of World War II naval action that brings to life the sailors and exploits of the war's most decorated destroyer squadron. When Admiral William Halsey selected Destroyer Squadron 21 (Desron 21) to lead his victorious ships into Tokyo Bay to accept the Japanese surrender, it was the most battle-hardened US naval squadron of the war. But it was not the squadron of ships that had accumulated such an inspiring resume; it was the people serving aboard them. Sailors, not metallic superstructures and hulls, had won the battles and become the stuff of legend. Men like Commander Donald MacDonald, skipper of the USS O'Bannon, who became the most decorated naval officer of the Pacific war; Lieutenant Hugh Barr Miller, who survived his ship's sinking and waged a one-man battle against the enemy while stranded on a Japanese-occupied island; and Doctor Dow "Doc" Ransom, the beloved physician of the USS La Vallette, who combined a mixture of humor and medical expertise to treat his patients at sea, epitomize the sacrifices made by all the men and women of World War II. Through diaries, personal interviews with survivors, and letters written to and by the crews during the war, preeminent historian of the Pacific theater John Wukovits brings to life the human story of the squadron that bested the Japanese in the Pacific and helped take the war to Tokyo.

Author : John H. Gamble
Publisher : Wheatmark, Inc.
Page : 126 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 2011
Category : Biloxi (Cruiser)
ISBN : 9781604945133

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Pollywog and Shellback by John H. Gamble Pdf

Learn about little-known combat ventures aboard a U.S. Navy vessel during World War II from the eyewitness accounts of Navy veteran John Gamble. Pollywog and Shellback Tales of the South Pacific describes life as a World War II sailor in the Pacific theater. Gamble throws us onboard his ship the same way he was thrown -- at breakneck speed. Leaving high school friends behind, Gamble joins the U.S. Navy and is trained as a radioman in the new technology of radar. He learns the basics of Navy life, forms friendships along the way, and helps to make his ship what the admirals need it to be -- a fighting machine to defeat the enemy and bring peace back to the Pacific.While Pollywog and Shellback Tales of the South Pacific is not a complete summary of Gamble's wartime experiences, the stories give an astounding look at what it was like to be a sailor on a Navy ship during the battles of the Pacific. Glimpse the individual perspective of combat at sea and imagine one man's commitment to his country no matter the cost.John Gamble, Sr., was born and raised in the Atlantic coast region of what is now part of New York City. Many years after returning from naval combat in the Pacific, he was one of relatively few workers fortunate enough to have worked on the lunar landing module; this was destined to make the first moon landing. He could see the whole world opening up and felt caught in the upheaval as his generation came into being. He witnessed Einstein's theories become reality as the atom was split and the scientific wonder gave birth to a horrific nuclear arms race. He witnessed what were then the world's two tallest buildings being erected and witnessed their demise. Mindful of Nostradamus's papers, he grew fascinated as the changes in technology brought new dimensions to his thinking. According to Gamble, there are many bittersweet moments in life. We must choose to have hope and be among those who desire to see a hopeful future.