U.S. Carriers at War

IN A NUTSHELL: MORE ABOUT NAVAL AVIATION THAN SHIPS Simply stated, U.S. Carriers at War, by Peter Kilduff, is a well illustrated, oversized, reader/coffee table book that is well written, easy to read and aimed at a general though literate audience. WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT: ITS ABOUT PLANES & FLYERS -- NOT SHIPS & SAILORS Since Aircraft Carriers are essentially: mobile, seagoing airports, it is not unexpected for the focus to be on the flyers, the aircraft, and the naval aviation missions. The only problem is for people like me, who prefer the focus to be on the ships and sailors rather than the planes and pilots, this may not be that interesting a read. The photos, narratives and organization of the book is very user friendly, and easy to get comfortable with as the use of nautical terms and jargon are kept manageable and the stories are about real people and real history.

This is a good book, although a little more like a compilation of magazine articles than an historical narrrative. Interesting all the same, with a large number of photos, mostly of people & aircraft.

Peter Kilduff is an aviation historian, perhaps best known for his considerable work in the field of Aviation in the First World War and especially in Manfred von Richtofen scholarship. He was editor of the American W.W.I aviation history magazine CROSS & COCKADE JOURNAL for 17 years. However, with experience on the US carrier LAKE CHAMPLAIN in the 1960's, he also has maintained an interest in US Naval Aviation, with articles in THE HOOK, the magazine of the Tailhook Association, and a volume on the A-4 Skyhawk. Kilduff's US CARRIERS AT WAR was first published in 1981, in the UK by Ian Allan Ltd. The US Naval Institute published in the US a second, revised edition in 1997. This is a book of about 9"x12" format, only 128 pages, but printed on quality gloss acid-free paper, with very clear photographic reproduction, and an attractive cover painting, R.G. Smith's view of SBD Dauntlesses leveled out over the burning Japanese carrier AKAGI. No index, one-half page of bibliography. This book is in a category that I always tend to like, so my review may reflect that prejudice. US CARRIERS AT WAR is not a history on the order of Reynolds's THE FAST CARRIERS, nor a popular history like a Richard Hough book. Instead it collects a variety of first person narratives and some extracts from official reports, giving snapshots of the activities of aircrew of several different US carriers. These are framed by the author's discussion placing each narrative in historical context. In some ways this means that the title is a bit misleading, as the focus is primarily on the aircrew rather than the ships themselves, but US CARRIER AIR GROUPS AT WAR probably just doesn't work as well as a title. The topics covered include: - reminiscences of a torpedo pilot who flew TBD Devastators from the LEXINGTON (CV-2) at Coral Sea, and later TBF Avengers from the ESSEX class LEXINGTON (CV-16) -reminiscences and official reports of Max Leslie, commander of the SBD Squadron on YORKTOWN (CV-5) at Midway, as well as the report of his Executive Officer, Lt. DeWitt Shumway - the narrative of an F4F Wildcat pilot who flew from USS RANGER (CV-4) during Operation TORCH, the North African Invasion - reports from pilots flying from US escort carriers operating against U-boats in the Atlantic - an account from an F6F Hellcat pilot flying from the INDEPENDENCE class light carrier USS COWPENS ("The Might Moo") - a long profile of and notes from David McCampbell, the top US Navy fighter Ace of all time, and Medal of honor winner. - the reminiscences of a Hellcat pilot who flew with the night detachment aboard USS YORKTOWN (CV-10) - in a chapter entitled "Bad Day at Kure", the report of Air Group 17, operating from USS HORNET (CV-12) in the strikes on Kure and Kobe on the Japanese home islands, 19 March 1945. - the final chapter, "Intrepid Indeed", gives the most coverage to the ship vice the aircrew of any segment of the book, covering the unlucky USS INTREPID (CV-11)