Sunburst: The Rise of the Japanese Naval Air Power, 1909-1941

Rating:
Summary: harshly critical of the Imperial Japanese Navy
Review: Peattie is highly critical of the tactics of the Imperial Japanese Navy's air force and its equipment. According to Peattie the Japanese dipsersed their carrier groups and that gave them lack of a concentrated punch against the American carriers. The Japanese fighter pilots also had a tendacy to fight independentally but not in groups and this left bombers undefended. The Japanese also did not invest enough money in either reconnaissance aircraft or training their crews which left the Japanese carriers without eyes. Peattie states that the Japanese made errors in the design of their carries since most of the planes were parked in the hangers and not on the take off and landing strip of the carriers like their American counterparts and this made it difficult for Japanese crews to rearm and refuel aircraft. Moreover Japnese carriers had insecure fuel lines that made them flamable when attacked. The planes that the Japanese Navy operated very highly vulnerable to enemey fighters since armor was sacrifice for speed. Finally the Japanese did not train enough pilots to replace their losses during the Pacific War. I reccomend this book to anyone whose interested in why the Japanese lost the Pacific War.

Rating:
Summary: harshly critical of the Imperial Japanese Navy
Review: Peattie is highly critical of the tactics of the Imperial Japanese Navy's air force and its equipment. According to Peattie the Japanese dipsersed their carrier groups and that gave them lack of a concentrated punch against the American carriers. The Japanese fighter pilots also had a tendacy to fight independentally but not in groups and this left bombers undefended. The Japanese also did not invest enough money in either reconnaissance aircraft or training their crews which left the Japanese carriers without eyes. Peattie states that the Japanese made errors in the design of their carries since most of the planes were parked in the hangers and not on the take off and landing strip of the carriers like their American counterparts and this made it difficult for Japanese crews to rearm and refuel aircraft. Moreover Japnese carriers had insecure fuel lines that made them flamable when attacked. The planes that the Japanese Navy operated very highly vulnerable to enemey fighters since armor was sacrifice for speed. Finally the Japanese did not train enough pilots to replace their losses during the Pacific War. I reccomend this book to anyone whose interested in why the Japanese lost the Pacific War.

Rating:
Summary: Very short ...
Review: The Pacific War is a subject which has not led to many new revelations in the last fifty or so years. As Japan was occupied it was possible to obtain access to their side of the conflict. This can be compared to the European Conflict that has been the subject of a large number of revelations. The Soviet Union kept a lot of its secrets close to its chest and with its collapse we now have a greater understanding of its role in the war which has balanced our previous understanding which has been based on German sources. ...This book ...deals with the Japanese development of a naval air force. ...Although the book is clearly written and structured in a logical way it does not say much more than one would get on a Pacific War Internet site. It traces how Japan developed naval aircraft which in 1942 were able to outperform allied aircraft but which became quickly obsolete and were shot out of the skies with ease from 1943 onwards. It also describes the failure of Japan to coordinate its army and naval aviation programs and the failure to train enough pilots to deal with losses suffered during the initial campaigns....