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Rating: 
Summary: Task Force 58 Deals the Japanese Navy a Fatal Blow
Review: This book keeps up the tradition of other books in this fine series. This volume describes the action which took place in and around the Marianas Islands in the summer of 1944. The islands of Saipan, Tinian, and Guam were successfully captured and turned into air bases for the big B-29 Superfortresses so they could reach the Japanese homeland. These battles were fought with great savagery on both sides. For example, rather then surrender to the American forces, many Japanese soldiers and civilians threw themselves from cliffs overlooking the Pacific on Saipan.The Battle of the Philippine Sea is where the Japanese navy ultimately, for all intents and purposes, ceased to be an effective fighting force. However, at the beginning, it was the Japanese who sighted the Americans first. They launched four successive attacks against Admiral Spruance's carriers while Spruance was still searching for the Japanese ships. Thanks to murderous anti-aircraft fire and superior combat air patrol, the Japanese would end up losing over four hundred aircraft in what has become known as the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot". Three Japanese aircraft carriers were also sunk by American submarines and planes. However, this victory was greatly scrutinized. Spruance was criticized for not finding the enemy ships sooner, and for conducting poor air searches. Many believed that the victory could have been even greater than it was had the Japanese been spotted sooner, or had the Americans done a better job of pursuing the fleeing Japanese. This is a very good book, and the battle is explained expertly with the help of numerous maps and photographs. I highly recommend this book, as well as others in this series. They give the reader a first-hand account of the war at sea.
Rating:
Summary: Task Force 58 Deals the Japanese Navy a Fatal Blow
Review: This book keeps up the tradition of other books in this fine series. This volume describes the action which took place in and around the Marianas Islands in the summer of 1944. The islands of Saipan, Tinian, and Guam were successfully captured and turned into air bases for the big B-29 Superfortresses so they could reach the Japanese homeland. These battles were fought with great savagery on both sides. For example, rather then surrender to the American forces, many Japanese soldiers and civilians threw themselves from cliffs overlooking the Pacific on Saipan. The Battle of the Philippine Sea is where the Japanese navy ultimately, for all intents and purposes, ceased to be an effective fighting force. However, at the beginning, it was the Japanese who sighted the Americans first. They launched four successive attacks against Admiral Spruance's carriers while Spruance was still searching for the Japanese ships. Thanks to murderous anti-aircraft fire and superior combat air patrol, the Japanese would end up losing over four hundred aircraft in what has become known as the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot". Three Japanese aircraft carriers were also sunk by American submarines and planes. However, this victory was greatly scrutinized. Spruance was criticized for not finding the enemy ships sooner, and for conducting poor air searches. Many believed that the victory could have been even greater than it was had the Japanese been spotted sooner, or had the Americans done a better job of pursuing the fleeing Japanese. This is a very good book, and the battle is explained expertly with the help of numerous maps and photographs. I highly recommend this book, as well as others in this series. They give the reader a first-hand account of the war at sea.
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