Clash of the Carriers: The True Story of the Marianas Turkey Shoot of World War II

by Barrett Tillman, Stephen Coonts (Foreword)

From the national bestselling coauthor of Dragon's Jaw, here is the incredible true story of the most spectacular aircraft carrier battle in history, World War II's Great Marianas Turkey Shoot.

"Superb... the greatest naval air battle of all time finally receives the meticulous and comprehensive treatment it deserves."--Richard Frank, author of Tower of Skulls

In June, 1944, American and Japanese carrier fleets made their way toward one another in the Philippine Sea. Their common objective: the strategically vital Marianas Islands. During two days of brutal combat, the American and Japanese carriers dueled, launching wave after wave of fighters and bombers against one another. By day and night, hundreds of planes filled the skies. When it was over, the men of the American Fifth Fleet had claimed more than four hundred aerial combat victories, and three Japanese carriers lay on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

Here is the true account of those great and terrible days--by those who were there, in the thick of the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Drawing upon numerous interviews with American and Japanese veterans as well as official sources, Clash of the Carriers is an unforgettable testimonial to the bravery of those who fought and those who died in a battle that will never be forgotten.

"In his inimitable style, naval aviation's most prolific historian comes through with a much-needed, comprehensive documentary on the greatest aircraft carrier battle of all time."--Cdr. Alexander Vraciu, USN (Ret) Fighting Squadron 16, 1944

Genres: History, World War II, Aviation, Military Fiction, Military History, Nonfiction, Naval History

376 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Born a fourth-generation Oregonian, descended from American pioneers, Revolutionary War Patriots, Pilgrims (e.g. Priscilla Alden) and Pocahontas, Tillman was raised on the family wheat and cattle ranch. His younger brothers include a breeder of exotic animals and a Rhodes Scholar. In high school he was an Eagle Scout[citation needed], won two state titles as a rudimental drummer, and was a champion speaker and debater. Tillman was first published in 1964 at age 15 and graduated from the University of Oregon in 1971 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.

Like his father, a Navy trained pilot in World War II, Tillman developed an early passion for aviation and learned to fly at age 16. Over the next several years he flew a variety of vintage and historic aircraft, including a pre-WW II Navy trainer and a restored dive-bomber. The latter became the subject of his first book, The Dauntless Dive Bomber of World War II, published in 1976. It established the format for many subsequent books, operational histories of U.S. Navy aircraft.

After college Tillman worked as a freelance writer until 1982 when he founded Champlin Fighter Museum Press in Mesa, Arizona, publishing out-of-print and new titles on military aviation.

In 1986 he moved to San Diego to become managing editor of The Hook, quarterly journal of the Tailhook Association. He remained in that position for three years before deciding to focus full time to writing fiction. His first novel was published in June 1990. Warriors[1] depicted a Mideast air war and became an immediate best seller when Iraq invaded Kuwait two months later.

Tillman's next two novels appeared in 1992: The Sixth Battle, (written with his brother John) which captured a wide following among computer war gamers; and Dauntless, intended as the first in a trilogy. It was followed by Hellcats, nominated as military novel of the year in 1996. He has also published original fiction in the Stephen Coonts anthologies, Combat and Victory.

Tillman remains active as a magazine writer. He is a regular contributor to The Hook, Flight Journal, and several firearms publications. He has also reported from Africa for Soldier of Fortune magazine.

Tillman is a former executive secretary of the American Fighter Aces Association.[2]

-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrett_...

Reviews

[J.S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

“It was just like an old-time turkey shoot.” - Lieutenant Junior Grade Ziegel “Ziggy” Neff

The aircraft carrier battle in 1944 that became known as the Marianas Turkey Shoot was a complete rout for the Americans. Conducted from ships that were hundreds of miles apart, the battle soon became famous. I’ve read about it in numerous other histories of WW2, but his was the only book I’d come across that dealt directly and solely on the event (I’m sure there must be others).

At midnight on June 18, Jisaburo Ozawa commanded nine carriers embarking 430 aircraft, while his screening vessels tallied forty-three floatplanes. Twenty-four hours later he was returning to base with six carriers retaining thirty-five fighter or attack aircraft and a dozen floatplanes.

I tried reading this book years ago, when I was still pretty new to reading WW2 histories, and gave up on it thinking I just wasn’t ready for something this detailed and dense. Unfortunately, I still found it unreadable and dense - lots of interesting and good information, but just not a very enjoyable read.

[Marc · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's hard to believe the largest carrier vs. carrier battle in history has had so little written about it. Fortunately, aviation historian Barrett Tillman has come along to rectify this inequity. This is a well-detailed account of the Battle of the Philippine Sea, aka "The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" in World War II. The author's love of the F6F Hellcat will become readily apparent to any reader, and since it was such a crucial player in the battle, this is very understandable. There are interesting insights into the characters of Admirals Spruance and Mitscher on the American side and Admiral Ozawa on the Japanese side, as well as recollections from a wide array of participants on both sides. Since American submarines played a crucial part in the battle they're not forgotten either, something you might expect from a book about a battle fought almost entirely in the air. One of the things I really liked about the book was the way it was written--it's not a stuffy account but instead uses military jargon (which may be confusing to some I suppose), some slang and what I found to be rather humorous ways of saying things or describing certain events. If you're a fan of the Hellcat, the U.S. Navy, or the Pacific War you need to add this to your bookshelf.

[Josh Liller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up from a used bookstore because they had it cheap. I've read one other book about the Battle of the Philippine Sea, Red Sun Setting: The Battle of the Philippine Sea, but it was over a decade ago.

I liked that this didn't just cover the Turkey Shoot and strike into darkness the next day, but the whole carrier campaign including the attacks on the Marianas and the Bonins. The author notes the contrasting claims of American and Japanese sources and tries to find where the truth lies in between. It's difficult to give the Japanese side because there were so few survivors to some of the events. The book also delves into some of the background - not just the people, ships, and aircraft but carrier operations in 1944. He tries to put everything into context. There's an index, endnotes, bibliography, and some useful appendices including an order of battle.

The book has no maps and only a small number of photos in the middle. I thought there was too much jumping from the 'live' narrative into tangents and background information, and a little more front-loading was in order. There are places where the book feels repetitive.

The author has a clear "voice" which is pretty commendable because nonfiction books often do not. However, I can see that voice being a love-it-or-hate-it thing. I thought it mostly strikes a good balance between serious and humorous, but the jargon can get a little thick and there were a few times the tone just seemed a bit...off.

This was published by an imprint of Penguin which, combined with the style, suggests that it was aiming for a broader history audience. I don't think it quite hits that mark.

I generally found this book to be an enjoyable read and I'd highly recommend it to a World War II buff. However, if you don't already read a lot of military history you may find this a little daunting and, as I suggested above, the style and tone could be hit or miss. I'd ideally give this a 3.5 but I'm going to round up for the extent of the coverage.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book, providing a detailed and entertaining history of World War II’s Battle of the Philippine Sea, both from an American and Japanese perspective. As always with a Barrett Tillman history the reader is treated to an engrossing account, covering all aspects of the story. The technical details of how anti-ship dive bombing works or how fleets maneuver to engage is given just as much coverage as the strategic discussions on how the battle came to be fought. This level of detail extends to both sides of the conflict; indeed, reading the book gave me a much stronger appreciation of the Japanese naval strategy in the latter part of the war and how the IJN’s material condition influenced their actions. The book draws heavily on the personal accounts of the Aviators and Sailors who fought in the battle. In many cases Tillman is able to draw multiple perspectives, from both sides, for the same incidents. At the same time, these personal accounts are tempered by the data and official record, resulting in a clear and understandable narrative. I especially appreciated the detailed analysis of the key inflection points critical to the course of the battle and the war. Each is looked at in detail, explaining how the information available, the personalities involved, and the situational constraints which were present influenced these individual decisions and created the larger course of events. Though it doesn’t cover in detail the wider story of the Marianas Campaign and related operations as presented in other books, for the level of detailed accounts and in-depth technical analysis of carrier warfare at the height of the Pacific War I’m not sure there are many histories which can match this. Highly recommended for those wanting to know more about large fleet encounters and the mechanics of operational warfare across a vast ocean.

[Sean Chick · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a lot of information packed into this book. I hate to say too much, but Tillman seems to want to leave no account unturned. The prose is a bit sloppy and uneven. Some passages soar others are ham-fisted.

At any rate, the battle is interesting. Much of modern carrier operations and doctrine stem from this battle, and it has its share of horrific and exciting moments: the turkey shoot, the sinking of Taiho and Shokaku, and the dusk time attack on Ozawa's fleet.

[Penecks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clash of the Carriers is a moderately detailed run down of the naval battles off the coast of Saipan, which featured the American navy transforming fully into it's endgame combat form: multiple fists of unmatched naval aviation. Meanwhile, the Japanese squandered the remnants of their veteran air wings, ensuring they could never successfully compete again on an even footing.

The book starts off a bit slow; that in addition to its "piecemeal" structure of an idea or event receiving a page or two of seemingly disjointed narrative, was a tad worrying. However, it does come into its own, and the idea of this separation actually works fairly well. Given the multiple areas the writer must cover at each point of the battle, splitting them up a bit makes sense.

Though he mainly resconstructs the narrative from American flight wing records, Tillman includes quite a few personal accounts from both sides. Eventually some of the involved people become familiar to the reader, and a really great final chapter explains their postwar whereabouts. The writing is generally good and avoids the dull recitation of similar works.

While American battle plans are generally explored, the overall view of the Japanese sometimes seems lacking; occasionally readers just aren't sure exactly which point of the battle they are at, and which ships matter (since many do not). Some illustrations in the text would have done wonders to alleviate this. Despite a few holes throughout, this book does a good job narrating this large naval engagement.

[Birtface · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great balance of some of the technical aspects of carrier/aircraft operations in WWII along with the personal stories of the men, from both sides, who fought the battle. I haven't read a book that devotes a good amount of pages to the Japanese side like this one does. Including stories from the captains all the way down to individual pilots. I already knew some of the aviation terms and procedures, which only made this more interesting (even if you don't know all of the terminology, it still helps to convey the technical expertise it took just to fly on and off a ship). There is also a chapter devoted to where many of the men and even the ships ended up. It even prompted me to find a YouTube video on how the Japanese operated their carriers because I wanted to understand more. That's when I know the book really hooked me, I'm finding other opportunities to learn about the subject. Thanks to this book, I think I'll add 'Samurai' by Saburo Sakai (Japan's top surviving ace- referenced in this book) to my list of books to read.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall the author provides a full accounting of the battle that became known as the Marianas Turkey Shoot. According to the back cover, the author writes in his own "inimitable style" which I found tiring and kind of counter productive. I thought here was too much fly-boy slang, i.e. splashing a zeke, flaming a judy, etc. There were a mind numbing number planes shot down so a variety of nouns and verbs were probably helpful, but the author was writing a history not telling sea stories in the officer's club. In addition a chart or two would have helped lay out the positions of the various battle groups at different times. What was it 21 aircraft carriers and 5 or 6 battleships and about 18 different types of aircraft, some were land-based.

I rounded up to 4 stars mostly because of the additional insight provided by the Japanese veterans of the battle.

[Kenneth V. Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marvel of extensive research, in-depth knowledge, and skilled writing.

Aerial combat is a tremendously difficult subject to write clearly due to the three dimensional nature it entails. Then add opponents of two drastically different national air squadrons and aircraft, it takes a very skilled historian to sort the rapidly changing action into organized segments for the reader to envision it. Barrett Tillman succeeded and more.

Additionally, the author delves into the naval commanders' history, leadership qualities and failures that lead to their success or failures.

I highly recommend this book to WW II history buffs, as well as, anyone that enjoys reading action-filled non-fiction. This book won't let you down.

[Darren Burton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good writer and an extremely well researched book.
It is loaded with a large amount of technical details about the different aircraft and their capabilities - which I personally find fascinating and wish more historians would do.
Tillman also has did a tremendous amount of research collecting information on all the officers on all the ships in the battle groups - including the US Naval officers and Japanese navy officers and pilots.
The book is a very smooth read - I think it is perfectly balanced between a great story and explaining the technical details and challenges of a battle between aircraft carriers.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone that has the slightest interest in World War 2.

[Mark K. Vogl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The largest carrier battle of World War II. Coonts does an excellent job in every respect. He provides detailed descriptions of every aspect of carrier operations, and his description of a carrier landing places the reader in the cockpit. His work describes the technical advantages of US equipment over Japanese equipment as the war progressed. And given the large scale of the battle, with 24 carriers involved, he simplifies the battle into easily understood phases. As an infantryman, this book went a long way to giving understanding naval warfare in the Pacific. Given the rise of China in our present time, readings of the Pacific War may be especially pertinent in our future.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible amount of detail on this underrated naval battle, it's the biggest carrier vs carrier battle in history and one of the biggest in terms of number of ships involved. Despite the Japanese initiative at the beginning of the battle, the result was lopsided because of the Americans' superior radar, aircraft, manpower, and so on. Japanese aircraft losses ran at 10x the Americans. It was an interesting case study on the evolution of carrier tactics throughout World War II starting from Midway. Some parts of the book are hard to follow because of the slangs.

[James Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even the Preface of this book is interesting, with geographical details about the Marianas area and the depth of the ocean.

The prologue talks about Operation Forager with its objective of Saipan, which apparently is about the same size as San Francisco. That's the type of additional little tidbit of detail that I like and that I think makes a book more interesting.

Northeast India was attacked by the Japanese at Imphal. Casualties on both sides ran about 30%, which included 50,000 Japanese, and the battle ended Japan's attempt to take over India.

The book then talks about comparisons between the U.S. industrial capacity and that of Japan's at the time. In 1944, for example, the U.S. launched more than 9 million tons of cargo vessels. Japan launched less than 800,000 tons. In that year the U.S. commissioned 762 warships (not counting escorts), and the Japanese around 200 ships. The U.S. built 93,000 aircraft, and Japan made about 28,000.

My own comments at this point:

In a war of attrition, Japan was basically doomed. Yamamoto himself warned the Japanese military about the U.S. abilities, but they didn't bother to listen to him. I think there were only two ways Japan could have won the war.

First, if it had launched an all-out attack on the U.S. itself right at the start of the war. This would have included attacking most of the cities on the West Coast and also taking over Hawaii. If they succeeded in driving significantly inland from the West Coast, then there is a possibility that public pressure would have built enough that the U.S. would have negotiated a peace. It's very doubtful the Japanese could have done this, however, since it probably would have taken a vast majority of their military to accomplish this, and they were already trying take over China, Malaya, the Philippines and a bunch of other countries at the same time.)

Second, and somewhat more possible. If the Japanese had succeeded in inflicting enough casualties on U.S. troops and prolonging the war long enough that public pressure would have built to make the U.S. government end the war. I think this might have been a possibility if the U.S. had done a ground invasion of Japan itself, since the casualties in such an invasion would probably have been worse than in any other battle in the Pacific theater. Even then, I don't think there's a really good chance that this would have happened. I think that, pretty much any way one looks at it, Japan was going to lose the war. Single countries just cannot take over the entire world, at least at that time in history. Not even a combination of three countries could.)

The book also has something about unit 731, the Japanese biological warfare unit in China that worked on making biological weapons and torturing people. According to this book, there was a sub that was sailing for the Marianas that contained some material from Unit 731, fleas that carried bubonic plague that were to be dropped on U.S. troops on Saipan. The ship was sunk before it could complete its mission. If the fleas had been used, then there is little doubt the U.S. would have developed its own biological warfare capability and retaliated, severely.

The book notes the forces facing each other at the battle. The Japanese had 9 carriers, the U.S. 15. The Japanese had 5 battleships, the U.S. 7. The Japanese had 13 cruisers, the U.S. 21. The Japanese had 23 destroyers, the U.S. 68. The Japanese had 19 subs, the U.S. 27. Then there is the matter of airplanes. the U.S. 900 planes, the Japanese about half that number, with 630 more land-based planes within range, but this does not take into consideration the decrease in quality of Japanese planes and pilots that had occurred so far during the war.

The book also discusses the difference in technological quality between the Japanese planes and ships and those of the U.S.

The first kill of the battle was at 0547 when a Japanese “Judy” was shot down. This began a fourteen-hour battle.

The book also goes into detail about the Hellcat and its characteristics. The planes ended up being used to shot down some 5,200 Japanese planes, with a loss of 270, making it a 19:1 win/loss ratio over Japanese aircraft.

The book goes into great detail on the events of the battle, and it does so in a manner which is very readable and not boring at all, which is a major positive point for the book.

Another thing the book talks about, which is quite interesting, is the relationship between claimed kills and sinkings (on both sides), and actual kills and sinkings. The number claimed was almost always more than the number actually shot down or sink; maybe as much as twice the number. One good example of this is Japanese claims of four to five carriers and a battleship or large cruiser sunk or damaged, and 160 U.S. planes shot down. Actual losses were during this particular phase of the battle were zero U.S. ships sunk, and 42 planes shot down.

It also discusses Tokyo's wildly exaggerated claims of damage done to U.S. forces and how it had little to do with reality. Later it talks about the terrible problem U.S. naval forces had over the torpedoes they had to use early in the war.

The book also includes a number of appendices with even more information on the battle. Altogether, a very, very good book.

[John Sitarsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written book, but because of the amount of names and military units, I felt like I almost neede a notebook to keep all the information straight. Because of this I became bored at times. I did give it 4 stars because in spite info overkill I feel it was a well written chronology of the battle.

[William Carroll · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you like lots of jargon and nicknames, with plenty of jingoistic cheerleading, this is a book for you. I don't, so I was disappointed with the book. I should have known I was in trouble when I opened it and there was only one map, and that was the entire Central Pacific, with no indication of where the two navies fought the battle. Again, disappointed.

[Bookcat · Rating 4 out of 5]

New author and narrator for me. If you like straight forward accounts without any flourish, then you'll love this no bs report. Love all the details! 🧭🗺🗓🚢✈️💣🪂🇯🇵🇺🇲Especially the ship and fighter names 🥰 I can't say I know much about this specific battle, but it was probably as brutal as it sounds, at the least.

[W Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recommend this book to anyone interested in the Pacific Theater of WW2. The author describes many of the air battles that took place in the Marianna’s Turkey Shoot in great detail. The only criticism I have is that he breaks the flow of the narrative to explain side details. These details are important for the reader’s understanding but perhaps been handled in a different way.

[Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tillman provides a solid narrative history of a famous but understudied battle. The Battle of the Philippine Sea was in many ways straightforward giving Tillman space and time to delve into all aspects of the battle, including the development of air-sea rescue, submarine operations, and aircraft development.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good one from Tillman, Clash of the Carriers tells the story of the Great Marianna’s Turkey Shoot.

Of particular interest was the enormous disparities between claims of kills versus actual losses. Guess that’s why gun cameras are now used

[Winston Goh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great account of the battle, highlighting the confusion amongst the different air groups. Also helpful in bring some parts of the Japanese perspective into the account of the battle as well as some background on technical developments and strategic context.

[Bert Hopkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book by Tillman. I always enjoy his books.

[Richard Mansel · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. The writing style continually pulled me out of the narrative. Time is too short for that. Too many other books await.

[Garhett Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grear book on the turkey shoot. Enjoyed the detail and the shoutout to the silent service. The submariners need some respect!

[Peter Goodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Stars are Legion,” by Karmeron Hurley (Saga, 2017). Planets appear to be starships, populated internally under a skin that seems to be alive, maybe plantlife. They are traveling in a swarm called the Legion, fighting obscure but vicious wars among themselves. There is something called the Mokshi, which does not seem to be one of the Legion, and it seems to be about to move outside the perimeter of the Legion. One person is Zan, a warrior of some kind who has been sent to invade the Mokshi but keeps being defeated and brought back to life without her memory, to try again. There is Jayd, a friend/lover/supervisor for Zan. There are other beings related to Jayd, and the Bavatra, a rival family out to destroy them. The descriptions, the fighting, the physicality of everything is almost excruciating in its detail. Things get extremely convoluted, and it is not clear whether the ending is good, bad or indifferent. Everyone is female. There are no males. How they become pregnant and reproduce is not examined. Hurley describes herself as an “intellectual badass.” Ok.

https://www.kameronhurley.com/


“Clash of the Carriers: the true story of the Marianas Turkey Shoot of World War II,” by Barrett Tillman (NAL Caliber, 2005). That’s what this is, for sure. Tillman tries to do with the Marianas battle what Richard Frank did for Guadalcanal: assemble every piece of information ever created to reconstruct what happened in detail from every side. The overall event is well=known to WWII lovers: The Imperial Japanese Navy, with its last gasp of offensive power, sallies forth with all its remaining carriers and pilots to destroy the American navy and raise the siege of Saipan. The Americans, under Spruance, have got their defense and offense down to sciences. They pretty much know the Japanese are coming. The Japanese launch wave after wave of fighters and bombers and torpedo planes, The planes themselves---Zeros and Vals and Kates---are pretty much outclassed by the Americans now flying Hellcats and Corsairs, with Helldivers and Avengers for the counterstrikes. The Japanese pilots are barely trained---brave and determined but nowhere near as good as the Pearl Harbor crews, who are mostly dead by now. Honed by two years of experience, the Americans have got their fighter direction down pat. The Japanese planes not shot down by American planes are blown from the air by ship-based antiaircraft. Almost none get through to the American fleet, and three or four American ships are damaged, none seriously. The Japanese send four waves of planes. They are each wiped out. The Americans send their response, which finds the Japanese carriers, sinks two, damages more. While all this is happening the Japanese actually think they are winning, because their pilots keep sending tremendously inflated reports of the ships they’ve sunk and planes shot down. Finally, Spruance sends off a last counterstrike, late in the day. He and the pilots all know that it will be dark when they return. Admiral Mitscher, in command of the carriers, orders the lights turned on, damn the submarines! The result was a life-saving chaos: sometimes two planes landed on the same deck at the same time; often they came down on some other ship entirely. Three times a Japanese plane tried to land on an American carrier----but the landing systems were different so he couldn’t come down. Ultimately, the Americans got the vast majority of their fliers back; the Japanese lost the great majority of their fliers. Spruance decides not to pursue the Japanese---his primary mission is to protect the landings. Tillman clearly thinks Spruance was a more capable leader than Halsey. At Leyte, the latter was tricked into sending his big carriers and battleships after a decoy fleet, opening the door for the Japanese battle fleet to go after the Leyte landings. Uh uh, says Spruance. I am staying put. Beyond the detailed overall account of the battle, Tillman seems to account for every American pilot and every plane shot down. He compares American and Japanese reports, finding that the Americans almost always exaggerated---unintentionally. It’s a minute-by-minute account, which is almost boring at the last because there is no suspense whatsoever. The American pilots just slaughter the Japanese. At Guadalcanal the issue was in doubt for months. Still, very interesting and very rich.

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/bo...

[Mac McCormick III · Rating 3 out of 5]

Barrett Tillman's Clash of the Carriers: The True Story of the Marianas Turkey Shoot was a book I was looking forward to reading. The "Marianas Turkey Shoot," more properly known as the Battle of the Philippine Sea, was a great though tremendously lopsided carrier battle that was a death knell for the Imperial Japanese Navy and a triumph for the United States Navy. There aren't many books written on the battle, so when I came across this on, it wasn't a difficult decision to buy it (in Kindle form as usual).

As far as the information in the book goes, I have no complaints. Tillman does a good job of telling the story of the Turkey Shoot from both the American and Japanese perspective. He gives credit for good decisions and blame for poor decisions on both sides. On both sides, he includes the perspective of not just fleet, task force, and squadron commanders but individual pilots and sailors as well. He doesn't just tell the reader that a ship was sunk, he explains the damage done by the attacks and explains why the ship couldn't be saved. He does a good job of putting you in the cockpit, on the deck, or within the ship depending upon the sailor or officer's job.

On the other hand, there are elements of the book that just undermined it for me. One of those things was the jargon/slang Tillman makes frequent use of. He doesn't offer explanations of the terms and that could make for difficult reading by the casual reader. At times, the jargon and some of his descriptions go over the top. Second, he let his objectivity slip in the closing chapters (in retrospect I should have expected it to pop up somewhere given Stephen Coonts' Foreward). I didn't detect a lack of objectivity throughout much of the book, but in the "Where are they now" chapter near the end of the book, Tillman lets his objectivity slip and his politics shine through. As a History major (including a course in Historiography) I found that very unappealing.

I had a tough time deciding on how to rate Clash of the Carriers. It provided some good information and good perspectives on the battle, but it could have been written a bit better and Tillman could have left his politics out of it. If Goodreads had a 3.5 that is probably what I would have given it, but the over the top descriptions, jargon, and politics combined with a lack of maps led me to give it three stars. IF the print version has maps I would likely give it four stars (depending upon map quality). If you're a naval/military/aviation history buff looking to read about the Battle of the Philippine Sea I would recommend this book, but I wouldn't to the casual reader.

[Rod · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed description of the Battle of the Philippine Sea, June 1944. Also called the Marianas Turkey Shoot, it remains the largest carrier battle of all time, and resulted in the virtual elimination of Japanese naval aviation.

Due to winds and other factors, US carriers were forced to launch their attacks against the Japanese fleet very late in the day, with the result that the US aircraft had to be recovered well after dark. Most of these pilots were not trained in nighttime landings. Even finding the carriers would be a challenge. Tillman's description of the efforts to recover the returning aircraft is excellent. Adm Clake and, later, Marc Mitchner, decided to illuminate ships in the fleet with deck lights, searchlights, star shells, etc. Mitchener also launched specially trained night fighters, equipped with radar, to intercept returning flights far off course and guide them back to the task force. Nearly two thirds of the returning aircrew were recovered, and over half the remainder were rescued in the water the next day.

From a purely tactical position, risking the entire task force to recover a few hundred airman. But this effort was never forgotten by all naval aviators.

[João · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is part story-telling, part history book. The combination of the two sometimes works out, but sometimes doesn't. In particular, I disliked the beginning. It offers important and interesting technical insights, but it all felt very unorganised and disconnected.

The absence of factual evidence also appears to be somewhat hidden throughout the narrative. For instance, the author repeatedly mentions how many planes were claimed by the USN during each skirmish, but fails to mention how many were actually lost. He does make up for it in latter chapters, where this information finally shows up. It bugged me that I had to read through to the end to get it though. I was worried it would not appear at all.

All in all, it was a pretty decent read. Because of the story-telling, the book contains several descriptions of the activities involved in operating a carrier. If you're into that stuff, you'll find plenty of "gold nuggets" in this book :) It is usual for other authors to neglect or distill this information and keep it at a higher level, simply mentioning that it took X time to land the planes, and not what is involved in doing so (LSOs, barriers, arresting hooks & wires, etc).

[Christopher Lutz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Battle of the Philippine Sea. The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot. Such interesting names for a remarkable battle. The largest naval battle involving aircraft carriers in history. A style of warfare that is obsolete in the modern world. While incredibly one-sided, this American victory is as significant to the pacific war as the Normandy landings were to the war in Europe (which happened to occur in the same month). The Imperial Japanese Navy ceases to be a substantial threat to the US fleet, and American bombers are now within striking range of the Japanese home islands. For both theaters of WWII, June 1944 was the beginning of the end.

Only thing that fails to make this a five star book is the fact that the writing can be a bit monotonous. With so many aircraft raids, dogfights, and carrier actions to describe even in an audio format it can be tricky to follow sometimes. It’s an issue that every writer of historical nonfiction has to overcome.

[Steven Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever hear of the "Marianas Turkey Shoot"? This book, in simple terms, describes this great sea battle. This is one of the largest sea battles in history, taking into account the number of ships involved.

The American fleet featured 15 carriers and the Japanese put 9 flat tops into the fray. But it was not an even struggle. Japanese planes were no longer as competitive as earlier in the war and the pilots were much rawer than those who fought at Pearl Harbor and at Midway. Many Japanese carriers and the bulk of the force of planes was destroyed at this battle, effectively rendering the Japanese naval forces much weakened.

The book nice a nice job telling the story, describing fleet tactics, describing key figures in both navies, and laying out the strategic picture of which this battle was a part.

[David White · Rating 2 out of 5]

Clash of The Carriers leaves you in the Marianas

While Tillman thoroughly documents an incredible array of actual historic action of the events in The First Battle of the Philippines Sea and in particular the heroic efforts of numerous Naval Aviators the events lack the entertaining detail necessary to keep the reader focused. He generally lacks the flowing story telling of historical writers such as as a Cornelius Ryan and being that his subject is generally air-on-air WW II combat his setting for his story is generally limited.

A very accurate and historical document that left me seeking rescue from the Marianas Sea and with a thirst of entertainment and enlightenment that even the vast expanse of ocean could not quench. Read it for the history but nothing more.