Titans of the Seas: The Development and Operations of Japanese and American Carrier Task Forces During World War II

by James H. Belote, William M. Belote

Several Dog Eared Pages - tears in dust jacket

Genres: World War II, History, Military History, Naval History

406 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1975

Reviews

[Marc · Rating 4 out of 5]

During World War II, the aircraft carrier surpassed the battleship as the most important naval vessel, nowhere more so than in the Pacific conflict between Japan and the United States. Beginning with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and going through the Battle of the Philippine Sea (aka "The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot"), this book looks at the rise to prominence of the aircraft carrier in the Japanese and American navies and the pivotal role it played in the outcome of the war.

I found the book to be very informative, without bogging down in too much detail. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of information on the Japanese side of things, especially the early part of the war when the Japanese Navy sailed supreme over the waves. The raids in the Indian Ocean and the covering of operations in New Guinea and Indonesia (fka the Dutch East Indies) were not something I'd previously seen much on, so this book helped fill in that gap in my knowledge.

Both sides are looked at critically in many aspects: training, tactics. leadership and results to name a few. In the early part of the war, the Japanese were clearly superior in all aspects, but as their core of experienced personnel dwindled due to losses and the Americans gained more experience the balance of power clearly shifts until by mid-1943 the Japanese are definitely starting to face long odds of winning the war. One aspect I found interesting which I had not seen presented in this fashion before was the matter of bombing results, especially among the American dive bombers and torpedo planes. The latter were basically saddled with an inferior weapon in the Mark 13 torpedo, so that definitely explains some of their lack of success. But the dive bombers also showed poor results when one looks at the number of bombs expended and the number of hits actually achieved. I think the end result(s) tend to get the majority of the ink most of the time, but this book shows how with better accuracy the Americans could have scored even more against their Japanese adversary.

If you're a naval history buff, especially when it comes to aircraft carriers, you'll like this book.

[Ted · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most historians credit Lt. Dick Best with the sinking of the carrier Akagi at Midway. Lt Edward Kroeger had the near miss, not Best, as the authors claim. Best delivered Akagi’s death blow with a bomb that pierced the carrier’s flight deck and exploded in the upper hangar, blasting planes and munitions and spreading flames throughout the carrier. Most also credit Best with delivering one of the bombs that fatally damaged Hiryu in a later strike on 4 June 1942, making him one of the two pilots to have hits on two Japanese carriers that day. At 32 years of age Best was an experienced senior pilot and was acknowledged to be the best dive bomber pilot in the U.S. Navy.

[Michael Maciolek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did not know a lot about this topic prior to reading. For what would seem like such an academic topic, the Author does a good job of making the reading interesting and setting up a lot of the book in a narrative format. Was interested to keep reading.

[Artie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An old book I found in my parents house. Worth reading if you have an existing interest in World War II naval operations.

[Bob McNamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Important book in that it fills in gaps about carrier development in the US, UK and Japan. Well researched but not too concerned with battle operations. Good read.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

'thots' while reading:
Do not remember reading in any other sources how the Enterprise was 150-some miles away from Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack. Neither do I remember reading in other sources how some of the carrier's fighters were enroute to Pearl Harbor during the time of the attack and actually encountered some fighters on their way to land.
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I enjoyed reading this book. I thought it had a flow that was readable and held my interest throughout the entire book. I was surprised it ended where it did, but where the authors chose to end the narrative does make sense [in light of the Japanese Navy carriers no longer being a force to be reckoned with after a certain point in the war]. It did not get bogged down in technical details. Each chapter had a wealth of information in it.

I liked the little bio's and 'side stories' in the book. It was not just about 'historical facts.' The authors personalized it by having anecdotes and comments from people who served during in the Pacific Navy during the War. Toward the end of the book, there is a 'bio' that really grabbed my interest, as the person in question kept popping up into the middle of the narrative. The personal asides helped make the book interesting.

I enjoyed reading the story of the Tang. I had read something about its actions before, but it was amazing to read how the captain of this American submarine rescued so many pilots during one of the battles. The captain was willing to risk his command to save fellow American soldiers [pilots] - it was heartening to see. The fact that this one submarine saved so many pilots in one day helped raise the morale of the pilots, as they knew their fellow Americans would do all they could to save them.

I have read about Marc Mitscher ordering all of the carriers under his command turning on all of their lights to help the returning American pilots find them in the dark and land in previous books. However, those books usually turned what happened into a one to two lines in the entire book. It seemed as if what he did was impressive yet easily dismissible. The authors in this book tell more about this event; they actually delved into it and gave it the 'human element.' Considering how the admiral opened up the task force to enemy attack by turning on all of the lights, it was truly a heroic decision on his part. As other authors have stated, his actions saved the lives of hundreds of aircrews that night who otherwise would have had to ditch into the ocean in the middle of the night with no hope of being found. It truly was an incredible event in toward the end of the war.

There was another 'anecdote' in the middle of the book; I forget which sea battle. The Americans were returning to their carriers and low on fuel. The anecdote I enjoyed was about a sailor who was guiding the aircraft to land onto the carrier. Despite being told numerous times 'there's no more room on the deck!' he continued guiding aircraft in to land. He knew they were low on fuel, and he saved many lives by his decision to acknowledge the comments and continue to guide the practically-empty aircraft in for a safe landing. It is not a 'long story,' per se, but I still loved reading about his actions. He also saved the lives of many pilots on that day.

The authors do not sugarcoat the mistakes of the American commanders; they do point out where they felt that the Americans should have been more aggressive. It was also surprising to read how the Americans never quite reached the levels of 'perfection' that the Japanese had attained at the start of the War. The Japanese were able to hit the majority of their targets with the minimum number of bombs and torpedoes; it took the Americans a far larger amount of bombs to incur the same damage. I realize a large part of that had to do with faulty designs in the bombs; I also realize the American torpedoes were horrible and should have been replaced early in the War when they kept failing to explode. Still, though, it was crazy to read about how the Japanese planes were able to fly greater distances than their American counterparts; I can only assume the armor on the American aircraft prevented similar distances from being traveled by the Americans. At the same time, I never felt like the authors were being insulting to either the Japanese or American commanders while they wrote. It was quite a difference when compared to Edwin P. Hoyt's book 'Carrier Battles' [in which Hoyt is not afraid to castigate commanders of whom he does not approve of or their actions]. All in all, this was an interesting book to read and I am glad I read it.

[Iain · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very engaging and comprehensive look at, essentially every carrier action ever. The authors do a good job of making a narritive which includes viewpoints from all sides of WWII in the Pacific. I've read many books on carrier actions and yet this one included material on several raids and actions that others barely mention. It's not without its flaws. Like most books of this type it could use more maps of the actions its covering. Some of the material is dated, lacking the recent insights of research into Japanese accounts as presented in books like Broken Sword as an example.

I strongly recommend this book to readers interested in CV actions and the PTO of WWII in general.