South Pacific Destroyer: The Battle for the Solomons from Savo Island to Vella Gulf

by Russell Sydnor Crenshaw Jr.

Retired navy US naval Captain Crenshaw shares his firsthand experience as the executive, officer of the USS Maury , along with research of official US and Japanese records bearing on these crucial 1943 battles. Particularly noteworthy is his discussion of the impact of the then new technologies of radar and voice radio, and that of the Japanese supertorpedo. Includes a few photos and maps. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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

283 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1998

About the author

A member of the United States Naval Academy class of 1941, Russell Crenshaw served in the U.S. Navy until his retirement in 1967.

Reviews

[Nathan Trachta]

I decided to follow up on the early war in the Pacific and picked up South Pacific Destroyer, the tale of the USS Maury in the Solomon Island Campaign (from post the battle of Tassafaronga thru the battle of Vella Gulf). Our writer, CAPT Crenshaw Jr., was the gunnery and later the executive officer of the USS Maury during this time period and provides a very direct and complete look at both the ship he served on and the campaign as a whole (his focus is naval but he does cover the land and air components where they interact with the naval story). Chapters flow around the activities of the USS Maury at a particular point in the campaign and expand into the slightly bigger picture. CAPT Crenshaw covers all of the engagements during this time period, all of the naval engagements having a map at the end of the chapter showing the flow of the battle (for those who’ve read The Two Ocean War you’ll recognize the maps).

Rating wise I’m calling this one a 4 star book. There was so much great potential here, CAPT Crenshaw was giving us an excellent early war perspective and failed to complete this. I say this because we’re told about the Battle of Tassafaronga from an after action perspective. As we read more, we learn that CAPT Crenshaw and the USS Maury saw more of the early war than he’s showing us (this really would have been great if CAPT Crenshaw told us of his service on the USS Maury during the Coral Sea and Midway campaigns or even if he’d come aboard after those if he’d mentioned his starting point. His writing style is good and would have brought some great information out on things that are a little hard to find; instead, CAPT Crenshaw opens this book for us like a person waking from a bad dream). There are a limited number of pictures; however pictures weren’t really required for this story. The maps were misplaced with battle maps at the end of the chapter rather than when the action starts with operational maps in the Appendices (the operational maps were a little weak because it’s difficult to find where some of the battles were fought). Acronyms are freely used and defined in the Glossary (I prefer it when they’re put in the front of the book or defined for first use). There is a nice Appendices entry for Japanese and American ships lost in the time span this book covers (I wish there’d been another with the hull numbers for the American ships because CAPT Crenshaw provides the hull numbers when we first meet the ships but it’s hard to remember them).

[Brian]

I found this to be an interesting ship history of the USS Maury which saw service in the Solomon Island campaigns of 1942-1943. A couple of items made it particularly unique. Crenshaw takes the time to give us a tour of the destroyer, offering insights into the role and operation of different divisions on the ship. He also tells the tell based on their knowledge at their time, as opposed to offering an omniscient view at the time of events. A particularly unique element of this history is that Crenshaw calls out some shipmates (e.g. a signalman who eats lunch rather than decoding an important, eagerly awaited message) by name - something you rarely see for most memoirs for people who failed in their roles. An interesting book that offers a unique look at destroyer operations in the Solomon Islands while the US Navy was still sorting out its doctrine and usage of items such as radar and the Combat Information Center.

[Quesenberrys]

First person account of life on a World War II destroyer during the Solomons campaign. The book alternates describing parts of the ship with engagements and voyages the ship made during that part of the war. There are a few humorous parts, and the detail is amazing, but there is just not enough story to maintain interest for too long. Life in the Navy sounds like utter boredom punctuated by some action now and then. I would have liked to know more of the inner life of the sailors and officers, what they thought about what they were doing, rather than how they did or did enjoy operating the radar or cleaning the kitchen. I will say this: you definitely feel like you were there, once you have read this book.

[Jonathan]

The campaign in the Solomon Islands was probably the most intense fought by US forces since the Civil War. Dozens of ships, hundreds of planes and thousands of men were lost on or near islands of little intrinsic value, but the Japanese advances of the early war months had to be stopped and rolled back somewhere. This fine little book covers the campaign in the crucial months of early 1943 from the point of view of the officers and men of the USS Maury, a destroyer that took part. The book moves seamlessly between the "larger picture" and life aboard that small but brave ship. A worthy addition to your library of the Second World War in the Pacific.

[Matthew Sparling]

Good first person account. I liked the details of the battles. Also the end where the author talks about the shortcomings of the US Navy and their torpedoes.