What do you think?
Rate this book
Red Sun Setting: The Battle of the Philippine Sea
Many regard this work as the definitive account of a controversial conflict of the war in the Pacific, the June 1944 battle known as the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot. Drawing on ten years of research and told from the viewpoint of the fliers and sailors who were on the firing line, William T. Y'Blood leads the reader through every stage of the battle, from the dogfights to the persistent attacks on the Japanese carriers to the frantic efforts of the returning fliers to land on friendly carriers. He takes the battle from the initial planning through the invasion of the Marianas and the recriminations that followed, describing Admiral Spruance's decision to allow U.S. forces to remain on the defensive and giving blow-by-blow details of the action. This intensive study of what many believe to be a major turning point in the Pacific War has remained an important reference since it was first published in 1981.
272 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1981
12 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 1, 2018
This is a good account of the Battle of the Philippine Sea, which is a battle that does not get much coverage. The author is not a professional writer but does a creditable job in relating the history. While there are many maps throughout the book, most are too small to be of much use. Given that this is the only detailed account of the battle I would recommend the book.
June 22, 2019
I picked this book because it got good reviews. But I ended up disappointed. It was just another report of the US Navy pilots, a little about the submarines that had an impact, and almost nothing from Japanese sources.
April 25, 2023
I enjoyed this book as it gave good information on the American side of the battle. A part 2 should have been the Japanese side of the battle. But still, the men from both sides gave their all, but you can see that training and experience does make a difference.
May 4, 2022
Detailed account, but a number of editing errors.
November 6, 2011
William T. Y'Blood has compiled an exhaustive treatment of the Battle of the Philippine Sea. It was one of the greatest victories in U.S. Naval history.
William T. Y'Blood has compiled an exhaustive treatment of the Battle of the Philippine Sea. It was one of the greatest victories in U.S. Naval history.
By June of 1944, it had been over 2 years since the battle of Midway in which 3 American aircraft carriers faced 4 Japanese carriers. There were some additional carrier actions off of Guadalcanal involving fewer ships in the fall of 1942. Since that time, the Japanese refused to commit to a large scale battle while it tried to replace the grievous losses in men and material it suffered at Midway.
When the Americans made a move to capture Guam, Tinian and Saipan, the Japanese could no longer refuse battle and they sortied a huge force of 5 heavy and 3 light aircraft carriers along with 5 huge battleships, among which were the largest in the world; the Yamato and the Musashi.
However, the naval battle would be primarily an air-to-air battle of carrier-based aircraft in which the U.S. shot down over 600 Japanese planes. Admiral Spruance, in command of American forces, decided to keep his fleet close to the islands in order to protect the landings and would eventually come under some criticism for not aggressively pursuing the Japanese fleet.
American losses were about 120 planes, 80 of which resulted when planes ran out of fuel and crashed into the sea returning in the dark from a late day sortie in an attempt to attack the enemy carriers.
Red Sun Setting contains a glossary, a robust bibliography, a detailed order of battle, helpful maps and diagrams and is fully indexed. The book describes the battle in great detail and offers some after-action analysis of Spruance's decisions. It makes a wonderful companion book to those written about the sea war in the Pacific.
John E. Nevola
Author of The Last Jump: A Novel of World War II
William T. Y'Blood has compiled an exhaustive treatment of the Battle of the Philippine Sea. It was one of the greatest victories in U.S. Naval history.
By June of 1944, it had been over 2 years since the battle of Midway in which 3 American aircraft carriers faced 4 Japanese carriers. There were some additional carrier actions off of Guadalcanal involving fewer ships in the fall of 1942. Since that time, the Japanese refused to commit to a large scale battle while it tried to replace the grievous losses in men and material it suffered at Midway.
When the Americans made a move to capture Guam, Tinian and Saipan, the Japanese could no longer refuse battle and they sortied a huge force of 5 heavy and 3 light aircraft carriers along with 5 huge battleships, among which were the largest in the world; the Yamato and the Musashi.
However, the naval battle would be primarily an air-to-air battle of carrier-based aircraft in which the U.S. shot down over 600 Japanese planes. Admiral Spruance, in command of American forces, decided to keep his fleet close to the islands in order to protect the landings and would eventually come under some criticism for not aggressively pursuing the Japanese fleet.
American losses were about 120 planes, 80 of which resulted when planes ran out of fuel and crashed into the sea returning in the dark from a late day sortie in an attempt to attack the enemy carriers.
Red Sun Setting contains a glossary, a robust bibliography, a detailed order of battle, helpful maps and diagrams and is fully indexed. The book describes the battle in great detail and offers some after-action analysis of Spruance's decisions. It makes a wonderful companion book to those written about the sea war in the Pacific.
John E. Nevola
Author of The Last Jump: A Novel of World War II
March 4, 2008
Very solid coverage of the battle. Good maps.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews