How Carriers Fought Lib/E: Carrier Operations in WWII

by Lars Celander

In November 1921 the first purpose-built aircraft carrier was launched by the Japanese, followed a year later by the launch of the British Hermes. The conversion of battlecruisers into aircraft carriers after World War I required the consideration of issues including handling aircraft on the flight deck and the techniques of attacking enemy ships, and the evolution of carrier operations was ongoing when World War II broke out. With a focus on the conflict in the Pacific between the U.S. Navy and the imperial Japanese fleet, this title examines how aircraft carriers fought during World War II by first considering all the tools and building blocks of carrier operations, and then discussing the various battles that involved aircraft carriers to explore how carrier operations evolved during war.

Every aspect of carrier operations is covered; from the technology used on the carriers and in aircraft including for navigation and communication, to what life was really like in the cockpit for the pilots. A world of tactical dehydration, amphetamine pills, and illegal smoking is explored, as well as the measures pilots implemented to reduce their risk of death in the event of being hit.

The major carrier battles of the war are considered, from Coral Sea to Leyte Gulf, with a focus on how the tools of carrier operations were employed. At the battle of Midway the debate of concentration vs. dispersion became relevant, as the Japanese decided to divide their forces while the Americans concentrated theirs. How Carriers Fought questions these tactics, exploring which worked best in theory and in practice.
The book concludes with a discussion of how carrier operations changed during the course of the war, as better technology and a better understanding of this new type of warfare allowed for quick advances in how operations were carried out.

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

Audio CD

Published August 13, 2019

Reviews

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be an extremely informative book, especially the first two-thirds, which deal with the various aspects of carriers and the great carrier actions of WWII. The final third concerned more about post-war carriers, including modern ones.

The author talks about the Royal Navy, the Imperial Japanese Navy, and especially the U.S. Navy discussing how they used their carriers at war. The types of planes, the use of radar, the types of protection for planes and the carriers are fairly well explained although I must admit that some of the fine points about radio and radar were beyond me. He continually pointed out the improvements made between 1942 and 1944 as the U.S. Navy came to dominate the seas in quantity and quality while the Japanese found themselves with greater losses in ships and men.

The second part of the book describes many of the famous carrier battles that played such a big part in the eventual victory. This was the easiest part for me as most of the campaigns are well known, but I was happy to see he included the naval campaigns in Norway and Malta.

In the third section he compared various things such as the armored-deck carrier of the RN and the carriers of the USN. He also makes a point of the things that could have been improved, while conceding that in time of war, it's not easy to anticipate what a navy will need from its ships. One figure I found in the book struck me greatly. During the Pacific War Japan used 12,000,000 tons of fuel oil for its shipping. On the other hand, the U.S. could produce 12,000,000 tons of oil in two weeks. By 1945, Japan had so little oil that it sacrificed its carriers at Leyte Gulf. Bushido could only do so much; it could not win this war.

[Charles H Berlemann Jr · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay so where to begin with this book? Beyond the numerous typos in the text and the strenuous need for an editor to have reigned in some of the fluff in this text. I mean there was a whole chapter dedicated to long range bombers crews wearing their gear and about 25% of that chapter was on smoking. Wait...what does any of that have to do with carrier forces fighting in WW2?
Okay moving on from there, although the author has a huge bibliography. There are no footnotes, or references to any analysis, conclusions or statements made to back up the texts based on what he "researched". That is just the 1st half of the book. I mean I quit taking notes on my kindle about incredulous analysis after about the 1st quarter of the book when my notes and highlights topped out at 90 with most being "based on what reference?????" Sort of comments. In addition if you read the author admits to using Wikipedia and some other home brewed military systems research websites of questionable data to draw his conclusions.
Again that is just the 1st half of the book about supposedly the aircraft, electronics, weapons, and some tactics.
The 2nd half of the book is coverage of the major carrier actions of WW2. However, even here if you read his preface (where he admits to pulling some blog posts to make this book) he mentions that he would only cover carrier vs carrier action. So okay he glosses over the early RN operations but then spends about ten pages covering Operation Pedestal, the convoy ops to Malta in early 42. Well that is land based air and German subs vs the RN. At the same time he ignores the USN carrier raids post Pearl Harbor and spends a large amount of time with how the raid happened. Going into the Midway battle he repeats the myths of the battle that IJN was rearming when the bombers struck and even though he appears to reference "Shattered Sword" that dispelled that myth the author keeps it.
Going further into the 3rd section, the author appears to do operational analysis, but glosses over what he uses to do the math and what game modeling he uses to create the metrics he reports. Which means to anyone looking to reevaluate this or refute it is unable to repeat the analysis, a major no-no in this sort of thing.
The 4th section the author spends a huge amount of time talking about carrier design and development and manufacturing with at times paragraphs that directly contradict the paragraph after or the paragraph before. Let alone he does this analysis without explaining how ship building technology matured during WW2 and evolved from rivets to arc welding and other welding equipment.

I could go on with the mis-steps and the mistakes, but short version is that the author appears to have attempted a serious analysis of carrier battles with just looking at timelines and applications of what resources were available to the on scene commanders. Basically, a high level view without the gritty of airplane flown by pilot X did event Y or the bomb hit at time X was fought by damage control team Y.

Yet, in my view the author fails because he doesn't effectively footnote anything, the analysis he does do appears to be personal biases (there is a constant thread of why the VT fuze was bad thru the book), and ultimately the typos or contradictions in paragraphs right next to each other seems to show that this is not effective or done in any well manner. I would not recommend this for anyone looking for good data or views on carrier battles.

[Boudewijn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a historical account of any WW2 related carrier battle, but a more in depth (technical) insight in the development of a carrier during World War 2. For those who have read the odd book about carrier battles, this might give some insight in how the battles were fought. Interesting, albeit here and there rather technical.

[Dj · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must-read for anyone interested in WWII in the Pacific. It goes a long way toward explaining why battles were fought the way they were. This book doesn't go in for detailed looks at the battles between the opposing Carrier forces but looks more at the nuts and bolts of what is going on. How many frequencies do the aircraft and the controllers have to provide communication during the battle, the types of planes and their strengths and weakness in working together as strike forces and more. It is a very insightful book that makes the progression of battles in the Pacific more understandable.

[C. G. Telcontar · Rating 2 out of 5]

This title took me months to get through. I'd pick it up and put it down, over and over, but I have finally surmounted the difficult text. I didn't check his nationality but the author may not be English language first; there are innumerable difficulties with grammar as well as singular/plural, odd sentence structures, incomplete paragraphs and so on that contribute to make it a jarring read. You're struggling as much with his writing as with the material.

It's a Kindle self publication and the author is no expert but not a complete armchair amateur, either, which places the reader in an odd position to judge the merit of his arguments. There are many of these that are conventional and well documented; there are some that appear to be somewhat fresh and you can see the point in them; then are a few wild tangents not fully explored that are eye rollers.

What's most frustrating is his inability to discuss a topic fully before moving on to another. Just as aggravating are some of his bland assumptions about certain crucial concepts that could be rigorously debated but he assumes to be static non issues. What results is quite the mixed bag of ingredients never quite coalescing into a meal. Some taste good, some are bland, some are awful.

An odd discovery for a topic that could use more entrants in the field, really. How carriers actually fought is not really covered by any naval historian save may John Lundstrom, and his focus is entirely aviation strike related rather than wholistic to ship design, navy doctrine, war experience, etc.

Worth reading only if you really, really, really, really want to delve into the topic.

[George Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book focusing on some esoteric points of carrier warfare in WW2. The most fascinating part for me was the first part, looking at the technology of carrier warfare such as radar, andradio communications. The second part was an analysis of carrier battles of the war. I've been reading this history since around 1975 when I was in grade school. There wasn't a lot new here for me, but it was a good recounting and analysis of those battles. The third part of the book was a look at carrier warfare through game theory. This part was pretty good, and built upon what Captain Wayne P. Hughes wrote in *Fleet Tactics and Naval Operations*.

[C. Scott Kippen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is quite informative and interesting, but the book really lacks a narrative. It is more just a listing of facts broken into chapters. This only for those die-hard WW2 people who just want to know more about carrier operations.

[Al Lock · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book reads like someone is writing a website or has simply rambled on about a subject that they are very interested in, repeating a mixture of facts, conjecture and possible myth all without any real differentiation. Although the book gives a very extensive set of sources at the end, some of the books content contradicts some of those sources, the author choosing to favor his opinion over documented facts, and the actual content doesn't include footnotes or any other linkage to documentation, so it's difficult to determine how he has come to his conclusions.

In addition, the book is desperately in need of a good editor. The content has a great tendency to be repetitious as well as a bit scattered (although the analysis of battles does follow a consistent format). Also random gaps in words (especially names), as well as the failure to explain what the Thach Weave was (despite mentioning the tactic a number of times).

Strikingly, Fighters Over the Fleet is one of the source books listed in the back, yet this volume seems to have not paid attention to the wealth of detail available in that book.

[David J. Fernandes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

This is not the standard history of carrier warfare. I have read many of the standard model books. This does a good job of explaining how the battles were fought. All in all an excellent job.

[Richard F Fogle Jr · Rating 2 out of 5]

Save your money...

This book reads more like a rambling presentation of “facts” and theories pulled from a myriad of online sources and given to the reader in the driest, least engaging way possible.

[Charles Huss · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was quite informative but it reads more like a report, with lots of technical details presented in an uninteresting way.

[Michael Sommers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, a pretty good look at how carriers operated in WWII. I would have liked, however, even more detail. Perhaps a detailed, minute-by-minute account of one carrier during one of the early battles, to get a really good feel of operations. But what there is is good, and gives many insights.

I do, though, disagree with some of the author's conclusions, such as about the trade-offs involved with armored flight decks, and his claim that conditions in the Atlantic and Pacific were the same. I also disagree with some of what the author says about the cost-effectiveness of various weapons. I don't think the analysis fully takes into account, for instance, the disruptive effects of heavy AA fire; I don't see how that can be quantified, anyway. The cost-effectiveness discussion also seems to imply---although I'm sure the author did not mean to so imply---that it was a mistake to deploy the weapons that post-hoc analysis shows to have been cost-ineffective, which, I think, is a wrong conclusion.

I would also have liked to see a bit more detail on the combat models used. Enough detail to easily replicate the models. I think all the required information is there (I haven't tried, yet), but it would have been nice to have the equations shown explicitly.

Finally, there are lots of typos, and a few sentenced that don't seem to make sense (including one place I think a whole line of type was dropped). These, however, although annoying, do not detract much from the content.

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book, providing an in-depth “how” for Carrier Operations in WWII (Atlantic and Pacific) as well as a wide array of analysis on the topic. Unfortunately, the low quality of reference information and the ping-pong nature of the writing (especially in the analysis section) degrades the book, even for an “armchair historian” like me. That being said, the sheer breadth of material is amazing, and the author’s ability to tie material capabilities with tactical usages and operational outcomes speaks volumes for his system of system viewpoint. Many myths and misconceptions are visited and corrected in detail, giving whole new insights into various campaigns and battles. Examples include the use of armored decks on RN Carriers affecting their convoy protection battles and how the early poor use of coordinated strikes by USN Carrier Groups created a non-preference for Torpedo attacks later in the war. The analysis which ended the book was hindered by a rigid set of assumptions not being flexed through varying inputs. But it does provide a better understanding in how the various Navies thought and acted. I have a much better appreciation for the foundation of the US Navy’s current doctrine through this better understanding of the 1944 Navy’s tactical and operational methods. A great book for those wanting a deeper understanding of the “how” for WWII Carrier Operations. Highly recommended for those studying offensive and defensive concepts in Naval Strike Operations.

[Jack Hwang · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed opinions about this book.

The first part, although hard to read due to various reasons, contains very valuable information. Contrary to some reviewers who point out its lack of quotations, I think it's all right to provide synthesized information in this type of books. There is hardly any book regarding the tactical, flight, and deck operations of WW2 carriers. I won't ask too much.

However, the second and the third part are poorly written and are unnecessary. Especially the second part. It does not review and apply much of the factors/parameters discussed in the first part. The semi-detailed narrative is also meaningless. If the readers are interested, they would find books specifically targeted for these battles. The modeling is also not useful nor meaningful for the common readers.

All considered, if the author can remove the third part, revise the second part to be relevant, and organize the first part (and add some quotes), this book can easily get a five stars from a wide range of the readers.

[Brian Campbell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Part 1 of this title was way too detailed, long and poorly presented. Most of it could have been presented in graphics (e.g., tables) for easier reading and avoidance of the wordiness. Part 2 gave well done brief overviews of carrier battles. Part 3 briefly described numeric "Combat Models" then applied the perspectives from them with observations of the evolution of WWII carrier operations to show the logic of the evolutionary steps. Brief ending on postwar developments was insightful.

[Sandy Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carrier Appreciation 101 and 202

History,design,maritime chess, waterborne logistics and a myriad of building blocks and human skills are illuminated to show that carrier operations combat or not were complex beyond what is normally appreciated by the casual reader of naval or military histories of WW II and later.

[Bob Croft · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poor editing, but a good deal of information not conveniently available elsewhere - Logistics, aircraft characteristics, development of antiaircraft, fighter direction and so on. Essential if oneis to understand particularly the Pacific war.

[Brian Hand · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book provides lots of answers

Comprehensive book on carriers very informative answers and information on the subject that includes information that I never had thought about

[Ron Wilcox · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting to a point

More of a statistical report than an analysis of battle tactics, both which are likely to lose the readers interest before one finished the book.

[Andy Lawless · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very detailed technical data on ships, aircraft, weapon and electronic systems; and how it all came together to allow the new weapons of war to fight

[Michael Wynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding book on how WWII carrier flight and hanger decks operated.

[Richard Marney · Rating 4 out of 5]

For students of the naval history of WWII, this deeper dive into the operations of the paramount ship of the fleet is an enlightening read.

[Randy Butcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent technical text, but the narrative often comes off as disjointed.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learn More About Why By Learning About How

There’s no lack of books out there about naval operations in World War II, especially about the naval campaigns fought by aircraft carriers in the Pacific. With all those books detailing the battles fought and the tactical decisions made, there’s not much discussion about how crews and pilots accomplished tasks and why. That’s why “How Carriers Fought” is such a welcome addition to the books on naval history.

The primary focus the first part of “How Carriers Fought” is less on tactics and strategy and more on the procedures and logistics that made carrier warfare possible, including discussions on how pilots navigated, communicated between themselves and their ships, and how carriers launched, directed, and recovered aircraft. The book also discusses the design philosophy behind the carriers, which varied between both sides’ navies, and the advantages and disadvantages of each country’s carriers and aircraft.

The second part of the book provides overviews of the most significant carrier battles of World War II - both in the Atlantic and the Pacific (yes, there were a couple of significant carrier battles in the Atlantic and the Med!) In addition to a recap of each battle, the book provides information about the makeup of each naval force, the effect of procedural successes and failures on the outcome of the battle, and even weather conditions during the battle.

The third section of the book applies game theory to carrier combat statistics from the war to try to answer questions the historians and armchair admirals still debate about carrier operations in World War II, such as whether carriers should have had fewer aircraft in exchange for armored flight decks, whether carriers or battleships were better to have in a fight, and whether an emphasis on fighters in the carriers’ air wings would have been better than a mix of fighters and bombers.

It was interesting to read about how pilots and carriers did things like navigate, communicate, and find an enemy, and how the logistics of the naval fleets and the ability to replace planes, ships, and pilots affected the final outcome of the war. The book probably could have used a little better editing; there were a few typos and a tangent or two that wasn’t germane to the main themes of the book and could have been left out. Overall, though, it’s an interesting view of historical naval operating procedures that are seldom considered in history books, and reading “How Carriers Fought” provided some additional perspectives on why key naval battles of the war and overall strategy developed the way they did. Consider reading this book before reading a book on a World War II naval battle!