It is a fantastic piece of historical writing
A Freeper recommended it to me and I pass it forward
It is a fantastic piece of historical writing
A Freeper recommended it to me and I pass it forward
The Britannica article says the Japs lost many of their best pilots.
Parshall disagrees. He accessed Jap casualty lists. Amazingly few of their veteran pilots died at Midway.
It was the attritional battles around Guadalcanal, which began a couple months after Midway, that cost the Japs many of their best pilots.
Agreed. I have read many, and “Shattered Sword” is indeed the best book on the subject, IMO.
It isn’t just that it debunks things like the concept that the Aleutians campaign was a feint by the IJN to lure out the carriers, it presents meaningful, detailed information that helps explain the unlikely outcome.
For example, most people (including me) did not know that there were fundamental differences in carrier operations between the US Navy and the IJN in their carrier operation cycles that contributed to the defeat.
Also, the Japanese had no real radio-directed CAP to direct the fighter protection in the more organized way the US Navy did, even that early on in the war. And even if they did, many of their fighter pilots either removed the radios in their fighters to save weight, refused to use them, didn’t know how to use them, or due to poor design, could not be used easily in active combat. I was particularly surprised to hear they directed their fighter cover by shooting their guns to attract the attention of pilots.
The differences in damage control techniques, ship design, etc. A rich, rich collection of formerly somewhat obscure but relevant, often highly relevant information.
As for movies, I thought the last one was well done, better than the older versions. I didn’t really cotton to the selection of the guy to play Halsey, but...I guess James Cagney has been dead many years now, so they couldn’t use him...:)
I recommend Gordon Prange’s work as well (Miracle at Midway).