Download or read book Destroyer Actions written by Harry Plevy and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2016-08-04 with total page 425 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Utilising eye-witness accounts of those who participated in them, Destroyer Actions focuses on the human side of naval operations during the first eight months of the Second World War. Harry Plevy draws upon primary sources of both naval and civilian provenance, many of which are previously unpublished and therefore have never been available to the general reader. Extensively researched through comparison of British and German operational logs, and including first-hand evidence from Polish, French and Norwegian sources which reveal the true impact of the conflict at sea upon the lives of the people of all nations caught up in it, this book gives a comprehensive picture of destroyer actions at the beginning of the Second World War.

Download or read book Destroyers At Normandy Naval Gunfire Support At Omaha Beach Illustrated Edition written by William B. Kirkland and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2015-11-06 with total page 93 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Includes numerous maps and illustrations. This monograph provides first-hand accounts of Destroyer Squadron 18 during this critical battle upon which so much of the success of our campaign in Europe would depend. Their experience at Omaha Beach can be looked upon as typical of most U.S. warships engaged at Normandy. On the other hand, from the author’s research it appears evident that this destroyer squadron, with their British counterparts, may have had a more pivotal influence on the breakout from the beachhead and the success of the subsequent campaign than was heretofore realized. Its contributions certainly provide a basis for discussion among veterans and research by historians, as well as a solid, professional account of naval action in support of the Normandy landings.

Download or read book Condition Red Destroyer Action In The South Pacific Illustrated Edition written by Commander F. J. Bell and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2015-11-06 with total page 647 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Includes the Second World War In The Pacific Illustration Pack – 152 maps, plans and photos. Commander Frederick Bell recounts his wartime experiences on the USS G (Grayson) during the Pacific War. “CONDITION RED” was an expression that we used to indicate the imminence of any type of engagement. Aboard the G it was a colloquialism that served to express the conviction that the next few hours or days or weeks were going to be packed with action. We first heard it soon after we arrived in the Solomons, where the term was used on Guadalcanal and Tulagi to indicate the approach of the enemy, and when our voice radio blared out the words we went to General Quarters and prepared to greet the Tokyo Express or the Zeros and Mitsubishis when they came within view. Little has been written of the part that our destroyers are playing in the Pacific War, where they are called upon to fulfil such a variety of missions that they have become multipurpose ships, engaging in any form of combat. Because we lacked suitable escort ships we used destroyers to protect convoys as well as to guard our combatant Task Forces. We used them to bombard enemy shore positions and to carry bombs and aviation gasoline and stores to Guadalcanal during the lean weeks early in our campaign in those far-distant seas. By nature as well as by name, the purpose of the destroyer is wholly offensive. Bantamweights in comparison with the great battlewagons, they pack a punch out of all proportion to their size. They are triple-threat weapons, built to strike at any enemy on or over or under the sea. In the words of Rear Admiral Tisdale, “They are the fightingest thing afloat.”

Download or read book Destroyers in Action written by Richard A. Shafter and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2019-12-06 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Destroyers in Action, first published in 1945 as part of The U.S. Navy in Action Series, examines some of the important battles waged by the U.S. Navy destroyer fleet (especially those of World War II), and the stories of notable ships such as the Laffy, O'Bannon, Ward, and Prairie. Also included are profiles of the ships' officers and crews and legendary commanders, strategies and tactics used against the enemy, and historic naval conflicts. Author Richard Shafter served as an officer aboard a destroyer in WWII. Included are 11 pages of illustrations.

Download or read book DD 522 written by Ron Surels and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Forfatteren, der har en fortid som ansat i det amerikanske flyvevåben er nu præst og militærhistoriker. Han beskriver her en af de i den amerikanske flåde mere kendte jagere, USS Luce, mere kendt som den velskydende og heldige" Lucky Luce," (af den meget bekendte Fletcher-klasse) der med hæder deltog i alle større kampagner i stillehavskrigen indtil den blev sænket ved Okinawa i maj 1945, hvor 149 af den 335 mands store besætning omkom. Bogen er forsynet med en perspektiverende epilog, der beskæftiger sig med: Hvad skete der med dele af besætningen bagefter.

Download or read book United States Destroyer Operations in World War II written by Theodore Roscoe and published by . This book was released on 1953 with total page 720 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Tin Cans and Greyhounds written by Clint Johnson and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2019-02-12 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For men on destroyer-class warships during World War I and World War II, battles were waged “against overwhelming odds from which survival could not be expected.” Those were the words Lieutenant Commander Robert Copeland calmly told his crew as their tiny, unarmored destroyer escort rushed toward giant, armored Japanese battleships at the Battle off Samar on October 25, 1944. This action-packed narrative history of destroyer-class ships brings readers inside the half-inch-thick hulls to meet the men who fired the ships' guns, torpedoes, hedgehogs, and depth charges. Nicknamed "tin cans" or "greyhounds," destroyers were fast escort and attack ships that proved indispensable to America's military victories. Beginning with destroyers' first incarnation as torpedo boats in 1874 and ending with World War II, author Clint Johnson shares the riveting stories of the Destroyer Men who fought from inside a "tin can"—risking death by cannons, bombs, torpedoes, fire, and drowning. The British invented destroyers, the Japanese improved them, and the Germans failed miserably with them. It was the Americans who perfected destroyers as the best fighting ship in two world wars. Tin Cans & Greyhounds compares the designs of these countries with focus on the old, modified World War I destroyers, and the new and numerous World War II destroyers of the United States. Tin Cans & Greyhounds details how destroyers fought submarines, escorted convoys, rescued sailors and airmen, downed aircraft, shelled beaches, and attacked armored battleships and cruisers with nothing more than a half-inch of steel separating their crews from the dark waves.

Download or read book Tank Destroyer Field Manual Organization and Tactics of Tank Destroyer Units June 16 1942 FM 18 5 written by U.S. War Department and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2012-05-29 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This facsimile edition of the US 1942 field manual for tank destroyer units describes missions, organization, combat, and training. It scales its information from squad to company to battalion to group. Issued early during the United States' WWII experience, it predates the assignment of authorized tank destroyer gear: "It is prepared for the guidance of units that will be equipped with materiel now being developed..." Readers should recall that US WWII doctrine and the high command forbade tank vs. tank combat. The American tank was meant for targets other than Axis armor. However, tank destroyer units were specifically designed, equipped, and deployed to fight what we now think of as tank battles. This is an historic document that gives us deep insight into a long-forgotten military doctrine. For those who think of tank destroyers as cheap tanks or stopgaps, this will be an eye-opener.

Download or read book Japanese Destroyer Captain written by Tameichi Hara and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2011-08-15 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This highly regarded war memoir was a best seller in both Japan and the United States during the 1960s and has long been treasured by historians for its insights into the Japanese side of the surface war in the Pacific. The author was a survivor of more than one hundred sorties against the Allies and was known throughout Japan as the "Unsinkable Captain." A hero to his countrymen, Capt. Hara exemplified the best in Japanese surface commanders: highly skilled (he wrote the manual on torpedo warfare), hard driving, and aggressive. Moreover, he maintained a code of honor worthy of his samurai grandfather, and, as readers of this book have come to appreciate, he was as free with praise for American courage and resourcefulness as he was critical of himself and his senior commanders.

Download or read book Hell from the Heavens written by John Wukovits and published by Da Capo Press. This book was released on 2015-04-07 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Looking toward the heavens, the destroyer crew saw what seemed to be the entire Japanese Air Force assembled directly above. Hell was about to be unleashed on them in the largest single-ship kamikaze attack of World War II. On April 16, 1945, the crewmen of the USS Laffey were battle hardened and prepared. They had engaged in combat off the Normandy coast in June 1944. They had been involved in three prior assaults of enemy positions in the Pacific-at Leyte and Lingayen in the Philippines and at Iwo Jima. They had seen kamikazes purposely crash into other destroyers and cruisers in their unit and had seen firsthand the bloody results of those crazed tactics. But nothing could have prepared the crew for this moment-an eighty-minute ordeal in which the single small ship was targeted by no fewer than twenty-two Japanese suicide aircraft. By the time the unprecedented attack on the Laffey was finished, thirty-two sailors lay dead, more than seventy were wounded, and the ship was grievously damaged. Although she lay shrouded in smoke and fire for hours, the Laffey somehow survived, and the gutted American warship limped from Okinawa's shore for home, where the ship and crew would be feted as heroes. Using scores of personal interviews with survivors, the memoirs of crew members, and the sailors' wartime correspondence, historian and author John Wukovits breathes life into the story of this nearly forgotten historic event. The US Navy described the kamikaze attack on the Laffey "as one of the great sea epics of the war." In Hell from the Heavens, the author makes the ordeal of the Laffey and her crew a story for the ages.

Download or read book British Destroyer vs German Destroyer written by David Greentree and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-10-18 with total page 81 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The opening months of World War II saw Britain's Royal Navy facing a resurgent German navy, the Kriegsmarine. Following the German invasion of Denmark and Norway in early April 1940, British and German destroyers would clash in a series of battles for control of the Norwegian coast. The operational environment was especially challenging, with destroyer crews having to contend with variable weather, narrow coastal tracts and possibility of fog and ship breakdowns. In two engagements at Narvik, the Royal Navy entered the harbour and attacked the loitering German destroyers who had dropped off mountain troops to support the German invasion. The raids were devastating, halving at a stroke the number at Hitler's disposal. Employing specially commissioned artwork and drawing upon a range of sources, this absorbing study traces the evolving technology and tactics employed by the British and German destroyer forces, and assesses the impact of the Narvik clashes on both sides' subsequent development and deployment of destroyers in a range of roles across the world's oceans.

Download or read book Destroyer Battles written by Robert C. Stem and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2008-09-18 with total page 441 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fast, manoeuvrable and heavily armed, destroyers were the most aggressive surface warships of the twentieth century. Although originally conceived as a defensive screen to protect the main battlefleet from torpedo attack, the gamekeeper soon turned poacher, and became primarily a weapon of offence. As such they were involved in many hard-fought battles, using both torpedoes and guns, especially with enemy vessels of the same kind. This book recounts some of the most significant, spectacular or unusual actions in the history of destroyer warfare, from the first employment of torpedo craft during the Russo-Japanese War to the recent terrorist attack on USS Cole. With individual chapters devoted to each incident, the book may be read as a series of dramatic narratives, but each reflects a development in the tactics or technology, so taken as a whole the book amounts to a complete history of the destroyer from an unusual and previously neglected angle.

Download or read book Three Years Aboard a Navy Destroyer written by Otis Ted Holly and published by Trafford Publishing. This book was released on 2011-04-25 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a sea story about a U.S. Navy destroyer and her crew. The author served on this ship, the USS Brush (DD745), for 3 years and 2 months in the early 1950s. Life on the Brush involved a lot of sea duty. She spent most of this time at sea either conducting training exercises off the coast of California or steaming around somewhere in the Far east. The Brush made 3 seven month cruises to the Orient while the author was aboard her. The main objective of this book, and the reason for writing it, was to tell about what the crew of the Brush experienced on these 3 cruises. The first cruise was made in early 1953. The Brush was sent to the Korean War theatre and spent several months there doing what destroyers do during war time. The men experienced things off North Korea that they will never forget. In addition to the Korean Patrol, the Brush participated in the Formosa Patrol for a month or so and went to the island city of Hong Kong while she was down that way. The second cruise was made in May, 1954. On this cruise, the brush spent most of her time in the South China Sea, Formosa Strait, and in the Sea of Japan. The Brush commenced the third cruise in June, 1955. This was more of a peace time cruise and we never had to go into harms way. Although, the author had a number of interesting personal experiences which he wrote about. Comments by people who have read the book, Three Years Aboard A Navy Destroyer As the son of one of the USS Brushs skippers identified in Ted Hollys book, I was particularly fascinated to read of his and his shipmates many and varied experiences during their three Far East cruises. His folksy stories of a young mans explorations of the vastness of the oceans, the wonders of the orient, and the uncertainties of combat are told in a detailed and entertaining style offering multiple layers of insight to life aboard a tin can in the 1950s. In addition to his prose, Mr. Holly has included many photographs and maps which enhance and elucidate the storytelling. It is a terrific read for anyone interested in the naval service in general and the unforgotten Korean War in particular. Dennis Quigley Captain, USMC (Retired) Arizona the straightforward and unglossed memories of a young sailor, out of high school and soon into a U.S. destroyer, greyhound of the seas. Ted Holly was everybodys favorite sailor, squared away with a great attitude in a key job around the nerve center of a 2200 tonner loaded for whatever kind of scrap. This book is an honest snapshot of the times, the people, and the ships that sailed to the Korean Conflict. Ted Brown LT., USNR (Retired) New Hampshire This book, Three Years Aboard A Navy Destroyer, vividly recounts typical destroyer, i.e. USS BRUSH DD745, operations during the final days of the Korea War and the transition into post war routine operations. It accurately reports destroyer actions against North Korean trains, sinking of floating mines with rifle fire, the Wonsan Harbor actions and support of Korean Forces engaged in clandestine operations. It also provides a typical sailors view and experiences of the liberty ports in Japan and the exotic Hong Kong as a British Colony. And the author returns to Japan 29 years later and gives an interesting comparison of his experiences and the differences that he observed between his first trip and the 1982 trip. The BRUSH was my first duty station after being commissioned in June 1951 until my transfer in November 1953. So I shared with the author the destroyer actions described. I was amazed that he was able to capture these events in so much detail and I enjoyed remembering the details of these events. Herbert O. Burton Captain, USN (Retired) North Carolina Three Years Aboard A Navy Destroyer is a marvelous account of the experience of the author as a young sailor during a period that few, since the days of World War II, have had the opportunity to share. While certainly many have sailed the seas, and some have encountered hostile action, this account fills the gap for those who have not had such an experience. Ted Holly communicates in the language of the sailor his experience that draws the reader into such that it is as if he (or she) is there. He captures the attention of the reader and presents an engaging account of the experiences of life aboard a 2200 ton vessel, which is missing all of the comforts of the cruise ship, from the periods of relative boredom to the periods of action with live ammunition. Rev. Ralph H. Spiller, Jr., PhD, LMHC CWO3, USN (Retired) Florida/Maine Ted Hollys book is remarkable at several levels. First, he treats a subject from his own experience that is not often considered life on an American destroyer during the Korean War. Further, he lends authenticity to his narrative through the painstaking process of obtaining and relying on the actual ships logs, day by day throughout his entire tenure aboard the USS Brush. Added to that, he, as a quartermaster, was well-placed to hear and see much of what was happening aboard the ship. Ted includes exhaustive details on some of the high points of the ships experience, the shell hit in Wonsan Harbor and the attack on the submarine as examples. Even for we who were aboard during much of the time covered in the book, some of the events were revelations. We either remembered them differently or not at all, or in less detail, but must defer to Teds account because of his reliance on the logs. Therefore, for any member of the crew during that period, Teds book is an enjoyable and enlightening read. Don Gordon RD 3/C, USN (Retired) North Carolina Great book! As a Destroyer Sailor aboard the USS DeHaven during the Korean War, I can testify Ted has written a fine book about his navy years aboard the USS Brush. If you are a navy destroyer sailor reading this book, then get ready to relive an exciting experience. I can recommend Teds book to anyone interested in ships, shipboard life, and even to one who has never been to sea. An outstanding experience. Bill Williams YN 2/C, USN (Retired) Florida

Download or read book South Pacific Destroyer written by Estate of R S Crenshaw and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2009-09-01 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Today only a select few know firsthand what it is like to feel their ship shudder from the blast of their own guns, watch enemy guns flash back, and see friendly ships erupt in flames. Russell Crenshaw is one of those few. His riveting account of the savage night battle for the Solomon Islands in early 1943 offers readers a unique insider’s perspective from the decks of one of the destroyers that bore the brunt of the struggle. Russell Crenshaw was a gunnery officer on the USS Maury. His vivid, balanced, and detailed narrative includes the Battle of Tassafarounga in November 1942 and Vella Gulf in August 1943, actions that earned his warship a Presidential Unit Citation and sixteen battle stars. Crenshaw also discusses the impact of radar and voice radio, the shortcomings of U.S. torpedoes and gunfire, and the devastating effectiveness of Japan’s super torpedo.

Download or read book Seek Strike and Destroy written by Christopher Richard Gabel and published by . This book was released on 1986 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the seventy years that have passed since the tank first appeared, antitank combat has presented one of the greatest challenges in land warfare. Dramatic improvements in tank technology and doctrine over the years have precipitated equally innovative developments in the antitank field. One cycle in this ongoing arms race occurred during the early years of World War II when the U.S. Army sought desperately to find an antidote to the vaunted German blitzkrieg. This Leavenworth Paper analyzes the origins of the tank destroyer concept, evaluates the doctrine and equipment with which tank destroyer units fought, and assesses the effectiveness of the tank destroyer in battle.

Download or read book US Navy Destroyer Escorts of World War II written by Mark Lardas and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2020-11-26 with total page 49 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Destroyer Escort was the smallest ocean-­going escort built for the United States Navy – a downsized destroyer with less speed, fewer guns, and fewer torpedoes than its big brother, the fleet destroyer. Destroyer escorts first went into production because the Royal Navy needed an escort warship which was larger than a corvette, but which could be built faster than a destroyer. Lacking the shipyards to build these types of ships in Britain, they ordered them in the US. Once the US unexpectedly entered World War II, its navy suddenly also needed more escort warships, even warships less capable than destroyers, and the destroyer escort was reluctantly picked to fill the gap. Despite the Navy's initial reservations, these ships did yeoman service during World War II, fighting in both the Atlantic and Pacific, taking on both U-boat and Japanese submarines and serving as the early warning pickets against kamikazes later in the war. They also participated in such dramatic actions as the Battle of Samar (where a group of destroyers and destroyer escorts fought Japanese battleships and cruisers to protect the escort carriers they were shielding) and the capture of the U-505 (the only major naval vessel captured at sea by the US Navy). The destroyer escorts soldiered on after World War II in both the United States Navy and a large number of navies throughout the world, with several serving into the twenty-first century. This book tells the full story of these plucky ships, from their design and development to their service around the world, complete with stunning illustrations and contemporary photographs.

Download or read book A Hard Fought Ship written by John A. Rodgaard and published by . This book was released on 2017-05-09 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: HMS Venomous was a destroyer of the V & W Class, the most advanced in the world when built and arguably the most successful ever. Sixty-seven were built at the end of the Great War. By the end of World War II all had been sunk or scrapped but thousands of men had served on them.After freezing in the forgotten war in the Baltic in 1919 Venomous spent the 1920s in the Mediterranean. She was in the front line when the German blitzkrieg swept across Europe and the V & Ws made high speed dashes across the Channel to bring the troops (and civilians) back from Calais, Boulogne and Dunkirk.Venomous and her sister ships escorted the Atlantic convoys which kept Britain fed and the Arctic convoys which supplied our Russian allies with the weapons to stop the German advance. She took part in Operation Pedestal which saved Malta and, as the Allies prepared for the landings in North Africa, was ordered to escort the destroyer depot ship HMS Hecla to the invasion beaches. When Hecla was torpedoed off the coast of Morocco Venomous fought the attacking U-boat and rescued 500 survivors (see back cover). Venomous escorted convoys along the coast of north Africa including the first through convoy from Gib to Alex and the invasion force to Sicily, Operation Husky.In October 1943 she returned to Britain and was converted to an Air Target ship for training Barracuda Torpedo Bomber aircrew based at Douglas in the Isle of Man. She was nearly lost in a hurricane off the east coast of Scotland before being sent to Kristiansand in Norway to accept the surrender of German naval forces.Venomous and her sister ships were all scrapped after the war but this ship biography is a fitting memorial to the V & Ws and the men who served in them.