Stille, Mark/Laurier, Jim (Illustr.) US Navy Pacific Fleet 1942–43

Guadalcanal to the Solomons

The fierce naval battles of Guadalcanal, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands were of fundamental importance to the U.S. Navy. Richly illustrated, this book analyzes the fleet's capabilities and combat power during this period. The naval battles of 194243 around Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands were among the fiercest and most contested of the Pacific War. The campaigns encompassed the majority of the war's surface engagements, as well as two aircraft carrier battles, three major amphibious landings, and a submarine offensive. Fighting day and night against the superbly trained Japanese, the Pacific Fleet's combat capabilities were put to the ultimate test. Naval historian Mark Stille presents a concise overview of the Pacific Fleet in 194243the period in which it underwent its greatest transformation in terms of equipment, doctrine, and capabilities. America's enormous naval construction efforts began to pay off on the front lines, as the fleet improved its previously deficient doctrines and tactics of surface, air, and submarine warfare. The Pacific Fleet also learned to supply large forces far from established bases. Richly illustrated with original drawings, 3D diagrams, maps, and archival photographs, this book illuminates the warships, weapons systems, organization, reconnaissance, logistics, and battles of the Pacific Fleet in its struggle for supremacy in the South Pacific.