South China Sea 1945

Task Force 38's bold carrier rampage in Formosa, Luzon, and Indochina

South China Sea 1945 cover

South China Sea 1945

Task Force 38's bold carrier rampage in Formosa, Luzon, and Indochina

Description

A history of the US Navy's remarkable 1945 South China Sea raid against the Japanese, the first time in history that a carrier fleet dared to rampage through coastal waters.

As 1945 opened, Japan was fighting defensively everywhere. As the Allies drew closer to the Home Islands, risks of Japanese air and sea attack on the US Navy carrier force increased. US forces wanted to take the island of Luzon which provided a base for Japanese aircraft from Formosa (Taiwan) and Indochina, and from where attacks could easily be devastating for the invasion fleet. US Naval Intelligence also believed Japanese battleships Ise and Hyuga were operating out of Cam Ranh Bay. A fast carrier sweep through the South China Sea was a potential answer with the bonus that it would strike the main nautical highway for cargo from Japan's conquests in Southeast Asia.

Task Force 38 would spend the better part of two weeks marauding through the South China Sea during Operation Gratitude, a month-long sweep of the area, which launched air strikes into harbors in Indochina, the Chinese coast and Formosa, while targeting shipping in the high-traffic nautical highway. By the time the Task Force exited the South China Sea, over 300,000 tons of enemy shipping and dozens of Japanese warships had been sunk. With follow-up air strikes against Japanese harbors and airfields in Formosa and the Ryukyu Islands, the success of the sweep was unprecedented.

Using detailed battlescenes, maps, bird's eye views, and diagrams of air strikes at Luzon, this intriguing account of Task Force 38's reign in the South China Sea proved that aircraft carriers could dominate the land-based air power of the fading Japanese. From the Korean War through to Vietnam, to the campaigns in Iraq, aircraft carriers could sail safely offshore, knowing their aircraft would prevail on both sea and land.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION
CHRONOLOGY
ATTACKER'S CAPABILITIES
- Task Force 38 at the height of its power
DEFENDER'S CAPABILITIES
-The Japanese in the South China Sea
CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVES
-Japan's critical sea route
THE CAMPAIGN
- Into the South China Sea
AFTERMATH AND ANALYSIS
FURTHER READING
INDEX

Product details

Published 16 Mar 2023
Format Ebook (PDF)
Edition 1st
Extent 96
ISBN 9781472853080
Imprint Osprey Publishing
Illustrations Illustrated throughout with around 60 photos and at least 14 pages of color illustrations
Series Air Campaign
Short code ACM 36
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Mark Lardas

Mark Lardas has always been fascinated by things r…

Illustrator

Irene Cano Rodríguez

Irene Cano Rodríguez (known as Araire) is a freela…

Resources

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