US Destroyers 1942–45

Wartime classes

US Destroyers 1942–45 cover

Description

Few if any 20th century warships were more justly acclaimed than the destroyers of the US Navy's Fletcher class. Admired as they were for their advanced and rakish design, it was their record as workhorses of the Pacific War that placed them among the most battle-tested and successful fighting ships of all time. This title describes the Fletchers and their Allen M. Sumner- and Gearing-class derivatives, their machinery, armament, and construction, with a listing of all 343 ships by hull number and builder. It features an operational history of the 287 ships commissioned during World War II, which traces the evolution of night surface action tactics in the Solomon Islands and the parallel development of the Combat Information Center; the drive across the Pacific and liberation of the Philippines with tables showing the rapid introduction of new squadrons; and the radar pickets' climactic stand against kamikaze aircraft at Okinawa. With summaries of losses and decorations and specially commissioned artwork, this is a definitive book on the wartime US destroyer classes.

Table of Contents

Introduction/ Design and development/ Service modifications and conversions/ Operational histories/ Conclusion

Product details

Published Apr 20 2010
Format Paperback
Edition 1st
Extent 48
ISBN 9781846034442
Imprint Osprey Publishing
Illustrations 40 b/w; 7 col
Dimensions 10 x 7 inches
Series New Vanguard
Short code NVG 165
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Illustrator

Paul Wright

Paul Wright has painted ships of all kinds for mos…

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