US Destroyers 1942-45: Wartime Classes

Since the beginning of the 20th century, destroyers have been all-purpose ships, playing vital roles in the war effort: from passing the mail at sea to screening larger ships from hostile torpedo attacks. This book covers the 175 ships of the 2100-ton Fletcher class and the 67 Allen M Sumner-class destroyers commissioned during war. 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.

• | Author: Dave McComb, Paul Wright
• | Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
• | Publication Date: Apr 08, 2010
• | Number of Pages:
• | Language:
• | Binding: Paperback / softback
• | ISBN-13: 9781846034442
• | ISBN-10: 1846034442