An authoritative examination of the role of the aircraft at sea during World War II.
Aircraft played a vital part in the war at sea during the Second World War. From the first tentative manoeuvrings of the British Home Fleet carriers in 1939 to the final triumphant strikes of the U.S. Fast Carrier Task Force against mainland Japan in 1945, the aircraft proved itself the most powerful, most flexible, longest-ranging weapon ever used at sea.
John Winton examines in powerful detail the influence of the aircraft, its successes and its failures, over the whole span of the Second World War at sea, from the struggle against the U-boats during the Battle of the Atlantic and the pursuit and destruction of the Bismarck, to the defence of Malta and the great Allied advance across the remote islands of the Pacific.
Air Power at Sea 1939-45 reveals the seemingly limitless roles aircraft could play: torpedo strike, fighter defence above fleet and convoy, close support to the assault troops in an amphibious landing, long-range reconnaissance, mine-laying, air-sea rescue, and meteorology. The art of flying was constantly being refined. There were new aircraft, new weapons and new techniques, as well as a new type of sea captain, one who fully understood the power of aircraft at sea.