Carrier Clash

Beginning with detailed descriptions of the history of the aircraft carrier, the development of carrier-air tactics, the training of carrier pilots, and numerous operational considerations that defined the way carrier battles had to be fought, Carrier Clash takes the reader into the air with brave U. S. Navy fighter pilots as they protect their ships and the Guadalcanal invasion fleet against determined Japanese air attacks on August 7 and 8, 1942. Next, Hammel sets the stage for the August 24 Battle of the Eastern Solomons, by putting the reader right into the cockpits of the U. S. Navy Dauntless dive-bombers as they drive on the Imperial Navy light carrier Ryujo - and hit the ship with 500-pound bombs! Carrier Clash is the definitive combat history of the Battle of the Eastern Solomons' third battle (of only five) between American and Japanese aircraft carriers. Had the Navy failed in this battle against the Japanese fleet, the 1st Marine Division's invasion of Guadalcanal would have been defeated almost before it began.About the AuthorEric Hammel is the author of almost thirty works of military history. He is also a frequent contributor to various military journals including Marine Corps Gazette and is currently working on an illustrated history of the Marine Corps in World War II to be published by Zenith Press. Hammel lives in northern California near San Francisco.