Review by Martin Koenigsberg
When this book came out in 1968, WWII had only been over for 23 years. The Aircraft Carrier had been around as a concept about 23 years old when the War was fought too, so this was a New Weapon in WWII and in the Cold War that followed. Donald Macintyre, the author of this book- No 3 of the Weapons books in the Ballantine’s Illustrated History of WWII, was a decorated Naval Officer , veteran of the Battle of the Atlantic, and a prolific author on Naval History. As such he’s qualified to give us a truncated story of the Dominant Naval Weapon of the War. In the tight confines of the 160 page Ballantine’s format, he gives us the whole story of the Carrier in WWII, from the tight confines of the Mediterranean , to the Cold North Sea and Atlantic, to the vast expanses of the Pacific Campaigns. Military history buffs and regular general interest readers alike will appreciate the result. In the Atlantic, the British would use Carriers as part of their fleet maneuvers, for scouting and aerial defense, before beginning to see their value in escorting convoys and ASW work. The Japanese would try to mass their carriers, to allow for large Air groups and punishing attacks. The US Navy, with its Battleship power so devastated at Pearl Harbour, pivoted into Carrier tactics and strategies right away- and determined to master the craft. The American Carrier building effort was impossible to resist- as New Carriers- with new strong Carrier Air Groups began joining the Pacific Fleet every few weeks in 1943 0n… As the end of the war loomed- the US had more carriers than it really needed- especially when the British sent almost all of theirs to join in killing the Empire of the Rising Sun. Macintyre give us the whole Carrier war- in all the seas in 160 pages- not a bad job at all. There are few adult themes, save workplace politics, and no graphic injury passages, so this is a good book for the Junior Reader over 11/12 years. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast, a mixed bag. The Gamer may find this book lacking the sort of granularity they traditionally need for specific battles. The Modeler, too will enjoy the narrative , but may not find enough photos of Carriers or their aircraft to use. The Military Enthusiast is the big winner here- getting a complex weapon system and it’s use in WWII explained in a quick and succinct manner.
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