Rarely does a naval officer influence directly and indirectly the conduct of major war. This fine biography shows how McCain influenced US Navy air power in a personnel role and then as a Carrier Task Force commander in the Pacific. – Most Highly Recommended
NAME: Admiral John S McCain and the Triumph of Naval Air Power FILE: R2831 AUTHOR: William F Trimble PUBLISHER: US Naval Institute Press BINDING: hard back PAGES: 370 PRICE: US$38.00 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: Carrier Task Force, carrier, naval aviation, Pacific Theatre, WWII, World War 2, World War II, Second World War, liberation of the Philippines, Indo-China, Formosa
ISBN: 978-1-68247-370-2
IMAGE: B2831.jpg BUYNOW: http://tinyurl.com/y66t3pa2 LINKS: DESCRIPTION: Rarely does a naval officer influence directly and indirectly the conduct of major war. This fine biography shows how McCain influenced US Navy air power in a personnel role and then as a Carrier Task Force commander in the Pacific. - Most Highly Recommended Admiral McCain is not a well known figure in US naval aviation history, certainly internationally, and to a large extent within the US. He was not the most successful cadet in training and suffered some periodic ill-health but he first made a largely invisible but significant impact during his days in the personnel department at a time when the USN was having to face the harsh realities of the Great Depression. The heavy cut backs and deferments placed the USN under enormous pressure because not only was it increasingly difficult to provide the career paths that personnel required, but it was also difficult to provide the stable base for rapid expansion should money be freed and international tensions required a more powerful naval capability. McCain was in an unpopular part of the USN but he was popular with both politicians and naval personnel for the deft way in which he worked through the minefield of Depression era politics. He developed an unrivalled understanding of the importance of naval aviation and his return to sea duty saw him rise to command, first of an ammunition carrier, and then to command an aircraft carrier, USS Ranger (CV 4). With US entry into WWII, McCain was a natural choice to command a Carrier Task Force, Task Force 38 of the US Third Fleet in the Pacific. After the Philippines, his Task Force operated off Indo-China and Formosa and he suffered from kamikaze attacks because of the unarmoured decks of US carriers. The British Pacific Fleet initially operated independently in attacking Japanese oil supplies in Burma but was then incorporated into the US Fifth Fleet as Task Force 58. The smaller British carriers faired much better because, in addition to providing a smaller nimble target, they had armoured flight decks and years of experience of heavy round the clock attack by enemy aircraft. Where US carriers suffered heavy damage and fire from kamikaze attack, frequently being forced out of action, the British carriers took the hits and carried on. McCain was a gaunt figure and he sadly died in September 1945 at his home in Coronado. That may explain why he has not previously deserved the notability that this biography supports. An interesting story with a very good photo-plate section