By the time of American Civil War things had changed from the Age of Fighting Sail - steam power and explosive shells were transforming naval warfare. Iron was beginning to supplant wood. Britain had just finished HMS Warrior; an iron-hulled warship and coastal ironclads dominated the waters off the United States. The changes meant that ships sank; during battles instead of afterwards. The fights were no less bloody; but in addition to flying splinters; a host of other dangers were added - burst steam boilers; fire due to exploding shells; and the burst from the shells themselves. But; just as in the age of sail; warship captains that won one-on-one battles with another warship became as famous as modern sports stars. During the course of the American Civil War; three single ship actions were fought between Union cruisers and Confederate raiders: CSS Florida vs. USS Wachusett; CSS Alabama vs. USS Hatteras; and CSS Alabama vs. USS Kearsarge. This book will present those; with an emphasis on the most famous battle: Alabama's fight with Kearsarge. Next to the battle between USS Monitor and CSS Virginia; no other naval duel of the American Civil War drew as much interest. That story is told from the eyes of the participants filtered through the lens of historical analysis available since the battles were fought. This includes archeological studies of wrecks of some of these ships; making this book an indispensible guide for anyone interested in Civil War and naval history.
#1826186 in Books Casemate Publishers 2010-04-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.76 x .80 x 6.77l; 1.60 #File Name: 1848684940256 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Mish-Mash Chronicle of USN Carriers in Action!By Mike O'ConnorDuring the past 60 years; U. S. Navy aircraft carriers have compiled a battle history second to none. American flattops played decisive roles in World War II; Korea; Vietnam and the Gulf Wars. That record is the subject of British author Martin Bowman's uneven COMBAT CARRIERS; published by Amberley Publishing in 2010.Bowman revisits the carriers' combat history in chapters entitled 'Pearl Harbor and the US Pacific Fleet;' 'The Battle of Midway;' 'Marianas Turkey Shoot;' 'Task Force 77: Korea;' 'Air War Vietnam 1964-73;' etc. Six photo inserts are included in the book.I have several problems with COMBAT CARRIERS. Frankly; it's a hodge-podge of material. Some was written by Bowman but he also included big chunks of text taken from other sources. Much of the Korean War material; for example; comes from Owen Dykema's LETTERS FROM THE BIRD BARGE. Articles from THE HOOK also figure in those chapters. Then too the Vietnam War chapter is basically a rehash of the USN a/c loss accounts found in Chris Hobson's magnificent VIETNAM AIR LOSSES reprinted word for word. Bowman credits those sources but using such big globs of material gives COMBAT CARRIERS an air of being not so much written as assembled. And; finally; since the book is supposed to deal with USN AIR AND SEA OPERATIONS FROM 1941; why is there a chapter on the Malta convoys? USN involvement in those operations was almost non-existent yet eight pages are given over to it.So; while I enjoyed parts of COMBAT CARRIERS; the narrative didn't jell for me. There aren't a lot of good books out there on USN carrier ops - Bob Lawson's HISTORY OF US NAVAL AIR POWER comes to mind - so give COMBAT CARRIERS a look-see. You may love it. I didn't. Recommended with reservations.
