The pursuit of German U-boats in the Battle of the Atlantic has long been considered one of the most exciting stories of World War II. This definitive study takes readers into the cockpits and onto the flight decks of the versatile and hardy U.S. escort carriers (CVEs) to tell of their vital; yet little-known contribution to the anti-U-boat campaign. Sailing apart from the Allied convoys; the CVE captains had complete freedom of action and frequently took their ships on "hunt and kill" missions against the enemy. The German submarines were allowed no respite and no place to relax without the fear of discovery.World War II historian William Y'Blood explains that in the eighteen months between the spring of 1943; when the escort carriers began to prowl the Atlantic; to November 1944; the average number of U-boats in daily operation was reduced from 108 to a mere 31. Though land-based aircraft; various support groups; and the convoy system itself helped win the Battle of the Atlantic; the escort carrier groups' influence was profound. In addition to documenting the escort carriers' exciting operational history; the author also traces the CVE's development and construction and examines its tactical and strategic uses.
#1086129 in Books 2009-09-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.90 x .90 x 5.90l; .95 #File Name: 1591143187296 pages
Review
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful. I'll admit it; Mr. Gillespie and TIGHAR sucked me in again...By KFMI read somewhere once that the definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. It seems that that's kind of what Mr. Gillespie and TIGHAR are doing with their search for Amelia Earhart. They've just completed what I believe is there 13th expedition to Nikamuroro (sp) Island because that's were they believe Amelia and her navigator Fred Noonan ended up....they haven't found her; nor have they found any definitive proof that she was ever there.Now; even taking into account the difficulties involved in such a search; and the limitations of funding; surely after two decades; millions of dollars and 13 expeditions you either have some kind of proof or you don't. If you don't it may be time to move on to something else.Look; I love the mystery of Amelia as much as anyone; I'm a pilot; it's how I once made my living and I still fly for fun and sanity; and I'd love to know; at long last; what happened to Amelia and Fred. But I no longer am willing to consider that the answer is on that island or in the waters off of it. You gave it your best shot Mr. Gillespie; time to move on.And yes; they did suck me in once again; after buying Amelia Earhart's Shoe several years ago and now this book; I got snookered again; I admit it. And this book did have some very interesting stuff in it regarding that final flight and especially the disputed distress calls from Amelia that were reportedly received hours and even days after she would have run out of fuel. But in the end this book is just one more justification by Mr. Gillespie for yet another wasted trip to the South Pacific...If he ends up finding the Electra sitting on the sea bottom off of the island I'll eat my words; but I don't think there's much chance of that. I have no idea what happened to Amelia and Fred; no theories of my own. If I was forced to guess I would probably say that the simplest explanation is probably the right one; they ran out of fuel; ditched (or crashed) and sank to the ocean floor and that's were they sit at this moment.I will add that; as a pilot myself; with a commercial ticket and thousands of hours logged; I do have a theory about how it happened; Amelia was an average to below average pilot; her record of crashes and other mishaps bears that out; her ambition and fearlessness (maybe foolishness too) were constantly putting her in situations that were beyond her abilities as a pilot and it finally caught up with her. If you'd like to learn about a really good female pilot and a contemporary of Amelia's check out Amy Johnson from the UK; she never got the press Amelia did because she wasn't married to a newspaper magnet but she was a hell of a lot better pilot. She came to a bad end as well but not through any fault of her own.Back to this book; if you're an Amelia junky it's worth getting just for the research Mr. Gillespie did; if you're just interested in what happened and the chance that someone will someday solve the mystery; keep looking.3 of 4 people found the following review helpful. The devil is in the detailsBy ocarolanIf you are considering buying this book; be advised that THE PAPERBOUND EDITION DOES NOT INCLUDE THE DVD to which a number of reviews refer. For this reason; the hardbound edition; in my opinion; is the better buy.The author; Richard Gillespie; is the founder and Executive Director of The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR). It is Gillespie's belief that Earhart; having failed to find Howland Island; where she was to refuel; landed her Electra on the reef of what was then Gardner Island (since renamed Nikumaroro); an uninhabited island about 370 nautical miles south-southeast of Howland. TIGHAR; whose volunteers include impressively credentialed professionals who have lent their expertise to a rigorous; fact-based search for evidence of Earhart's fate; have developed a significant body of circumstantial evidence to support the Nikumaroro hypothesis. TIGHAR's website discusses the organization's activities; and the Nikumaroro evidence; in detail.Although Gillespie does not in this book posit that Earhart landed on the reef of Gardner (Nikumaroro); he lays the basis for that hypothesis in a detailed examination of Earhart's radio transmissions; especially post-loss transmissions - "post-loss" transmissions being those attributed to Earhart after her Electra's fuel would have been exhausted in flight. That Earhart sent distress messages after her plane ceased to be airborne is an essential point; because it means that her plane had to have been on land: the configuration of her aircraft was such that her transmitter would have been under water; and thus not functional; had the Electra been afloat. Furthermore; the plane could not have crash-landed; because the engine driving the generator would have had to be operational (i.e.; the propeller able to freely turn) to charge the batteries off which the radio operated. If one accepts that Earhart used her radio after she ceased to be airborne; then it follows that she had to have made an emergency landing with some fuel remaining; and the only reasonable landing sites are islands that lie to the southeast of Howland (a fact known to Earhart's navigator; Fred Noonan). Of these; Gardner Island is a logical choice; as it lies closest to the 157/337 line of position passing through Howland; on which Earhart last reported she was flying.About 200 post-loss transmissions were received by the Navy; Coast Guard; and merchant vessels; by ham radio operators (many in the US); and by Pan Am listening sites in the Pacific. Some of the reported transmissions have been shown to have been hoaxes; the rest; taken individually; tend to be problematic to varying degrees (many were unintelligible but were on an aviation frequency; or one of its harmonics; that Earhart used); but many; taken as a whole; are difficult to dismiss. For example; five of seven estimates by three Pan Am stations in the Pacific with direction-finding capability; based on receptions on the frequency used by Earhart; placed the origin of the transmissions in the general area of Gardner Island.There are; of course; other theories of what happened to Earhart; perhaps the most popular - certainly the most intuitive - being that she perished at sea after her Electra ran out of fuel over open water. Among the leading proponents of this theory are Elgen and Marie Long. In their book "Amelia Earhart: The Mystery Solved;" the Longs do not even mention possible post-loss transmissions from Earhart.In addition to analyzing the post-loss transmissions; Gillespie effectively describes how Earhart and her team; in planning the critical Lae to Howland leg of her flight; failed to make sure that she and the Coast Guard were on the same page for communicating with one another as she approached Howland. Communication incompatibilities and different time schemes for specifying transmission schedules (the use of local time by those at Howland while Earhart used Greenwich Civil Time introduced a critical 30 minute disparity) were key factors in the tragedy. It is difficult not to conclude that better planning and attention to detail would have delivered Earhart safely to Howland. (Ironically; a successful around-the-world flight eventually might have relegated her to relative obscurity. Indeed; noting all the attention that she continues to get; her disappearance brings to mind the observation of a music industry insider upon learning of the death of Elvis Presley: "good career move.")TIGHAR has developed significant circumstantial evidence to support the hypothesis that Earhart landed on the reef at Gardner; and that she and Noonan subsequently perished there. The reef in question is large enough and flat enough; and at low tide the water shallow enough; to have allowed a landing. Why wasn't the Electra noted in over-flights or parts of it discovered later? The hypothesis is that the action of the tides moved the aircraft seaward and over the edge of the reef; where the reef drops precipitously. The evidence in support of this hypothesis and the rigorous search that led to it are discussed in the book "Amelia Earhart's Shoes;" a book that I highly recommend.If Gillespie's work is deficient it is; in my opinion; in his failure to address the role that navigational errors might have played in Earhart's disappearance. Noonan would have taken a sun reading to fix his line of position relatively early that last morning; at a time the sun was low and the accuracy of the reading less than optimal; and then he would have advanced the line by dead-reckoning. Despite Noonan's navigation having failed to find Howland; Gillespie assumes that it was good enough to put Earhart on the 157/337 line of position passing through Howland. This; of course; reflects Gillespie's belief that Earhart made it to Gardner; so navigational error is a non-issue. Similarly; the Longs; in their book; discuss navigational error in detail because it supports their belief that Earhart was lost at sea; and they ignore post-loss transmissions; which; implicitly; they consider a non-issue.Gillespie's book is clearly well-researched. I noted one error - admittedly a quibble; but an error that I am surprised wasn't caught by TIGHAR's membership; to whom the manuscript was made available for comment prior to publication. On pages 157-158 he wrote: "The probability of such an event is one in several tens of millions. The chance of the phenomenon occurring twice on successive nights approaches infinity." What he meant; I think; is that it approaches zero.For those of you with access to Google Earth; entering the names Howland Island or Gardner Island (or Nikumaroro) does not; I found; take you to the correct locations; but entering the following coordinates will: Howland Island (0.805 n 176.617 w); Gardner Island (4.676 s 174.52 w). The point where TIGHAR believes Earhart landed is on the reef of Gardner; to the northwest; just above the entrance to the lagoon. TIGHAR plans a half-million-dollar expedition to Gardner/Nikumaroro in mid-2010 that it hopes will provide the evidence that Earhart perished there. Finding Amelia ain't cheap.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Customervery good reading.
