Year of the Carrier
Midway – 4 June 1942 – “Remembered Sky Day” Reflections
1942 - The Year of the Aircraft Carrier Please note the six new options on the Home page to allow quick access to the major subject matter threads for RememberedSky As a wingman on an "Alpha strike" to targets in North Vietnam during Linebacker I in 1972 - with 30 -40 A-7s, A-6’s, F-4’s, bombers, fighters, Iron-Hand, MiG Cap, tankers, Electronic Warfare birds and an E-2 control, inbound was both a time of anticipation and building tension, and additionally, a period of just waiting and thinking. Over several dozens of these Alphas in an 11 month cruise, I don’t [...]
December 7, 1941 – a day for remembrance and teaching
Good Saturday morning December 7, 2024. . . Over the last 32 years I have asked my students of all ages what happened on this day in History and I have found that as the years went by fewer and fewer of them knew what this date meant or even what Pearl Harbor was all about. Very discouraging. History is something that you need to remember so you will not make the same mistakes again. I fear we are still doing that today. Skip Leonard.. The List This day in Naval and Marine Corps History 1941 – In [...]
Battle of Midway – The Legacy
… a fundamental transformation in naval power had just taken place. Carriers usurped the prime strategic role of battleships in that their principal opponents were their enemy counterparts, and they should only to be committed to battle in the proper circumstances .. Lundstrom, John B. Black Shoe Carrier Admiral: Frank Jack Fletcher at Coral Sea, Midway & Guadalcanal Attack on the Akagi by R.G. Smith On the anniversary of the Battle of Midway (June 4-5 1942) , Rememberedsky offers some reflection on the battle particularly in context of sea-based airpower given current tension and potential conflict in the South China [...]
Complete Series List: 1942- The Year of the Aircraft Carrier
Blown Slick Series #13 1942 – The Year of the Aircraft Carrier Any assessment of future air power must certainly take into account China’s growing defense capability, objectives, and ongoing operations in the South China Sea. This suggested that a reasonable context should include a review of the Japanese island chain or co-prosperity sphere, that first year of WW II in the Pacific, and most certainly the emergence of aircraft carrier warfare. This context is provided as a sub-series posts reviewing the four major carrier battles throughout 1942 – Blown Slick #13 – 1942 the Year of the Aircraft Carrier. [...]
“Tales of the South Pacific” – Conclusion* > 1942- The Year of the Aircraft Carrier; Part 30
Blown Slick Series #13 Part 30 Life is rooted in narrative, humans construct their lives and shape their world in terms of these memories. Storytelling taps into existing knowledge and creates bridges as a means for sharing and interpreting experiences. Facts can be understood as smaller versions of a larger story, and thus storytelling can supplement analytical thinking and demonstrate the potential of human accomplishment. This is the concluding post for a two year effort focused on carrier aviation in 1942. The final piece borrows the title of James A. Michener’s Pulitzer Prize winning 1947 book Tales of the South [...]
“1942” – Part 29 – Afterword by Barrett Tillman
1942- The Year of the Aircraft Carrier Series Blown Slick Series #13 Part 29 Lexington, Yorktown, Wasp, Hornet, Saratoga and Enterprise held the line. Herein is their June 19–20, 1944 pay-off story. Thanks to Barrett Tillman for all the help during this series and for permission to use this portion of his book Clash of the Carriers. JEB at RS Air Battle Of The Philippine Sea by John Hamilton (Naval History and Heritage Command) The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot Adapted from Clash of The Carriers by Barrett Tillman By any measure, the United States would dominate its Pacific enemy, yet [...]
“1942” – Part 28 – Reflections (6 of 6); CAS
Blown Slick Series #13 Part 28 The story of how the Marines developed a close air support system needs to be told. It is a story that is distinct from the volumes of literature written about the controversial strategic bombing campaign or the more glamorous air-to-air battles that raged in the skies of Europe and the Pacific. It tells of the commitment to support the ultimate instrument of National policy: a soldier or Marine on the ground. The story of Marine CAS is important because it shows how a force, while constrained by lack of money and hindered by administrative [...]
“1942” – Part 27 – Reflections (5 of 6); Land Based Air
Blown Slick Series #13 Part 27 “However the danger exists that the more important and more fundamental fact may be lost sight of that the land plane bases and the operating units thereon should be available in supporting positions before the operation is undertaken at all. It is only by this provision in advance that the risking of carriers in restricted covering positions can be avoided.” Adm Bull Halsey The term “land based” in regard to World War II requires some context. Of note is the differences between how air power was applied in European and the Pacific theaters. The [...]
“1942” – Part 26 – Reflections (4 of 6); Fighter Operations
Blown Slick Series #13 Part 26 The U.S. Navy’s carrier fighting squadrons took particular pride in their own contribution during the first fourteen crucial weeks, from 7 August to 15 November 1942. At heavy cost VF-5, VF-6, and VF-71 provided fighter support during the initial two days of the amphibious invasion, the first time they attempted such a difficult endeavor. In August and October, VF-5, VF-6, VF-72, and VF-10 fought two desperate carrier slugging matches whose level of ferocity was seldom equaled until the Kamikaze onslaught of 1944–45. Beached when their carriers were sunk or heavily damaged, VF-5 and VF-71 [...]
“1942” – Part 25 – Reflections (3 of 6); CV Operations
Blown Slick Series #13 Part 25 I As noted in Reflections Part 1, this series has been intended to study carrier aviation using the first full year of U.S. involvement in the Pacific as a vehicle. Part 3 addresses selected issues that presented themselves during the conduct of carrier-driven operations for the first time in a warfare environment. The British, Japanese and Americans had developed and explored carrier aviation for many years and indeed on the USN side, between 1922 and 1940, the Navy conducted 21 “Fleet Problems” in large part to address integration of the carrier to fleet operations. [...]
Blogroll
Year of the Carrier
Midway – 4 June 1942 – “Remembered Sky Day” Reflections
1942 - The Year of the Aircraft Carrier Please note the six new options on the Home page to allow quick access to the major subject matter threads for RememberedSky As a wingman on an "Alpha strike" to targets in North Vietnam during Linebacker I in 1972 - with 30 -40 A-7s, A-6’s, F-4’s, bombers, fighters, Iron-Hand, MiG Cap, tankers, Electronic Warfare birds and an E-2 control, inbound was both a time of anticipation and building tension, and additionally, a period of just waiting and thinking. Over several dozens of these Alphas in an 11 month cruise, I don’t [...]
December 7, 1941 – a day for remembrance and teaching
Good Saturday morning December 7, 2024. . . Over the last 32 years I have asked my students of all ages what happened on this day in History and I have found that as the years went by fewer and fewer of them knew what this date meant or even what Pearl Harbor was all about. Very discouraging. History is something that you need to remember so you will not make the same mistakes again. I fear we are still doing that today. Skip Leonard.. The List This day in Naval and Marine Corps History 1941 – In [...]
Battle of Midway – The Legacy
… a fundamental transformation in naval power had just taken place. Carriers usurped the prime strategic role of battleships in that their principal opponents were their enemy counterparts, and they should only to be committed to battle in the proper circumstances .. Lundstrom, John B. Black Shoe Carrier Admiral: Frank Jack Fletcher at Coral Sea, Midway & Guadalcanal Attack on the Akagi by R.G. Smith On the anniversary of the Battle of Midway (June 4-5 1942) , Rememberedsky offers some reflection on the battle particularly in context of sea-based airpower given current tension and potential conflict in the South China [...]
Complete Series List: 1942- The Year of the Aircraft Carrier
Blown Slick Series #13 1942 – The Year of the Aircraft Carrier Any assessment of future air power must certainly take into account China’s growing defense capability, objectives, and ongoing operations in the South China Sea. This suggested that a reasonable context should include a review of the Japanese island chain or co-prosperity sphere, that first year of WW II in the Pacific, and most certainly the emergence of aircraft carrier warfare. This context is provided as a sub-series posts reviewing the four major carrier battles throughout 1942 – Blown Slick #13 – 1942 the Year of the Aircraft Carrier. [...]
“Tales of the South Pacific” – Conclusion* > 1942- The Year of the Aircraft Carrier; Part 30
Blown Slick Series #13 Part 30 Life is rooted in narrative, humans construct their lives and shape their world in terms of these memories. Storytelling taps into existing knowledge and creates bridges as a means for sharing and interpreting experiences. Facts can be understood as smaller versions of a larger story, and thus storytelling can supplement analytical thinking and demonstrate the potential of human accomplishment. This is the concluding post for a two year effort focused on carrier aviation in 1942. The final piece borrows the title of James A. Michener’s Pulitzer Prize winning 1947 book Tales of the South [...]
“1942” – Part 29 – Afterword by Barrett Tillman
1942- The Year of the Aircraft Carrier Series Blown Slick Series #13 Part 29 Lexington, Yorktown, Wasp, Hornet, Saratoga and Enterprise held the line. Herein is their June 19–20, 1944 pay-off story. Thanks to Barrett Tillman for all the help during this series and for permission to use this portion of his book Clash of the Carriers. JEB at RS Air Battle Of The Philippine Sea by John Hamilton (Naval History and Heritage Command) The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot Adapted from Clash of The Carriers by Barrett Tillman By any measure, the United States would dominate its Pacific enemy, yet [...]
“1942” – Part 28 – Reflections (6 of 6); CAS
Blown Slick Series #13 Part 28 The story of how the Marines developed a close air support system needs to be told. It is a story that is distinct from the volumes of literature written about the controversial strategic bombing campaign or the more glamorous air-to-air battles that raged in the skies of Europe and the Pacific. It tells of the commitment to support the ultimate instrument of National policy: a soldier or Marine on the ground. The story of Marine CAS is important because it shows how a force, while constrained by lack of money and hindered by administrative [...]
“1942” – Part 27 – Reflections (5 of 6); Land Based Air
Blown Slick Series #13 Part 27 “However the danger exists that the more important and more fundamental fact may be lost sight of that the land plane bases and the operating units thereon should be available in supporting positions before the operation is undertaken at all. It is only by this provision in advance that the risking of carriers in restricted covering positions can be avoided.” Adm Bull Halsey The term “land based” in regard to World War II requires some context. Of note is the differences between how air power was applied in European and the Pacific theaters. The [...]
“1942” – Part 26 – Reflections (4 of 6); Fighter Operations
Blown Slick Series #13 Part 26 The U.S. Navy’s carrier fighting squadrons took particular pride in their own contribution during the first fourteen crucial weeks, from 7 August to 15 November 1942. At heavy cost VF-5, VF-6, and VF-71 provided fighter support during the initial two days of the amphibious invasion, the first time they attempted such a difficult endeavor. In August and October, VF-5, VF-6, VF-72, and VF-10 fought two desperate carrier slugging matches whose level of ferocity was seldom equaled until the Kamikaze onslaught of 1944–45. Beached when their carriers were sunk or heavily damaged, VF-5 and VF-71 [...]
“1942” – Part 25 – Reflections (3 of 6); CV Operations
Blown Slick Series #13 Part 25 I As noted in Reflections Part 1, this series has been intended to study carrier aviation using the first full year of U.S. involvement in the Pacific as a vehicle. Part 3 addresses selected issues that presented themselves during the conduct of carrier-driven operations for the first time in a warfare environment. The British, Japanese and Americans had developed and explored carrier aviation for many years and indeed on the USN side, between 1922 and 1940, the Navy conducted 21 “Fleet Problems” in large part to address integration of the carrier to fleet operations. [...]