How Carriers Fought

Carrier Operations in WWII

By: Lars Celander

Narrated by: Sean Runnette

In November 1921, the first purpose-built aircraft carrier was launched by the Japanese, followed a year later by the launch of the British Hermes. The conversion of battle cruisers into aircraft carriers after World War I required the consideration of issues including handling aircraft on the flight deck and the techniques of attacking enemy ships, and the evolution of carrier operations was ongoing when World War II broke out. With a focus on the conflict in the Pacific between the US Navy and the imperial Japanese fleet, this title examines how aircraft carriers fought during World War II by first considering all the tools and building blocks of carrier operations, and then discussing the various battles that involved aircraft carriers to explore how carrier operations evolved during war.

Every aspect of carrier operations is covered; from the technology used on the carriers and in aircraft for navigation and communication, to what life was really like in the cockpit for the pilots. A world of tactical dehydration, amphetamine pills, and illegal smoking is explored, as well as the measures pilots implemented to reduce their risk of death in the event of being hit.

©2018 Lars Celander (P)2019 Tantor

Very informative

Takes a different perspective than other WWII Naval histories I have read. More detail oriented.

excellent first part, too technical toward the end

the narrative focusing on WW-II carrier v. carrier combat was exceptional. the second half, with tables and charts, doesn't "read" as well. a great book for those who care about the minutia of carier warfare.

Overall interesting and informative

I enjoyed this, good info not usually part of history books.
A bit too many acronymns, and constant switching between metric and imperial units of measure seemed unnecessary, but it was a good book if you like technical aspects of military history.

Interesting but not mandatory

This book has some interesting details. It’s fairly well researched. It does a good job of consolidating information that is widely dispersed.

However it reads more list like than an organized thesis. The conclusions it does draw, aren’t organized well in a reasonable thought process. The old argument between armored and unarmored carrier flight decks was “solved”, when most experts say is really arguable either way depending on what is considered important.

Unless you are well versed in ww2 carrier operations this book will be problematic.

Good story, monotone delivery

The story is interesting, but it can be very technical, which puts a lot of pressure on the performance. Unfortunately it’s dry and monotone. They could’ve also rewrote the more technical parts to be more understandable when you don’t have the benefit of seeing the numbers. I listen to it to go to sleep.

Great Read for a scarce subject matter

I enjoyed this book. As a fan of Naval Aviation an d WW2 history, this is the only book I’ve read that contains the nuts and bolts of carrier aviation that shaped world events, but were never explained.

As an example,American fighter pilots had extensive navigation training, whereas Japanese fighter pilots did not. If there were no bombers to follow, the Japanese pilots had no way to get home.

Great book! Must read for fans of WW2 Naval Aviation!

excellent all around

great technological history - very well done. particularly like the use of simulation to compare bombers vs fighters; battleship vs aircraft carrier. new insights and great information.

For a niche audience

I happen to fit into that niche audience. This is for those who have always wanted more detail and less dramatic license in their history. However, it still does have “trust me, I’m an expert,” level of explanation. That is my main criticism of this. I wish it cited sources more. Perhaps that is the drawback of audiobooks. The written version may have more notation, at least. But this is not out of the ordinary for historical books I’ve listened to. The narrator is a bit dry, but so is the subject matter. It is better to learn about these world changing battles from other works. Then listen to this analysis of them here. Fortunately, I did that. And I am interested in the different ways each country approaches Carrier design and operation

Lots of great information for us wargaming nerds

The first third of the book came across as a bit disjointed with the author seeming to jump from technical topic to technical topic almost at random. Once he'd covered the technical minutiae, things coalesced nicely and his approach started to make more sense.

The only gripe I have with the book is the same that others have pointed out in their reviews. The author ignores the historical data put forth in Shattered Sword regarding Japanese carrier operations, specifically at Midway in favour of the now discredited myth about fully loaded flight decks.

How Carriers Fought

A ton of information, a lot to digest. If you need to know something, this is the book.