South China Sea 1945: Task Force 38's bold carrier rampage in Formosa, Luzon, and Indochina

The US Navy's 1945 South China Sea raid against the Japanese was a historic event, marking the first time a carrier fleet dared to rampage through coastal waters. The raid aimed to take the island of Luzon, which provided a base for Japanese aircraft, and struck the main nautical highway for cargo from Japan's conquests in Southeast Asia. Task Force 38 spent two weeks marauding through the South China Sea, launching air strikes into harbors in Indochina, the Chinese coast, and Formosa, and targeting shipping in the high-traffic nautical highway. Over 300,000 tons of enemy shipping and dozens of Japanese warships were sunk, and the success of the sweep was unprecedented. This account of Task Force 38's reign in the South China Sea proved that aircraft carriers could dominate the land-based air power of the fading Japanese.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 96 pages
Publication date: 16 March 2023
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

The US Navy's remarkable 1945 South China Sea raid against the Japanese marked a significant milestone in naval history, as it was the first time a carrier fleet had dared to rampage through coastal waters. As 1945 began, Japan was engaged in a defensive war on all fronts, and the Allies were closing in on the Home Islands, increasing the risk of Japanese air and sea attacks on the US Navy carrier force. The US forces aimed to capture the island of Luzon, which served as a base for Japanese aircraft from Formosa (Taiwan) and Indochina, and from where they could launch devastating attacks on the invasion fleet. Additionally, US Naval Intelligence believed that the Japanese battleships Ise and Hyuga were operating out of Cam Ranh Bay. To address these threats, Task Force 38 embarked on a month-long sweep of the South China Sea during Operation Gratitude, which launched air strikes into harbors in Indochina, the Chinese coast, and Formosa, while targeting shipping in the high-traffic nautical highway. The Task Force's success was unprecedented, with over 300,000 tons of enemy shipping and dozens of Japanese warships sunk. Follow-up air strikes against Japanese harbors and airfields in Formosa and the Ryukyu Islands further solidified the sweep's success. This account, with its detailed battlescenes, maps, bird's-eye views, and diagrams of air strikes at Luzon, demonstrated that aircraft carriers could dominate the land-based air power of the fading Japanese. From the Korean War to Vietnam to the campaigns in Iraq, aircraft carriers proved to be invaluable assets in naval warfare.

Weight: 312g
Dimension: 183 x 249 x 8 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781472853110