Us Battleships 1941-92: From Pearl Harbor to Operation Desert Storm

The US Navy and other fleets relied on battleships for decades, but their dominance ended with the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. US battleships continued to serve in various roles throughout World War II and the Cold War, and this fully illustrated volume provides a clear overview of each ship's career, fate, and significance in American naval history. It covers battles in the Pacific, shore bombardment during invasions, and the modernized USS Missouri and USS Wisconsin's role in Operation Desert Storm. It also includes a guided tour of the USS Missouri, an overview of the other seven preserved US battleships serving as floating museums, and a dive to the sunken USS Arizona and USS Utah at Pearl Harbor.

Format: Hardback
Length: 240 pages
Publication date: 15 June 2024
Publisher: Casemate Publishers

The battleship was the most powerful weapon on the ocean for nearly half a century, deployed by the US Navy and many other fleets. However, their time seemed to be at an end when Japanese carrier-based aircraft destroyed so many at Pearl Harbor in 1941, ushering in the age of the aircraft carrier. Nevertheless, US battleships continued to serve with distinction in various roles throughout World War II and during the Cold War. Naval historian Ingo Bauernfeind tells the dramatic yet successful story of the US Navy's battleships and battle cruisers by class, ranging from the early Dreadnought-type of the South Carolina-class to the gigantic Montana-class, which were approved but never built. This fully illustrated volume gives a clear overview of each ship's career, its fate, and highlights its significance in American naval history. Besides covering various battles in the Pacific, it also describes the important actions of US battleships providing shore bombardment during the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa as well as during the D-day landings in Normandy, thus illustrating their contribution to Allied victory in World War II. Moreover, it covers the little-known actions of the Iowa-class during the Korean and Vietnam wars and even during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, when the modernized USS Missouri and USS Wisconsin fired guided missiles and operated drones in addition to the use of their historic 16-inch guns. This volume culminates in a guided tour through the mighty USS Missouri, an overview of the other seven preserved US battleships serving as floating museums for future generations, as well as a dive to the sunken USS Arizona and USS Utah at Pearl Harbor.

Weight: 1036g
Dimension: 208 x 262 x 18 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781636242569