Battle of Phillipine Sea

[Rich46yo]

Can anyone recommend a book? Its been awhiles and I need to bone up on this fight. I like books with lots of first hand accounts.

Thanks.

[Ack-Ack]

Bryan III, Lt. Cmdr. J. Mission Beyond Darkness: The story of USS Lexington's Air Group 16 June 20, 1944 attack on the Japanese carrier fleet as told by the men who flew that day

Tillman, Barrett, (2006) Clash of the Carriers: The True Story of the Marianas Turkey Shoot of World War II.

Y'Blood, William T. (1981). Red Sun Setting: The Battle of the Philippine Sea. Annapolis, Maryland: US Naval Institute Press.

ack-ack

[Rich46yo]

Thanks.

[Brooke]

I liked Intrepid, by Gandt.  Covers all the action of the Intrepid, but a chunk of it was in the Philippines.

[MiloMorai]

Interrogation of Admiral OZAWA

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AAF/USSBS/IJO/IJO-3.html

[bacon8tr]

Interrogation of Admiral OZAWA

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AAF/USSBS/IJO/IJO-3.html

I had never seen this before.  Very interesting read, thanks for posting

[Rich46yo]

I had never seen this before.  Very interesting read, thanks for posting

Man knew right off.

Q. What is your personal opinion as to the relative importance to the whole war of the loss of Japanese Naval strength in ships, the loss of Naval air strength, loss of merchant shipping, and loss of oil?
A. First is the air force - the damage to air force means damage to all the rest. The other three are all dependent on damage to the air force.

Cant argue that. Without air protection all else was lost in modern war at sea. Same goes today.

And

Q. In your personal opinion was there any particular outstanding weakness or strength, one way or the other, in the American Fast Carrier Forces? In other words, what were the weakest and the strongest features of the American fast carriers?
A. The particular strength of your task force is the use of radar, interception of radio messages, and intercepting by radar of Japanese air attacks which they can catch and destroy ("eat up") whenever they want to. That is the strength. The weakness we noticed in the beginning of the campaign was the slowness, the lack of maneuverability in case of torpedo attack. Towards the end maneuvering ability improved and we could not successfully deliver a torpedo attack in strength enough to sink anything.

No question our technical capabilities had far surpassed that of the IJN. Most of all in radar and code breaking as the man knew but also fire and damage control and comms/ coordination of forces. I forget how many but the IJN lost quite a few ships due to plain lousy damage control procedures.

But i want to buy some books cause I consider this the pivotal battle of the Pacific war. Far more then Midway. The IJN had reconstituted itself into a dangerous fast carrier force again and the loss of this battle guaranteed the loss of the war. It opened up the homeland to attack and eventual assured defeat.