A story of the remarkable raid by the US Navy in 1945 in the South China Sea against the Japanese, the first time in history a naval force dared to attack coastal waters.

As 1945 dawned, Japan was fighting defensively everywhere. As the Allies approached the Homeland, the risks of Japanese air and naval attacks against the US naval force increased. The American forces wanted to capture the island of Luzon, which offered a base for Japanese aircraft from Formosa (Taiwan) and Indochina, from where attacks could be devastating to the invasion naval force. US Naval Intelligence also believed that the Japanese battleships Ise and Hyuga were operating out of Cam Ranh Bay. A rapid raid through the South China Sea was a potential solution with the advantage of hitting the main naval route for cargo from Japan's conquests in Southeast Asia.

Task Force 38 would spend most of two weeks attacking the South China Sea during Operation Gratitude, a monthly sweep of the area, launching air attacks on ports in Indochina, the Chinese coast, and Formosa, while targeting shipping on the busy naval route. By the time the Task Force exited the South China Sea, over 300,000 tons of enemy shipping and dozens of Japanese warships had been sunk. With subsequent air attacks on Japanese ports and airfields in Formosa and the Ryukyu Islands, the success of the sweep was unprecedented.

Using detailed battle scenes, maps, aerial photographs, and diagrams of air assaults on Luzon, this enthralling account of Task Force 38's dominance in the South China Sea proved that aircraft carriers could dominate the air power of a declining Japan. From the Korean War to Vietnam, as well as the campaigns in Iraq, aircraft carriers could sail safely in the open sea, knowing that their planes would prevail both at sea and on land.

Pages: 96, Year of Publication: 2023, Dimensions: 18.4x18.4cm