PC Patrol Craft of World War II: A History of the Ships and Their Crews Review

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(More customer reviews)Popularly known as "sub chasers", the 369 patrol craft ("PCs") launched during WW2 escorted convoys, hunted submarines, sank small craft, shot down airplanes, bombarded landing areas and led landing craft on to invasion beaches. None have been preserved, however, and their exploits are largely forgotten. William J. Veigele's "Patrol Craft of World War II", is an effort to rectify this oversight. The 400 page hardcover volume examines every aspect of the PC, including design, construction, crew training (most of the 50,000 men who served on PCs were reservists who had never been to sea), day-to-day life, exploits and disposition. It is supplemented by 118 b&w photographs, and 30 pages of excellent drawings showing every above-deck fitting. These drawings, compiled from sketches made by a 19-year-old sailor serving aboard PC 541, are especially noteworthy. They provide invaluable information for the model builder as well as anyone curious about the nuts and bolts of these hearty vessels.
The book's description of life aboard a PC is particularly fascinating. To put it mildly, these 174' vessels (by way of comparison, Flower class corvettes were 200' in length) were "lively". They pitched and rolled with a vengeance, and seasoned sailors aboard larger ships were amazed at the fearsome battering a heavy sea could inflict on a PC.
"PC 486 was escorting an American submarine returning from war patrol. The sea was rough with waves towering over the mast of the PC, which was often lost to view from men on the submarine. As the two vessels soared above the waves together, the Skipper on the submarine signaled to the PC, "We have an extra periscope on board. You're welcome to use it." The two ships disappeared from each other's views. A few minutes later they rose on the crest of waves into each other's views. Back flashed a reply from the Skipper of the PC, "Thank you, but we are below periscope depth."
Life for the 70 man PC crew was cramped and difficult. The constant battering and seasickness wore down even experienced sailors. But the hardship bred both camaraderie and an absence of formality not found on larger ships.
I highly recommend this book both to students of the US Navy and would be PC modelers. There is a wealth of technical information between its covers and even a set of fold out plans. But the books most valuable legacy is the way in which it captures the essence of life aboard these tough little ships. William Veigele can take pride in having written the definitive book about PCs and in doing so he has preserved their memory for future generations.
Contents
400 Pages, hardcover, 6"W x 9"L, 118 b+w photos
Chapter Headings
1. Need for and deployment of PCs 2. The design of PCs 3. The construction of PCs 4. PC crews and their training5. Life aboard a PC 6. PC exploits - General 7. PC exploits - American Theater of War 8. PC exploits - European, African, Middle Eastern Theatres
9. PC exploits - Asiatic, Pacific Theatres 10. PC Casualties 11. The naming, decommissioning and disposition of PCs 12. The Patrol Craft Sailors Association
Appendix
A: Technical characteristics of the PC Class B: Thirty engineering drawings showing PC design details C: Sixteen shipyards building PCs D: PCs built at each of the 16 yards showing hull number, date keel laid, launched and commissioned, deactivation date, disposition E: Construction program statistics F: Rates of enlisted men aboard WWII PCs G: Decorations and awards won by PCs H: The story behind PC 1264, the first ship with an all black crew I: PC crew casualties J: PC Sailor Association Museum
Notes: 18 pages
Index: 13 pages
Drawings: PC 461 class 12.5"x20" foldout plan (1 sheet reduced from 1/48 scale. Effective scale of the included plan is about 1:135) showing deck levels, fittings, profile, external details. Drawn by John Tombaugh, this is plate 1 of 2. Presumably plate 2 of 2 shows hull lines and cross sections. Both plates are available in 1/48th scale.

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D-Day in the Pacific: The Battle of Saipan (Twentieth-Century Battles) Review

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(More customer reviews)The importance of the capture of Saipan is two-fold. First, to most Japanese military strategists, Saipan represented the outermost reaches of the defenses of the Japanese Empire itself. Thus, its loss meant that it would only be a question of time before Japan itself was invaded and all was lost. Second, to the Allies, Saipan represented air bases from which the new B-29 planes could reach and bomb Japanese cities, including, and especially, Tokyo.
"D-Day in the Pacific" is an extremely well-written account of the actions and politics leading up to the decision to invade Saipan (and Tinian, adjacent to it), including the clash of wills between Admiral King and Gen. MacArthur, the strategies and tactics of the invasions (e.g., the separate landings by the 2nd and 4th Marine divisions), the major personalities involved on both sides, and the battles on the islands, including the well-known suicidal tactics of the Japanese, as seen not only from the perspective of the commanders but the front line troops as well. Numerous photos are also included.

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World War II Pacific Island Guide: A Geo-Military Study Review

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(More customer reviews)World War II Pacific Island Guide: A Geo-Military Study is a detailed survey of the Pacific islands which served as battlegrounds during the war. The author, Gordon L. Rottman, a retired U.S. Army Master Sergeant and Vietnam veteran, served with elite units, such as the Airborne, Rangers, and Special Forces. Rottman is also the author of more than two dozen other books, including most recently: U.S. Marine Corps World War II Order of Battle: Ground and Air Units in the Pacific War, 1939-1945 (Greenwood Press, 2001) and Korean War Order of Battle: United States, United Nations, and Communist Ground, Naval, and Air Forces, 1950-1953 (Praeger Press, 2002).
The 477 pages of the World War II Pacific Island Guide are divided into three parts. In Part I, "Geo-Military Aspects of the Pacific Theater", Rottman briefly discusses the Pacific Ocean, physical categories of islands, health hazards, island populations and political dynamics, distances and dimensions, times and dates, military organization, and military ranks. In Part II, he provides a chronology of World War II in the Pacific. In Part III, which occupies the vast majority of the book, Rottman discusses (in detail) the islands themselves and the battles fought on or near them. This last portion of the book is itself divided into six sections - Central and Southern Pacific U.S. Possessions, South Pacific Area, Southwest Pacific Area, Central Pacific Area, Western Pacific, and North Pacific Area.
I can think of absolutely nothing that has been omitted from the World War II Pacific Island Guide and the only criticism that I can make regarding this superb volume is its prohibitive cost. I certainly do not blame the author and I realize that this is a specialty book, but $104.95 is an utterly ridiculous price. Unfortunately, the price will probably prevent many people from purchasing this volume, which is regrettable, because I believe that it should be on the shelf of anyone seriously interested in the Pacific Theater during World War II. I highly recommend this book and I am convinced that it will be a generation or two (if ever) before it is supplanted.

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Covering all Pacific islands involved in World War II military operations, this book is a detailed, single source of information on virtually every geo-military aspect of the Pacific Theater. Arranged regionally and, to the extent possible, chronologically according to when islands entered the war, entries provide complete background information. Along with island names, nicknames, Allied code names, location, and wartime time zones, the entries include such topics as the island's physical characteristics, weather, health hazards, historical background, native population, natural resources, and military value. Japanese and Allied strategies and operations, military problems caused by terrain, military installations, Japanese units and key commanders, Allied units and key commanders, and brief battle descriptions are also covered along with the island's postwar status. A valuable resource for researchers, historians, military history enthusiasts, and war gamers, the book provides complete background information on the geo-military aspects of the Pacific Ocean region, its islands, and the roles they played in the war. 108 maps provide specific information. Until now, geo-military information could only be found by searching four to ten publications on each island.

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First Class: Women Join the Ranks at the Naval Academy Review

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(More customer reviews)As noted in the two previous reviews Lt. Disher served in the Civil Engineer Corp.
I had the opportunity to work for her as a civilian employee during her tour as an Assistant Resident Officer In Charge of Construction at the Everett ROICC office during the initial construction of the Everett Hompeport, current home of the Abraham Lincoln Battle Group.
At that time we were just starting to see female officers in construction managemant. It was one of the many fields that had been strictly male up until the time that she came on board.
I was a GS-9 Construction QA and served as her eyes and ears in the field. She was the contracting officer and had final say on any changes to the projects we worked on and had final signature authority for any changes we made.
It was surprising for a lot of the contractors to be working for a woman, in any capacity. It was more surprising for most of them that she was a quick study, learned their projects as fast as they did and was at least as sharp.
I am about ten years older than her but that was common for me when working with Lieutenants. They tended to be kids in my eyes. I like to think that I had no preconceptions about working for a woman although I never had before.
I always found Sharon to be totally professional. She would listen when she didn't know a subject but she never let the contractors get an edge on her. She had strong people skills and never had to rely on "cute". She was always an engineer and a naval officer. In short she was a professional.
I recognize some of the stories in the book because they are ones she told when she shared an office with me.
This book was a hard read for me because I knew how many of the experiences were hers.
If you read this book be aware that while it states that the names are changed, it is often to protect the guilty, not the innocent. The acadamies are still a tough place for women to survive as we continue to see in the news.
It has gotten better though, through the courage and efforts of officers like Sharon Disher, who had to be better than her counterparts to survive.
I still consider her the best officer I worked for in 21 years of civil service.
Respectfully,
Terrence N. Tallman
Naval Facilities Engineering Command

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Sovereigns of the Sea: The Quest to Build the Perfect Renaissance Battleship Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is a great introduction to the early history of fighting ships armed with gunpowder weapons. It starts at the dawn of gunpowder artillery and ends with the first real Ship of the Line, Sovereign of the Seas.
It has enough technical details to please anyone who is already interested in maritime history while being very understandable and entertaining for the general reader.

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Savor the story of the ultimate warship in Sovereigns of the Sea: The Quest to Build the Perfect Renaissance Battleship, which chronicles the history of Sovereign of the Seas, an immensely powerful floating fortress. You will enjoy this gripping tale of an arms race that created and ruined empires, changed the map of the world, and led Europe out of the Renaissance and into the Modern age. Understand how the Sovereign of the Seas became the model for a whole new generation of warships that would dominate naval warfare until the advent of steam power.

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Unfit For Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry Review

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(More customer reviews)Since I wasn't there, let's take the word of a Republican and retired police officer who actually was. I print below the op-ed article from the Wall Street Journal's opinion page:
Shame on the Swift Boat Veterans for Bush
John Kerry saved my life. Now his heroism is being questioned.
BY JIM RASSMANN
Tuesday, August 10, 2004 12:01 a.m. EDT
I came to know Lt. John Kerry during the spring of 1969. He and his swift boat crew assisted in inserting our Special Forces team and our Chinese Nung soldiers into operational sites in the Cau Mau Peninsula of South Vietnam. I worked with him on many operations and saw firsthand his leadership, courage and decision-making ability under fire.
On March 13, 1969, John Kerry's courage and leadership saved my life.
While returning from a SEA LORDS operation along the Bay Hap River, a mine detonated under another swift boat. Machine-gun fire erupted from both banks of the river, and a second explosion followed moments later. The second blast blew me off John's swift boat, PCF-94, throwing me into the river. Fearing that the other boats would run me over, I swam to the bottom of the river and stayed there as long as I could hold my breath.
When I surfaced, all the swift boats had left, and I was alone taking fire from both banks. To avoid the incoming fire, I repeatedly swam under water as long as I could hold my breath, attempting to make it to the north bank of the river. I thought I would die right there. The odds were against me avoiding the incoming fire and, even if I made it out of the river, I thought I'd be captured and executed. Kerry must have seen me in the water and directed his driver, Del Sandusky, to turn the boat around. Kerry's boat ran up to me in the water, bow on, and I was able to climb up a cargo net to the lip of the deck. But, because I was nearly upside down, I couldn't make it over the edge of the deck. This left me hanging out in the open, a perfect target. John, already wounded by the explosion that threw me off his boat, came out onto the bow, exposing himself to the fire directed at us from the jungle, and pulled me aboard.
For his actions that day, I recommended John for the Silver Star, our country's third highest award for bravery under fire. I learned only this past January that the Navy awarded John the Bronze Star with Combat V for his valor. The citation for this award, signed by the Commander of U.S. Naval Forces, Vietnam, Vice Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, read, "Lieutenant (junior grade) Kerry's calmness, professionalism and great personal courage under fire were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service." To this day I am grateful to John Kerry for saving my life. And to this day I still believe that he deserved the Silver Star for his courage.
It has been many years since I served in Vietnam. I returned home, got married, and spent many years as a deputy sheriff for Los Angeles County. I retired in 1989 as a lieutenant. It has been a long time since I left Vietnam, but I think often of the men who did not come home with us.
I am neither a politician nor an organizer. I am a retired police officer with a passion for orchids. Until January of this year, the only public presentations I made were about my orchid hobby. But in this presidential election, I had to speak out; I had to tell the American people about John Kerry, about his wisdom and courage, about his vision and leadership. I would trust John Kerry with my life, and I would entrust John Kerry with the well-being of our country.
Nobody asked me to join John's campaign. Why would they? I am a Republican, and for more than 30 years I have largely voted for Republicans. I volunteered for his campaign because I have seen John Kerry in the worst of conditions. I know his character. I've witnessed his bravery and leadership under fire. And I truly know he will be a great commander in chief.
Now, 35 years after the fact, some Republican-financed Swift Boat Veterans for Bush are suddenly lying about John Kerry's service in Vietnam; they are calling him a traitor because he spoke out against the Nixon administration's failed policies in Vietnam. Some of these Republican-sponsored veterans are the same ones who spoke out against John at the behest of the Nixon administration in 1971. But this time their attacks are more vicious, their lies cut deep and are directed not just at John Kerry, but at me and each of his crewmates as well. This hate-filled ad asserts that I was not under fire; it questions my words and Navy records. This smear campaign has been launched by people without decency, people who don't understand the bond of those who serve in combat.
As John McCain noted, the television ad aired by these veterans is "dishonest and dishonorable." Sen. McCain called on President Bush to condemn the Swift Boat Veterans for Bush ad. Regrettably, the president has ignored Sen. McCain's advice.
Does this strategy of attacking combat Vietnam veterans sound familiar? In 2000, a similar Republican smear campaign was launched against Sen. McCain. In fact, the very same communications group, Spaeth Communications, that placed ads against John McCain in 2000 is involved in these vicious attacks against John Kerry. Texas Republican donors with close ties to George W. Bush and Karl Rove crafted this "dishonest and dishonorable" ad. Their new charges are false; their stories are fabricated, made up by people who did not serve with Kerry in Vietnam. They insult and defame all of us who served in Vietnam.
But when the noise and fog of their distortions and lies have cleared, a man who volunteered to serve his country, a man who showed up for duty when his country called, a man to whom the United States Navy awarded a Silver Star, a Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts, will stand tall and proud. Ultimately, the American people will judge these Swift Boat Veterans for Bush and their accusations. Americans are tired of smear campaigns against those who volunteered to wear the uniform. Swift Boat Veterans for Bush should hang their heads in shame.
Mr. Rassmann, a retired lieutenant with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, served with the U.S. Army 5th Special Forces Group in Vietnam 1968-69.

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We Were Pirates: A Torpedoman's Pacific War Review

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(More customer reviews)When I picked up We Were Pirates I expected a firsthand account of the Pacific War with a ghost writer and what I found was that two men have edited and woven Chief Robert Hunt's diary into We Were Pirates. While well written I found myself wishing I was reading Chief Hunt's diary with commentary by Chief Hunt. At one point Hunt by mistake fires a torpedo then the authors kept on talking about a leak in the torpedo room. It seems likely that the torpedo went through the outer torpedo tube door and damaged the tube causing the leak but the authors lack of knowledge of submarines is shown here. The authors spend too much time on Hunt's time ashore and not enough exploring the war patrols or bringing in other material supplementing Hunt's diary. the pressures of the war patrols would be far more helpful than the exploits of Chief Hunt's letting off steam. The purpose of a good History is to explore causes in order to understand the consequences, I found myself skipping over the beach portions of the book.
The end of the book became difficult to read because the main author Robert Schultz goes into first person account of hero worship for Chief Hunt and while interesting the purpose of reading this book is to know about Chief Hunt experiences not Dr. Schultz's. It is a very irritating trend in recent histories to have the author imbed themselves into the narrative. In the end it was an easy read but a book that I can't say added much to the submarine history library. It is a shame we couldn't have Chief Hunt's words and experience firsthand.

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A sailor's extraordinary experiences on an American submarine in the Pacific are candidly reported in this eyewitness account of war from a torpedoman's perspective. Robert Hunt managed to survive twelve consecutive war patrols on the submarine USS Tambor. During the course of the war, Hunt was everywhere that mattered in the Pacific. He stood on the bow of the Tambor as it cruised into Pearl Harbor just days after the devastation of the Japanese air raid, peered through binoculars as his boat shadowed Japanese cruisers at the Battle of Midway, ferried guns and supplies to American guerilla fighters in the Philippines, fired torpedoes that sank vital Japanese shipping, and survived a near-fatal, seventeen-hour depth-charge attack. For exceptional skill and proficiency at his battle station Hunt received a commendation from Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. This WWII torpedoman's account of the war offers the rare perspective of an enlisted seaman that is not available in the more common officer accounts. To capture and recount the progress of the Pacific War through Hunt's eyes coauthors Robert Schultz and James Shell examined the young submariner's war diary, as well as crew letters, photographs, and captains' reports, and they also conducted hours of interviews. Their vivid descriptions of the ways in which sailors dealt with the stress of war while at sea or on liberty show a side of the war that is rarely reported. The fact that Hunt's submarine was the first of a new fleet of World War II boats and the namesake of a significant class adds further value to his remarkable story.

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