The Coral Sea 1942: The first carrier battle

by Mark Stille, John White (Illustrator)

Overview

A detailed account of the first check of Japanese naval expansion in the Pacific.

The Battle of the Coral Sea is unique in the annals of naval history. It is the first battle in which enemy fleets never came within sight of one another. Instead, aircraft launched from carrier decks were sent out to attack the enemy with bombs and torpedoes.

In May of 1942, the Japanese fleet moved on Port Moresby, the last Allied base between Australia and Japan. Forced to respond, the Americans sent two aircraft carriers to protect the base. In the ensuing battle, one American carrier was destroyed and the other severely damaged. However, the Japanese also lost a carrier and decided to withdraw. Although bloody, it proved to be an important strategic victory for the Allies as the Japanese were forced to attempt future attacks on Port Moresby over land.

Using updated research and numerous period photographs, retired USN Commander Mark O Stille tells the story of this important and unique battle in the Pacific War.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781780969930
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	06/20/2012
Series:	Campaign , #214
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	96
Sales rank:	901,558
File size:	15 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Mark E. Stille (Commander, United States Navy, retired) received his BA in history from the University of Maryland and also holds an MA from the Naval War College. He has worked in the intelligence community for 30 years including tours on the faculty of the Naval War College, on the Joint Staff and on US Navy ships. He is currently a senior analyst working in the Washington DC area. He is the author of numerous Osprey titles, focusing on naval history in the Pacific. He is also the author of several wargames.

John White is a commercial illustrator with many years' experience of working with advertising agencies, design firms, publishers and large corporate accounts. He has received awards from The Broadcast Design Association and The National Naval Aviation Museum, and his paintings have appeared in Aviation Art magazine, Aviation History magazine, and on the History Channel. John and his wife Margery live in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Mark Stille is the author of numerous Osprey titles focusing on naval history in the Pacific. He recently concluded a nearly 40-year career in the intelligence community, including tours on the faculty of the Naval War College, on the Joint Staff and on US Navy ships. He received his BA in History from the University of Maryland and also holds an MA from the Naval War College.
John White was born in Knebworth, Hertfordshire, in 1941. After school in NW London he achieved a scholarship to Harrow Collage of Art. He then took up an apprenticeship with the Forestry Commission in Lincolnshire, before qualifying for a place at the FC Forester Training School at Benmore in Argyllshire to study botany and dendrology. He remained with the Forestry Commission, joining their research division in 1962 and following the late Alan Mitchell as Research Dendrologist. He retired in 1996. He has contributed to many publications on the subject of northern hemisphere trees, and illustrated his own Forest and Woodland Trees for OUP in 1995.

Table of Contents

Origins of the campaign

Chronology
Opposing commanders
Opposing armies
Orders of battle
Opposing plans
The campaign
Aftermath
The battlefields today

Further reading
Index

Editorial Reviews

Though many of you have heard of the Coral Sea battle, this book tells the story in a most enlightening and interesting way. It is a book I very much enjoyed reading and is one I can easily recommend to you.” —Scott Van Aken, Modeling Madness, www.modelingmadness.com (February 2010)

“The Coral Sea 1942, written by retired USN Cmdr. Mark O. Stille and illustrated by John White's, and tells the story of this important and unique Pacific war battle. The battle of Coral Sea is unique in that it was the first battle in which enemy fleets never came within sight of one another. Instead aircraft launched from carrier decks were sent out to attack the enemy ships with bombs and torpedoes... As with all Osprey titles, the book is well-written and professionally illustrated.” —Richard Mataka, mataka.org (December 2009)

“Mark Stille takes a very detailed look at the opposing plans, from the Japanese intent to invade New Guinea and the tactics that the US Navy deployed to frustrate them. We are given very informative biographies of the senior Naval Commanders in question, and also a glimpse into the respective Naval ethos of each country. As a former Naval Officer, Stille is well placed to write about Naval tactics and strategy. And of course, this book contains Osprey's trademark maps and illustrations. One thing that really impresses me is the '3D' maps, showing the height of waves of aircraft as the attacked.” —Daly History Blog, dalyhistory.wordpress.com (December 2009)

“As a reviewer, I read a lot of books. Some are good and some less so. Over time, however, I have come to realize that I can always rely on Osprey Publishing to deliver excellent, concise studies of very specific aspects of World War II that are both very well researched and entirely engaging. So it was with a great deal of happy anticipation that I attended a five hour track meet today accompanied only by a cooler of diet cola and Mark Stille's The Coral Sea 1942: The First Carrier Battle. I was not disappointed.

Stille presents America's first strategic victory in a thorough and well-organized fashion. He sets the stage by exploring the condition and constitution of the American and Japanese fleets in the Pacific during the months leading up to the MAy 1942 battle and he explores the personalities of the various commanding officers of the combatants. After providing ample background, Stille takes his readers through the actual battle and the aftermath of the battle, noting the connection between the American success (or more accurately, perhaps, the Japanese failures) in the Battle of the Coral Sea and the later success of the American carrier force in the Battle of Midway.” —David Mitchell, World War II Forums, ww2f.com (November 2009)

From the Publisher