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The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors http://www.amazon.com/Last-Stand-Tin-Sailors-Extraordinary/dp/0553381482 It’s 1944. "Dugout" Douglas MacArthur is about to invade the Philippine island of Samar, the first step in the Second Battle of the Philippine Islands. Moving to intercept the invasion is the Central Force of the Imperial Japanese Navy, a 23 ship armada including Yamato, the largest battleship ever constructed. The only thing standing in their way, and the only naval force that can protect MacArthur and the US Sixth Army is Taffy 3, a 13 ship Task Force composed of light destroyers and escort carriers, mostly used to guard supply ships. For them to take on the pride of the Japanese Navy in ship-to-ship combat was considered suicide. Yet by a combination of luck, strategic air power and sheer force of battle, the Tin Can sailors prevailed and the IJN withdrew. Hornfisher does a brilliant job of depicting just how badly Taffy 3 was mismatched, and how close they came to losing. Gripping, exciting and easily the finest piece of literature depicting naval action in the Pacific War. BigDave fucked around with this message at 01:50 on Jun 6, 2013 |
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Jun 6, 2013 00:22
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| # ¿ May 21, 2024 03:17 |
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