Aircraft Carrier: The Majestic Weapon

Ballantine's Illustrated History of World War II / the Violent Century: Weapons Book #3

by Donald Macintyre

Ballantine's Illustrated History of World War II. Weapons book, no 3.

Genres: History, World War II

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

About the author

Commander Donald George Frederick Wyville Macintyre DSO & DSC was a Royal Navy officer during the Second World War and a successful convoy escort commander. As Commander of HMS Hesperus Macintyre was involved in the Battle of Narvik during the Norway campaign and the Battle of the Atlantic. Following the war, he published his memoirs U-Boat Killer and authored numerous books on British naval history.

Reviews

[Dimitri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ballantine booklets laid a framework in my teens for many basic facts of WWII ; for some reason this one remains fun to re-read, even with full-sized academic books on naval battles such as Shattered Sword(Midway) hulking over it. There's a strong strain here on the evolution of the carrier that doesn't subjugate to the battle stories and takes its time (30%) to baby-step from just before WWI to Tarente.

[Paul (Life In The Slow Lane) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bang! Splat! Gurgle.

The good thing about a well-researched WW1 and WW2 historical novel is they don't go out of date. The information is just as true now as it was in 1968 when it was published. There are some excellent illustrations and shocking photographs of the action as-it-happened. I thought the account of the Battle of Midway was particularly well done.

My only complaint was, jeez, the print is tiny and a bit hard to read.

[Martin Koenigsberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

When this book came out in 1968, WWII had only been over for 23 years. The Aircraft Carrier had been around as a concept about 23 years old when the War was fought too, so this was a New Weapon in WWII and in the Cold War that followed. Donald Macintyre, the author of this book- No 3 of the Weapons books in the Ballantine's Illustrated History of WWII, was a decorated Naval Officer , veteran of the Battle of the Atlantic, and a prolific author on Naval History. As such he's qualified to give us a truncated story of the Dominant Naval Weapon of the War. In the tight confines of the 160 page Ballantine's format, he gives us the whole story of the Carrier in WWII, from the tight confines of the Mediterranean , to the Cold North Sea and Atlantic, to the vast expanses of the Pacific Campaigns. Military history buffs and regular general interest readers alike will appreciate the result.

In the Atlantic, the British would use Carriers as part of their fleet maneuvers, for scouting and aerial defense, before beginning to see their value in escorting convoys and ASW work. The Japanese would try to mass their carriers, to allow for large Air groups and punishing attacks. The US Navy, with its Battleship power so devastated at Pearl Harbour, pivoted into Carrier tactics and strategies right away- and determined to master the craft. The American Carrier building effort was impossible to resist- as New Carriers- with new strong Carrier Air Groups began joining the Pacific Fleet every few weeks in 1943 0n... As the end of the war loomed- the US had more carriers than it really needed- especially when the British sent almost all of theirs to join in killing the Empire of the Rising Sun. Macintyre give us the whole Carrier war- in all the seas in 160 pages- not a bad job at all.

There are few adult themes, save workplace politics, and no graphic injury passages, so this is a good book for the Junior Reader over 11/12 years. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast, a mixed bag. The Gamer may find this book lacking the sort of granularity they traditionally need for specific battles. The Modeler, too will enjoy the narrative , but may not find enough photos of Carriers or their aircraft to use. The Military Enthusiast is the big winner here- getting a complex weapon system and it's use in WWII explained in a quick and succinct manner.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think what I appreciated most about this one is that it doesn't just solely focus on the Pacific Theatre but instead spends the first half of the book establishing the history of where aircraft carriers came from, their development and then initial implementation at the end of the First World War and then the impact it made in the Second. What's probably of most value is that this is from a British perspective and lays the groundwork for how the aircraft carrier and its tactics can be used and the faults and adjustments that needed to be made. I was at first worried it was going to lead a little too heavily and give too much credit to the British side but I felt that it was restrained enough but did kind of poke its head up at the end of the book but maybe just to note that the British were there in the Pacific Theatre at the end but their contributions were minimal. The book didn't stray too far into the actual campaigns but stayed true to tactics and approaches plus the methods of different commanders and their effectiveness. Short and sweet as these books are but packed full of great history and information. His conclusion of the death of the aircraft carrier was a bit premature I think though but how was he supposed to know that back in the 60s when this was written?

[Russell R · Rating 5 out of 5]

another good Ballantine book