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Blood On The Sea: American Destroyers Lost In World War Ii
Contains a chapter on each of the 71 U.S. destroyers that were sunk in World War II, briefly describing their operational life and then their violent demise. Also provides historical sketches of the naval heroes the lost destoyers were named for. Provides a fascinating insight into the global scope of the war, with battles from the Mediterranean to Guadalcanal to the Java Sea.
- GenresHistory
360 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 6, 2020
A great read featuring all US Navy destroyers (destroyer-escorts not included) lost during World War 2, be it by enemy action or accidents. The book gives a complete service history of each vessel and how it came to be sunk, including it's casualties suffered. And just a little extra bit for history buffs is a short biography for whom the ship was named after. Highly recommended book.
July 20, 2022
I served on a US Navy destroyer. It was a good ship, and the 300-man crew was capable and cohesive, having bonded over the shared hardships of long deployments, endless working hours, and 3:00 a.m. Underway Replenishments every third day at sea. We were young, cocky, and superbly trained, ready to take on anyone, anywhere, any time.
It was only years after I left the service that I read books like James Fahey’s Pacific War Diary and Edward Stafford’s Little Ship, Big War. We thought we were tough, but tough is standing GQ for 36 hours straight, dodging kamikazes, and watching friends die as their ships are incinerated. Compared to them we were, as my old chief petty officer would have said, “not a pimple on their ass.”
Seventy-one US destroyers (DD) were lost in World War II, 60 of them to enemy action. This book recounts the service lives and losses of each of them. In addition, though not included in this book, the Navy lost 11 destroyer escorts (DDE) and 17 converted World War I era four-stacker DDs: 8 as high speed transports (APD); 6 as destroyer minesweepers (DMS); 2 as seaplane tenders (AVD); and 1 as a destroyer minelayer (DM). On the British side, of the 50 American four-stackers transferred in the Destroyers For Bases agreement, 7 were lost to enemy action and 1 to a friendly minefield.
Twenty-three of the US destroyers were lost in the vicinity of Guadalcanal between 7 May 1942 and 26 December 1943, 14 of them between August and November 1942. Of these, seven were lost during the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal 13-15 November 1942, along with 2 light cruisers and 2 heavy cruisers severely damaged; Japanese losses were 2 battleships, 1 heavy cruiser, 3 destroyers, and 11 transports.
Eleven DDs were sunk by kamikazes between 6 April and 29 July 1945; an additional 59 destroyers and destroyer escorts were damaged during this same time.
These ships died hard. A few went down so fast there was no time to try and save them, but for most it was a desperate fight to the bitter end. Firefighting and shoring parties were working deep in the ship, below the waterline, and engineers were trying to reroute power and light off boilers extinguished by explosions; all this was being done in many cases while ammunition was exploding and the vessel was still under attack. At any moment the dying ship could break in half or roll over, trapping everyone working below decks. It is a tribute to their courage and training that in every case they fought to the end, not giving up until the situation was hopeless and they were ordered to abandon ship, which often meant burned and injured men going over the side into water covered with thick blanket of choking fuel oil spilled from ruptured tanks. In some cases the survivors were not rescued for days, during which time thirst, exposure, injuries, and sharks took a terrible toll.
While it is useful to read books that take a high level, strategic perspective of conflicts, it is also worthwhile to read books like this one that take the reader down to the deckplates where admirals’ plans are translated into hard, bloody fighting. These were ordinary men in extraordinary times; they rose to the challenge but paid a high price for victory. We should not forget their sacrifice.
With that said, it is hard to recommend this book for the general reader, even someone with an interest in maritime history. In addition to describing their final moments, the 71 chapters cover the ships’ entire histories, including workups, port visits, convoy duty, and overhauls, things that you had to have actually done yourself to find interesting.
And finally, I wasn’t sure whether to add this last section. It is a serious book, and does honor to the brave men who took their ships into harm’s way, many never to return. I also recognize that there are only so many ways to describe an action sequence, but even so, there were occasions when the author’s prose ran away from him, and I started writing down the examples that made me smile:
“a lethal shower of shattered steel” (p. 156)
“The sea was tranquil and the night clear, with a bright, full moon that literally snuffed the winking stars from the sky.” (p. 175) [ed.: really, literally?]
“spitting a hail of fiery tracers and hot lead on her assailants.” (p.198)
“reduced to a virtual mass of molten wreckage” (p. 245) [ed.: what is a virtual mass?]
“reunited still another suicide pilot with his ancestors” (p. 289)
“disintegrating under fire like so much flaming confetti” (p. 298)
“a vicious cyclone of hot steel” (p. 301)
“the wrath of her sharpshooting gunners” (p. 328)
It was only years after I left the service that I read books like James Fahey’s Pacific War Diary and Edward Stafford’s Little Ship, Big War. We thought we were tough, but tough is standing GQ for 36 hours straight, dodging kamikazes, and watching friends die as their ships are incinerated. Compared to them we were, as my old chief petty officer would have said, “not a pimple on their ass.”
Seventy-one US destroyers (DD) were lost in World War II, 60 of them to enemy action. This book recounts the service lives and losses of each of them. In addition, though not included in this book, the Navy lost 11 destroyer escorts (DDE) and 17 converted World War I era four-stacker DDs: 8 as high speed transports (APD); 6 as destroyer minesweepers (DMS); 2 as seaplane tenders (AVD); and 1 as a destroyer minelayer (DM). On the British side, of the 50 American four-stackers transferred in the Destroyers For Bases agreement, 7 were lost to enemy action and 1 to a friendly minefield.
Twenty-three of the US destroyers were lost in the vicinity of Guadalcanal between 7 May 1942 and 26 December 1943, 14 of them between August and November 1942. Of these, seven were lost during the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal 13-15 November 1942, along with 2 light cruisers and 2 heavy cruisers severely damaged; Japanese losses were 2 battleships, 1 heavy cruiser, 3 destroyers, and 11 transports.
Eleven DDs were sunk by kamikazes between 6 April and 29 July 1945; an additional 59 destroyers and destroyer escorts were damaged during this same time.
These ships died hard. A few went down so fast there was no time to try and save them, but for most it was a desperate fight to the bitter end. Firefighting and shoring parties were working deep in the ship, below the waterline, and engineers were trying to reroute power and light off boilers extinguished by explosions; all this was being done in many cases while ammunition was exploding and the vessel was still under attack. At any moment the dying ship could break in half or roll over, trapping everyone working below decks. It is a tribute to their courage and training that in every case they fought to the end, not giving up until the situation was hopeless and they were ordered to abandon ship, which often meant burned and injured men going over the side into water covered with thick blanket of choking fuel oil spilled from ruptured tanks. In some cases the survivors were not rescued for days, during which time thirst, exposure, injuries, and sharks took a terrible toll.
While it is useful to read books that take a high level, strategic perspective of conflicts, it is also worthwhile to read books like this one that take the reader down to the deckplates where admirals’ plans are translated into hard, bloody fighting. These were ordinary men in extraordinary times; they rose to the challenge but paid a high price for victory. We should not forget their sacrifice.
With that said, it is hard to recommend this book for the general reader, even someone with an interest in maritime history. In addition to describing their final moments, the 71 chapters cover the ships’ entire histories, including workups, port visits, convoy duty, and overhauls, things that you had to have actually done yourself to find interesting.
And finally, I wasn’t sure whether to add this last section. It is a serious book, and does honor to the brave men who took their ships into harm’s way, many never to return. I also recognize that there are only so many ways to describe an action sequence, but even so, there were occasions when the author’s prose ran away from him, and I started writing down the examples that made me smile:
“a lethal shower of shattered steel” (p. 156)
“The sea was tranquil and the night clear, with a bright, full moon that literally snuffed the winking stars from the sky.” (p. 175) [ed.: really, literally?]
“spitting a hail of fiery tracers and hot lead on her assailants.” (p.198)
“reduced to a virtual mass of molten wreckage” (p. 245) [ed.: what is a virtual mass?]
“reunited still another suicide pilot with his ancestors” (p. 289)
“disintegrating under fire like so much flaming confetti” (p. 298)
“a vicious cyclone of hot steel” (p. 301)
“the wrath of her sharpshooting gunners” (p. 328)
May 24, 2019
Interesting book. I was very please with having a small introduction on the name sake of each lost ship. Over all great information but very sad to read none the less. I do recommend this book if you want to understand just a small part of the sacrifice "The Greatest Generation" did for the world.
April 4, 2015
An interesting book. The author, gives the history of every destroyer lost in WWII, to include background of individual for whom the ship was named, history of its naval service and description of its loss, along with technical data and interesting appendices.
Some what redundant when several destroyers were lost in the same engagement, and 71 ships is a lot of ships. But it gives a very good feel for the USN destroyer service in WWII, and the courage and fortitude of the sailors.
Some what redundant when several destroyers were lost in the same engagement, and 71 ships is a lot of ships. But it gives a very good feel for the USN destroyer service in WWII, and the courage and fortitude of the sailors.
February 4, 2017
I love reading naval history especially the Pacific war. What a great concept this book is. A short history of every US destroyer lost in WW2 is a great way to take in this info. Recommended to all naval battle buffs. Too bad someone can't use the same concept for the other antagonists in WW2...
May 5, 2008
I really liked this book. You have to read the stories of the previous destoyers (if multiple destroyers were sunk in the same battle) to get the main part of the battle. I really liked how the author gives a small history where the name of the ship is derived from.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews