Scratch One Flattop Quotes

“the MO Operation presented a golden opportunity, the chance to catch half of America’s carrier strength with all of Japan’s.”
― Robert C. Stern, Scratch One Flattop: The First Carrier Air Campaign and the Battle of the Coral Sea

“Overall, one gets the impression of a commander who was unsure of himself and consequently inconsistent. In other words, just about the worst kind of commander imaginable, although one blessed with uncanny luck.”
― Robert C. Stern, Scratch One Flattop: The First Carrier Air Campaign and the Battle of the Coral Sea

“Nonetheless, it is reasonable to conclude that Fletcher did not lose the Battle of the Coral Sea at the tactical level, despite Morison’s judgment to the contrary, because he was sufficiently cautious most of the time and sufficiently lucky when he was not. Hardly a glamorous way to win a battle, but victory has never been a beauty contest.”
― Robert C. Stern, Scratch One Flattop: The First Carrier Air Campaign and the Battle of the Coral Sea

“This linkage of goals was one reason why Fletcher and TF17 can rightly be said to have won the Battle of the Coral Sea. The Allied commanders simply had more achievable goals. But also, they made fewer mistakes (or at least got caught making fewer mistakes).”
― Robert C. Stern, Scratch One Flattop: The First Carrier Air Campaign and the Battle of the Coral Sea

“Several of Fletcher’s subordinates thought that the admiral had perhaps lost his composure under the pressure of the last few days.”
― Robert C. Stern, Scratch One Flattop: The First Carrier Air Campaign and the Battle of the Coral Sea

“The Bombing Two Dauntlesses were launched with 12 percent less than maximum fuel, which would have critical impact later in the morning.”
― Robert C. Stern, Scratch One Flattop: The First Carrier Air Campaign and the Battle of the Coral Sea

“The implication, in the minds of some, was that it certainly appeared that Fletcher wanted to be sure someone else was in change when the fatal blow struck his task force.”
― Robert C. Stern, Scratch One Flattop: The First Carrier Air Campaign and the Battle of the Coral Sea

“Burch’s description is a masterpiece of understatement: “As you go up to high altitudes, as you should be able to do, the glass becomes very cold. Then, if you come down through a layer of warm air with any moisture in it at all, the windshield, sight and everything fogs up. It’s like putting a white sheet in front of you and you have to bomb from memory. If you start down, watching anti-aircraft fire, with your sight well fixed, and then hit 8,000 feet and somebody puts a sheet in front of you, you feel sort of bad about it. You try to stick your head out over the side of the cockpit, and aim down the side at the target ship. That’s not very accurate bombing.”
― Robert C. Stern, Scratch One Flattop: The First Carrier Air Campaign and the Battle of the Coral Sea