Whirlwind War in the Pacific

In just six months, America turned the rout of Pearl Harbor into the victories of Coral Sea and Midway.

'Whirlwind: War in the Pacific' tells the story of how America achieved this staggering turnaround using accounts of the three key Pacific battles of 1942.

Pearl Harbor: Hinge of War

Just over seventy years ago the world witnessed one of the most audacious and villainous surprise attacks in history. While Tokyo and Washington talked peace, hundreds of Japanese war planes descended on the Sunday morning calm of Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. In less than 90 minutes four battleships were sunk, four more badly damaged and hundreds of American warplanes lay burnt out in tangled heaps on the runways.

The story of the raid is one of Japanese military skill meeting American courage. As airfields and ships were attacked, as planes caught fire and ships capsized, the men of the army and navy heroically fought to save the planes, the ships and their compatriots.

Coral Sea 1942

After the devastating attack on Pearl Harbour, the Americans suffered setback after setback in the Pacific.

In May 1942, the Japanese were poised to take Port Moresby in New Guinea.

At all costs the Americans had to stop them.

Admiral Frank Fletcher was dispatched with two aircraft carriers - Yorktown and Lexington - with orders to destroy the Japanese invasion force.

The fate of the Pacific was in the balance.

'Coral Sea 1942' tells the dramatic story of that conflict.

The great Coral Sea victory came at a price. Pilots died in dog-fights; crippled planes fell into the sea; damaged planes crashed onto carrier flight decks; and pilots found themselves stranded on remote islands.

But the battle was an American triumph. Japan entered it as an aggressor at the peak of her imperial power. She left the battle with her dominance shattered.

The tide had turned.

Midway

Never was there a naval battle like Midway. It was fought at a place thousands of miles from land, by hundreds of planes over distances of hundreds of miles. It saw four massive Japanese aircraft carriers pitted against three similarly huge American carriers in a battle for domination of the Pacific.

The battle is the story of the young Japanese empire seeking to challenge the established industrial power of America. Japan was ready to risk all in one mighty attempt to drive the United States Navy from the Pacific Ocean.

The battle that followed raged over three days, full of set backs and disaster for each side. But Admirals Yamamoto and Nagumo had over-reached themselves and suffered the greatest naval defeat in history.

America entered Midway on the defensive, still a hesitant participant in the war. She left the battle as the world's first super power.

'Whirlwind: War In The Pacific' is a brilliant narrative history of three of the crucial naval battles of the Second World War. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the period.

Richard Freeman graduated in mathematics before following a career in distance education. He now writes on naval history. His other books include 'The Great Edwardian Naval Feud'.