Pacific Thunder is an important read for those who are interested in the Central Pacific, naval aviation, and submarines. The last act of the chapter and the book is a final set of carrier strikes and then the fast carrier task force turning for Ulithi Atoll. The last chapter has the title “No Rest for the Weary” and details how the Japanese increased their use of kamikaze attacks against the US Navy in the final months of the campaign, which included substantial damage to the carriers Lexington, Franklin, and Belleau Wood.
The second-to-last chapter focuses on the critical naval battles surrounding the amphibious invasion of Leyte Gulf, delving into each of the five actions USN and IJN fought. Interestingly, Cleaver adds a chapter on Captain Miles Browning, USN, who was a World War II-era Captain Bligh. In addition to the carrier raids, Cleaver discusses the significant contributions of American submarines in reconnaissance, attack, and lifeguard efforts for downed aircrew.
The author correctly underscores the importance of these operations. The regular inclusion of this primary material helps keep the narrative interesting, with detailed examinations of important innovations such as the “Thatch Weave” tactic for defeating the Japanese Zero, two-fighter “bat teams” of two night fighters and a radar-equipped Avenger, and the “Spruance haircut” method of conducting amphibious operations.Ĭleaver’s narrative details several of the major operations of the Pacific Campaign, including carrier strikes that other histories have provided scant detail. “Jimmy” Thatch and Edward “Butch” O’Hare. For example, the author discussed pilots, some little known and some famous, the latter including John S. His detail of the US Navy’s and Imperial Japanese Navy’s respective aircraft carriers and carrier aircraft, including their development, are informative and insightful.Īfter setting the stage, Cleaver told the story of the campaign, often by including perspectives and experiences of individuals who were there. After the introductory chapter, Cleaver explored the opposing navies and their leaders. The book begins with the torpedoing of the aircraft carrier USS Wasp (CV-7) on September 15, 1942, in an area then called “Torpedo Junction.” This area was 350 miles southeast of the island of Guadalcanal, where American forces fought desperately to maintain a foothold. Pacific Thunder has seventeen short, thematic chapters the author uses to tell his story, and he picked a somewhat unconventional starting point for his examination of the Central Pacific Campaign. Cleaver paints a vivid picture of the Navy’s air and submarine operations in the Central Pacific that were vital to ultimate victory over Imperial Japan. As someone who served in the Cold War Navy, the author brings personal experience to bear, supported by the “sea stories” of the many Pacific War veterans who were still serving when the author was a junior officer. Underscoring the importance of air power at sea, Thomas Cleaver’s book Pacific Thunder demonstrates the importance of naval aviation to the successful Central Pacific Campaign that lasted from the late summer of 1943 until the autumn of 1944.
That is not to say that other arms were not important, they certainly were, but as the war progressed, victory at sea or on the ground grew to be difficult, if not impossible, without at least local air superiority.