Okinawa 1945: The Royal Navy's biggest carrier campaign

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This fully illustrated study explains the British Pacific Fleets campaign against the Japanese in the Sakishima Islands, its overlooked role in the battle for Okinawa.

The invasion of Okinawa was, famously, the culmination of the United States island-hopping campaign. Less well known is the fact that it was also the greatest campaign of the British Pacific Fleets war against Japan, fought by five fleet carriers over two months, with a distinct task. The Fleet Air Arms job at Okinawa was to suppress and destroy the Japanese airfields on the Sakashima Islands, which were used as bases for kamikazes as well as to route aircraft from Japan to Okinawa.

In this book, naval expert Angus Konstam offers a newly researched account of the Fleet Air Arms air campaign in the Sakashimas. By 1945, the carriers and their aircrews were well worked up, and ready to tackle challenging and important targets. He explains the capabilities of the late-war Fleet Air Arm at Okinawa, and analyses their effectiveness against Japans still-dangerous airpower. Famously, at Okinawa the Royal Navys armoured carriers proved much more resilient to kamikaze strikes than the wooden-topped carriers of the Americans.

Packed with spectacular original artwork, photographs, diagrams and maps, this book is a superbly illustrated history of the Royal Navys most extensive carrier campaign.

Author Bio

Angus Konstam is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and has written widely on naval history, with well over a hundred books in print. He is a former Royal Navy officer, maritime archaeologist and museum curator, who has worked in the Royal Armouries, Tower of London, and Mel Fisher Maritime Museum. Now a full-time author and historian, he lives in Orkney.

Gareth Hector is an internationally renowned digital aviation artist.