Battle Line: The United States Navy, 1919-1939A portrait in words and photographs of the interwar Navy, this book examines the twenty-year period that saw the U.S. fleet shrink under the pressure of arms limitation treaties and government economy and then grow again to a world-class force. The authors trace the Navy's evolution from a fleet centered around slow battleships to one that deployed most of the warship types that proved so essential in World War II, including fast aircraft carriers, heavy and light cruisers, sleek destroyers, powerful battleships, and deadly submarines. Both the older battleships and these newer ships are captured in stunning period photographs that have never before been published. An authoritative yet lively text explains how and why the newer ships and aircraft came to be. Thomas Hone and Trent Hone describe how a Navy desperately short funds and men nevertheless pioneered carrier aviation, shipboard electronics, code-breaking, and (with the Marines) amphibious warfare —elements that made America's later victory in the Pacific possible. Based on years of study of official Navy department records, their book presents a comprehensive view of the foundations of a navy that would become the world's largest and most formidable. At the same time, the heart of the book draws on memoirs, novels, and oral histories to reveal the work and the skills of sailors and officers that contributed to successes in World War II. From their service on such battleships as West Virginia to their efforts ashore to develop and procure the most effective aircraft, electronics, and ships, from their adventures on Yangtze River gunboats to carrier landings on the converted battle cruisers Saratoga and Lexington, the men are profiled along with their ships. This combination of popular history with archival history will appeal to a general audience of naval enthusiasts. |
Contents
| 1914 | |
| 1920 | |
The Navy as a Flighting Machine | |
The World of the Officer | |
The Tactics of a Battle Line Engagement | |
Naval Aviation | |
Submarine | |
Running the Navy | |
Effect of the Marines on the Navy | |
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14-inch guns aircraft carriers airplanes airship American amphibious anchor Annapolis antiaircraft armor attack battle cruisers battle line battleships Board boats bombers breech Bureau of Aeronautics Captain Chief of Naval China combat commissioned Congress construction crew deck designed destroyers division doctrine enemy engines enlisted fighting fire control fleet Fleet Problem XV flight flying force formation gunfire gunnery heavy cruisers interwar Japan Japanese Lieutenant Commander light cruisers limited London Naval Treaty Marine Corps military National Archives naval aviation Naval Historical Center Naval Institute Press Naval Operations Naval War College Navy Department officers Patrol Pearl Harbor pilots planes quotation radio range Rear Admiral Reeves sailors scouting seaplane Secretary shells ship’s Shipbuilding ships speed squadrons steam submarine surface tactical target Texas tonnage torpedo turret U.S. Naval Institute U.S. Navy United States Navy Vice Admiral warships Washington Naval Treaty William World World War II Yangtze Yangtze Patrol York