Big Gun Battles

This naval history of WWII explores the advancing technology and tactics of battleships through a fascinating survey of ship-to-ship duels. While many naval battles of the Second World War were decided by the torpedo or the aerial bomb, there was a surprising number of traditional ship-to-ship engagements involving the big guns of battleships and cruisers. Big Gun Battles recounts some of the most significant and technically fascinating of these gunfire duels in a narrative that combines lively storytelling with an in-depth understanding of the factors influencing victory or defeat. Covering all theatres of the naval war from 1939 until the Japanese surrender, the selected incidents demonstrate the changing face of surface warfare under the influence of rapidly improving fire-control systems, radar, and other technologies. By 1945, battleships achieved the pinnacle of gunnery excellence.

The outcome of much of the maritime warfare in the Second World War was decided by the torpedo or the aerial bomb, making relatively recent warship types, the submarine and aircraft carrier, the new arbiters naval conflict. Yet despite this, there was a surprising number of traditional ship-to-ship engagements involving the big guns of battleships and cruisers. This book recounts some of the most important, technically interesting, or obscure of these gunfire duels in a narrative that combines pacy storytelling with an in-depth understanding of the factors influencing victory or defeat.??Covering all theatres of the naval war from 1939 until the Japanese surrender, the incidents are selected to demonstrate the changing face of surface warfare under the influence of rapidly improving fire-control systems, radar and other sensors. By 1945 this allowed big ships to open fire at great ranges with a high probability of hitting with the first salvo. This success was the pinnacle of gunnery excellence, but also heralded the end of naval gunnery as a major factor in sea warfare _ facing such deadly accuracy, navies looked to longer-ranged, and smarter, ship-killing weapons like surface-skimming missiles and homing torpedoes.

Although it was the largest and final battle of the Pacific War, the Battle for Okinawa has long been overshadowed by other dramatic events in 1945. The books that have been written about it emphasize the role of infantrymen, armor, and U.S. Marines. This work takes a fresh perspective and focuses on the vital role played by the U.S. Army’s forward artillery observers—the eyes and ears of American artillery who were among the least recognized heroes of the war. According to Rodney Earl Walton, U.S. artillerymen matched Japanese gunners in intensity and surpassed them in effectiveness because their forward observers were able to provide a much shorter response time to requests for artillery support. Divided into teams consisting of four or five men led by an artillery lieutenant, these observers would spend three days on the front lines directing artillery against enemy positions, return to their artillery battery for three days, and then rotate up to the line of battle again. While trying to maximize the damage inflicted on the enemy, the men had to deal with the ever-present possibility of firing on their own forces. The ability to shift artillery fire throughout the battlefield was a new development in World War II, and its evolution is fully examined in the book. Walton, the son of one of the forward observers on Okinawa, spent more than twenty years investigating what happened to his father and other artillerymen during the conflict. Interviews with the artillerymen and the infantrymen they supported are central to his story, which is filled with gripping and sometimes humorous accounts of what happened. The work stands as a stirring tribute from the “baby boom generation” to the “greatest generation.

"Air Service Boys in the Big Battle; Or, Silencing the Big Guns" by Charles Amory Beach. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.

A former firearms executive pulls back the curtain on America's multibillion-dollar gun industry, exposing how it fostered extremism and racism, radicalizing the nation and bringing cultural division to a boiling point. As an avid hunter, outdoorsman, and conservationist-all things that the firearms industry was built on-Ryan Busse chased a childhood dream and built a successful career selling millions of firearms for one of America's most popular gun companies. But blinded by the promise of massive profits, the gun industry abandoned its self-imposed decency in favor of hardline conservatism and McCarthyesque internal policing, sowing irreparable division in our politics and society. That drove Busse to do something few other gun executives have done: he's ending his 30-year career in the industry to show us how and why we got here. Gunfight is an insider's call-out of a wild, secretive, and critically important industry. It shows us how America's gun industry shifted from prioritizing safety and ethics to one that is addicted to fear, conspiracy, intolerance, and secrecy. It recounts Busse's personal transformation and shows how authoritarianism spreads in the guise of freedom, how voicing one's conscience becomes an act of treason in a culture that demands sameness and loyalty. Gunfight offers a valuable perspective as the nation struggles to choose between armed violence or healing.

The Battle of Leyte Gulf -- four major actions -- was the greatest sea battle in history. The Surigao Strait action is considered the Navy's greatest single triumph, a model of timing, coordination and execution. This is a unique, behind-the- guns view; a gripping eye-witness account riding the battle line at Surigao in the last Crossing of the 'T'.

It’s 1918. The outcome of the First World War is still in the balance. Germany’s submarines have failed to force Britain to the negotiation table. Something else must be tried. The 27,000 ton battle cruiser Hindenburg, Germany’s latest and most powerful, is dispatched to attack the Allied convoys. Her Prussian captain, Rupprecht Körner, faces a daunting task. His lone ship must break out into the Atlantic, avoiding contact with the massive British fleet, and journey even as far as America to find her prey. As well as coping with the North Atlantic weather and enemy warships, Körner must keep his ship’s coal bunkers replenished. Even if he is able to find targets for his big guns - no simple task in the vast ocean - he still has to get his ship and crew safely back to Germany. The odds seem stacked against him. He needs to succeed; Germany needs him to succeed.

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