ISBN 0-935553-37-1
409 pages

Glossary and Guide to Abbreviations; Acknowledgements; maps; photos; Epilogue; Order of Battle; Bibliography; Index

   Of his original Guadalcanal trilogy—Starvation Island, Decision at Sea, and The Carrier Battles—Eric Hammel's latter title has been expanded and re-published as two separate volumes: Carrier Clash and now Carrier Strike. The first of these twin carrier books covers the Battle of the Eastern Solomons in August 1942 while Carrier Strike deals with the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands two months later.
   Carrier Clash and Carrier Strike have a great deal in common. In particular, it should be noted that lengthy chapters comparing the organization, equipment, training, doctrine, and deployment of the competing carrier forces and their air groups are largely duplicated in the two volumes.
   In addition, both books—the first one in particular—suffer to some extent from Hammel's attempt to simultaneously provide the broadest perspective and the most personal details, and to do so for air, naval, and ground forces on both sides. The new book fares better in this regard. Although the author delves into the ground situation on Guadalcanal, in this work it's clear that the focus is on the air-naval campaign.
   While some of the narrative devices in Carrier Clash, notably the excerpts from diaries of several of the participants, proved uneven, Hammel has crafted this volume with more care and the result is perhaps the best-written tome he has yet produced.
   The greatest strength of the book is the recitation of dozens and dozens of accounts of individual aircraft sorties and the stories of the men in the planes.

   The retirement of the SBDs was nearly as eventful as the approach. Three SBDs were worked over by an enthusiastic Zero pilot who shot them up, rear to front, as they formed up at wave-top height. Lt Ben Moore, of Scouting-8, was cut up by 20mm shrapnel that passed through his armored seat, and Moore's radioman-gunner, ACRM Ralph Phillips, was hit in the arm. ARM2 Richard Woodson, in Lt(jg) Don Kirkpatrick's Scouting-8 SBD, was wounded in the same pass. To top it off, the Japanese pilot joined on the wing of Lt(jg) Roy Gee's Scouting-8 Dauntless and snapped a salute at Gee before leaving the Dauntlesses to themselves.
   As he exited the area, Fred Bates saw large-caliber shells detonating on the water dead ahead and on both sides of his recovering Dauntless. Joe Auman pulled out of his no-brakes dive to the northeast, so he had to turn back and pass around the edge of the Japanese task force. He was so low over the water that he had to dart between rather than over the screening warships. As Auman turned left just outside the screen, he finally met up with a half-dozen friendly bombers and joined on them as he chomped into a candy bar he had brought along for some quick energy. He was amazed at how much saliva his overexcited system was producing as he ate.
   Eight of the surviving Dauntlesses formed on Moe Vose for the trip home, and the rest turned toward Task Force 61 on their own.

   Strong as these accounts may be, there are so many of them that it's sometimes difficult to keep track of all the flyers, their targets, what has happened to each one, and who has been shot down.
   Hammel also includes detailed personal stories of sailors aboard the warships, in particular the ill-fated Hornet but also other vessels such as the destroyer Smith.

   BM1 Lee English, who had run forward with most of the after repair party, was leading a hose team up the starboard side of the forecastle deck at 1058 when the captain ordered the forward magazine flooded to prevent a fatal detonation. The pressure to all fire-fighting hoses immediately dropped as seawater was diverted to the magazine.
   At 1059, a minute after the magazine was flooded, smoke and flame being sucked down to the forward fire room by forced-draft blowers resulted in the securing and abandonment of that space by the black gang.
   BM1 Lee English's hose team reached the Number-1 5-inch crew shelter and put out the gasoline fires there, but residual fires threatened to set off ready ammunition and powder in the hoists. English shot a stream of water down the hoist and then dogged down the cover. The shells and powder cans were still intact in the mount's stowage racks but were very hot. English turned to Lt George McDaniel, the ship's engineering officer, an said, "Let's get this stuff out of here." He handed McDaniel the hose nozzle and asked him to cool ammunition and powder while he and MM1 Red Cottrell threw it over the sides. English had earlier taken off his work gloves to help load 20mm ammunition clips and had forgotten to put them back on when he ran forward to help fight the fires. Thus, his hands were burned by the first round Cottrell passed to him as he stood at the mount hatch, six feet from the rail. English got the first two shells safely over the side, but the third was too hot to hold on to, and he dropped it on the main deck halfway to the rail. There was nothing to do then but gingerly kick the volatile refuse overboard. English held on to all the rest of the hot shells to avoid the trauma of dropping another one. The powder cases were not as hot, and all were dumped into the water.

   Although the forest is sometimes in danger of being obscured by so many trees, this is a strong, enjoyable book about an interesting topic. It will particularly appeal to those who like to read books in which the threads of many individual lives are woven into the fabric of a larger event.
   Available from online booksellers, local bookshops, or directly from Pacifica Press (now renamed Pacifica Military History).
   Thanks to the publisher for providing this review copy.