Black Shoe Carrier Admiral : Frank Jack Fletcher at Coral Seas, Midway, and Guadalcanal

by Lundstrom, John B.

• ISBN13: 9781591144755
• ISBN10: 1591144752
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-09-30
• Publisher: Naval Inst Pr

Summary

An abundance of new evidence demanded this reevaluation of Frank Jack Fletcher, the ?black shoe? admiral who won his battles at sea but lost the war of public opinion. A surface warrior?in contrast to a ?brown shoe? naval aviator--Fletcher led the carrier forces that won against all odds at Coral Sea, Midway, and the Eastern Solomons. These and other early carrier victories decided the Pacific War not only because they inflicted crippling losses but also because they denied Japan key strategic positions in the region. Despite these successes, by 1950 Fletcher had become one of the most controversial figures in U.S. naval history and portrayed as a timid bungler who failed to relieve Wake Island in December 1941 and who deliberately abandoned the Marines at Guadalcanal.

Author Biography

John B. Lundstrom is Curator Emeritus of History at the Milwaukee Public Museum.

Table of Contents

List of Photographs	ix
List of Maps	xi
Acknowledgments	xiii
Introduction	xv
Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Special Terms	xix
The World Turned Upside Down	1	(13)
``To Retrieve Our Initial Disaster''	14	(14)
The Wake ``Fiasco''	28	(20)
To Samoa with a Carrier	48	(11)
The First Counterattack	59	(13)
To the Southwest Pacific	72	(13)
``The Best Day's Work We Have Had''	85	(12)
Alone in the Coral Sea	97	(18)
Nimitz Takes Charge	115	(17)
Clearing for Action	132	(9)
The Battle of the Coral Sea I: Opening Moves	141	(18)
The Battle of the Coral Sea II: 7 May---Offense	159	(11)
The Battle of the Coral Sea II: 7 May---Defense	170	(13)
The Battle of the Coral Sea III: A Costly Victory	183	(21)
From the Coral Sea to Pearl Harbor	204	(14)
Time Is Everything	218	(19)
The Battle of Midway I: ``Give Them the Works''	237	(26)
The Battle of Midway II: Counterattacks	263	(19)
The Battle of Midway III: Finale	282	(20)
A Brief Intermission	302	(6)
Watchtower	308	(17)
The 27 July Conference	325	(18)
From Fiji to Guadalcanal	343	(10)
The Watchtower Landings	353	(15)
The Recommendation to Withdraw the Carriers	368	(16)
The Savo Disaster	384	(20)
Covering Cactus	404	(22)
The Battle of the Eastern Solomons I: In the Land of the Blind	426	(23)
The Battle of the Eastern Solomons II: Anticlimax	449	(16)
The Right of the Line	465	(18)
The Clean Sweep	483	(13)
War on the Periphery	496	(12)
Conclusion ``An Excellent, Sea-Going, Fighting Naval Officer''	508	(9)
Task Organizations	517	(8)
Notes	525	(82)
Bibliography	607	(12)
Index	619