The Fleet The Gods Forgot: The U.S. Asiatic Fleet In World War II

The Fleet the Gods Forgot: The U.S. Asiatic Fleet in World War II

"The dramatic tale of the U.S. Asiatic Fleet in World War II has, until now, been given little attention....But its short and tragic story of heroism and defeat is one that has long deserved telling and has finally found a worthy chronicler. To fill this gap in the history of naval operations during World War II, the author has provided the first complete account of the brave actions of the men and ships of America's forgotten Asiatic fleet. A proud little fleet that met the Japanese head on at the outbreak of the war, its officers and men knew full well they were engaged in a war they could not win. Greatly outnumbered by vastly superior forces, and saddled with defective equipment; a lack of supplies, reinforcements, and air cover; and, towards the end, an incompetent and bungled Allied combined command, the fleet fought on. Within a matter of three months, however, the beleaguered ships were totally wiped out. Captain Walter Winslow, a naval aviator aboard the USS Houston, flagship of the U.S. Asiatic Fleet, is in a unique position to tell the riveting story. As an active participant in all the major battles the fleet encountered, he has an intimate understanding of the calamities that befell it. In addition, Winslow draws upon the extensive notes he kept in a POW camp while interviewing other American, British, Dutch, and Australian prisoners from the Allied fleet. Their stories, many of which have never before been reported, bring an unusual human dimension to the account....Here the reader will find graphic details of the fleet's only victory at Balikpapan; the disastrous Battle of the Java Sea that broke the back of the combined Asiatic fleet; the ghastly spectacle at Sunda Strait where the Houston struggled in vain to survive; the suspenseful episode aboard the submarine Perch trapped in the mud at the bottom of the sea; and the daring escape from Corregidor of eighteen crew members from the USS Quail who refused to surrender to the Japanese forces...."