Okinawa 1945: The Royal Navy’s Biggest Carrier Campaign
96 pages
Dr James Bosbotinis
The British Pacific Fleet, arguably the most powerful fleet yet deployed by the Royal Navy, and providing a potent statement of British intent, made a valuable contribution to the final stages of the Allied victory over Japan. While the British Pacific Fleet was eclipsed in scale by the US Navy and particularly its Fast Carrier Force, it was nevertheless able to operate in the face of determined Japanese resistance, and as Konstam explores in this volume, contribute to US-led operations, “matching the war-hardened professionalism of the US Pacific Fleet and had shown it was worthy of fighting alongside it during the final drive to Japan”, as well as earning the praise of Admirals Nimitz and Spruance. In Okinawa 1945, Angus Konstam, a former naval officer and historian who will be well-known to members, with his various books often featured either online or in print in The Naval Review, seeks to provide an account of the British contribution to Operation ICEBERG, the US invasion of Okinawa.
As is the norm with Osprey’s campaign-focused books, Okinawa 1945 provides a scene-setting introduction, chronology, a discussion of the capabilities of the attackers and defenders respectively, campaign objectives, an account of the campaign itself, and concluding analysis. Alongside the text, there are also various maps, photographs and the excellent illustrations provided by Gareth Hector, such as the depiction on pages 60 and 61 of a Fleet Air Arm Firefly having just downed a Japanese Ki-51 Sonia dive-bomber. Konstam writes in a clear and engaging manner, although there are the occasional typos and errors: for example, referring to the Ryuku Islands as the ‘Ryushu’, misdating the Taranto Raid to November 1941, and VE Day as marking the end of the war in Europe for the Soviet Union as well as the Western allies. There are also references to the ‘US Air Force’, rather than the US Army Air Force. The author ably discusses the differences between operating in Europe versus that of the Pacific, not least the difference in geographical scale between the two theatres, and the conduct of operations, including the contrast in approaches to carrier operations between the Royal Navy and US Navy. Konstam also highlights the enhanced survivability of the Royal Navy’s carriers with their armoured flight decks compared to those of the US Navy: the experience of USS Bunker Hill as described on page 83 provides a particularly vivid example in this regard.
As Konstam summarises with regard to the British Pacific Fleet’s contribution to operations during the Okinawa campaign, “The Task Force had remained at sea for longer than any other British naval force in either world war”, with it marking “the longest and most determined air operation in the Fleet Air Arm’s history.” Okinawa 1945 provides a useful and accessible introduction to the British Pacific Fleet’s contribution to the Okinawa campaign and a good follow-on to Konstam’s earlier volume Sumatra 1944-45 (reviewed online on 23 May 2025). It is recommended.
