Those of you who have been with Modeling Madness.com will be familiar with Tom Cleaver's articles. Tom is foremost an author and a very good one. He has produced a number of military history books that have all been critically acclaimed.

This particular volume is subtitled 'The Naval Air Campaign in Korea'. This is a factor of the war that has not been as well documented as other aspects of this unfortunate conflict. In the air, it is the USAF that has gotten the major share of the print while the equally important work of the USN/USMC and the Royal Navy has taken a back seat.

The involvement of the Royal Navy has been especially overlooked. The British aircraft carriers were particularly useful in the western part of Korea. These ships, while not as large as those operated by the USN were well suited to this area as they were of a shallower draft. This permitted them to get closer to the west coast which shortened the travel time to targets where they were needed.

The USMC operated mainly from land bases during this time and were extremely valuable members of the team as they directly supported the ground forces, often flying multiple ground attack missions each day. They were also in the lead when it came to night fighting later in the war.

USAF aircraft could not reach the eastern part of Korea so it was pretty much the USN that was responsible for interdiction. This part of the war was frequently disrupted by weather. However, Naval aviators were able, time and again to provide both the ground support and the interdiction needed in this part of the war.

The book is divided into 19 chapters and follows a flow from the beginning to the end of the conflict. Each section is a look at how that aspect of the war fits into the overall conflict which includes both the political and the military side of things. It is spiced up by personal commentary by those who were there.

It all makes for a real page turner that I know you will like. Most highly recommended.

April 2020

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