Volume 12 covers all naval engagements during the first three months of 1944. In the Pacific, US Operation Cartwheel successfully isolates the strong Japanese force at Rabaul. US and Australian forces advance along the New Guinea coast toward the Philippines. The US Navy wages the air attack on Truk, then captures the Gilbert and Marshall Islands. Meanwhile in Europe, the Allies invade Italy at Anzio and prepare for their landing at Normandy, France.

• Relive the dramatic final days of the world’s largest battleship as she embarked on her final and doomed kamikaze mission • Unveil the cloak of secrecy that surrounded Japan’s ultimate warships and what American intelligence knew and when • Beautifully illustrated with many rare and unpublished photographs • A must-have for military and historians, enthusiasts, modellers, gamers, and those interested in the complexities of naval warfare during the Second World War The Yamato and her sistership Musashi represented the ultimate development in the battleship during the Second World War and were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed. Named after the Yamato Province, Yamato was designed to counter the numerically superior fleet of the US Navy. Built amongst a shroud of secrecy and deception – and commissioned shortly after the outbreak of the war in the Pacific – she was present at a number of engagements, including the Battle of Midway and the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Despite having been designed to engage and sink enemy surface vessels, the Yamato would only fire her unrivalled 18.1-inch guns at an enemy surface target on one occasion in October 1944 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. In the final months of the war, as kamikaze aircraft targeted American landing fleets off Okinawa, the Yamato embarked on a one-way mission of ultimate sacrifice. In a last desperate roll of the dice in an attempt to wreak havoc on the landing forces around Okinawa, the last stepping stone prior to an invasion of the Japanese home islands, the Yamato finally succumbed to a mass aerial attack by carrier-based bombers and torpedo bombers. Despite being antiquated products of war from the moment of their construction, the Yamato and Musashi enjoy an iconic figure of Japanese might in mainstream consciousness such as films and anime.

"This final narrative volume of Morison's history recounts the infamous campaigns for Iwo Jima and Okinawa, two of the most bitterly contested campaigns of the war.When the U.S. Marines landed on Iwo Jima, they expected to secure it within a few days. No one had anticipated Japan's determination to defend the island to the last man. Morison describes the Japanese defense system of camouflaged rifle pits and fortified gunning positions that held the Allies at bay and the heavy and continuous cover of naval gunfire that prevented even greater losses. As it was, the securing of Iwo Jima cost the United States more casualties than had been incurred in taking any other island in the Pacific. On Okinawa, the conflict stretched over six long, bloody months.As land forces struggled for every inch they took on the islands, the U.S. Navy faced the desperate fury of the kamimaze corps and its harvest of flaming terror: explosions, burning and flooded ships, searing injuries and death. Fierce weather, logistical complexities, Japanese submarines, and the unexpected death of President Roosevelt also took their toll. Morison concludes his epic account with the final skirmishes of the war, the fateful decision to drop the atomic bomb, and the delicate negotiations leading to Japanese surrender."

"This book contains authentic photographs and salient facts covering 358 troopships used in World War II. In addition, other vessels of miscellaneous character, including Victory and Liberty type temporary conversions for returning troops, are listed in the appendices ..."--Pref.

This collection of squadron histories has been prepared by the USAF Historical Division to complement the Division's book, Air Force Combat Units of World War II. The 1,226 units covered by this volume are the combat (tactical) squadrons that were active between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945. Each squadron is traced from its beginning through 5 March 1963, the fiftieth anniversary of the organization of the 1st Aero (later Bombardment) Squadron, the first Army unit to be equipped with aircraft for tactical operations. For each squadron there is a statement of the official lineage and data on the unit's assignments, stations, aircraft and missiles, operations, service streamers, campaign participation, decorations, and emblem.