The savage naval battles of Guadalcanal, New Guinea and the Solomons were transformative for the US Navy. Fully illustrated, this analyses the fleet's capabilities and combat in this period. The naval battles of 1942-43 around Guadalcanal and in the Solomons were some of the fiercest and most closely contested of the Pacific War. The campaigns included most of the surface actions of the war, as well as two carrier battles, three major amphibious landings, and a submarine offensive. Fighting by day and night against the superbly trained Japanese, they tested the Pacific Fleet's warfighting capabilities to the utmost. In this book, renowned US Navy historian Mark Stille presents a distilled guide to the detail of the Pacific Fleet of 1942-43, the period that saw its biggest transformation in terms of equipment, doctrine, and capability. America's huge naval construction effort began to feed through to the front line, while the fleet made advances in its previously deficient surface, air, and submarine warfare doctrine and tactics. The Pacific Fleet also learned how to support large forces far from established bases.

Packed with superb original artwork, 3D diagrams, maps and archive photographs, this book explores the warships, weaponry, organization, intelligence, logistics and battles of the Pacific Fleet, as it fought to gain the upper hand in the South Pacific.