Supremacy at Sea

The gripping account of the U.S. Navy's fast carrier force—and how its Central Pacific campaign in 1944 marked the achievement of American naval supremacy.

Supremacy at Sea by Evan Mawdsley focuses on Task Force 58, World War II's most powerful battle fleet. Composed in mid-1944 of sixteen aircraft carriers, over a thousand combat aircraft, and an armada of escorts, the fleet was vital to securing victory over Japan.

In this compelling account, Mawdsley charts the 3,500-mile dash of the "Big Blue Fleet" across the Central Pacific during the first six months of 1944. Their journey overwhelmed enemy opposition and transformed the nature of naval warfare. The Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944 crushed the enemy's naval air force, securing crucial air bases in the Mariana Islands.

Mawdsley examines the elements of this rapidly assembled force—its ships, planes, and the 100,000 officers and men involved—as well as the advanced bases and fleet train that enabled such astounding mobility.

Task Force 58's campaign marked the United States’ achievement of naval supremacy, a status it maintains to this day.