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Author's Synopsis
A biographical history of the revolutionary World War II landing craft and the unsung heroes who manned them.
Provides a brief history of amphibious warfare, from the Revolutionary War to the 1942 Guadalcanal and North Africa campaigns.
Puts the reader aboard the revolutionary landing craft designed and built to speed assault troops directly to the beach.
Profiles the famed "Green Dragons," the high-speed destroyer transports that filled a pressing Marine Corps need for ship-to-shore delivery prior to the availability of the new landing craft.
Focuses on the "Earlybird" Flotilla Five LCTs, LSTs and LCIs and their crews, from landing craft design and construction, to amphibious training and crew and flotilla formations, and to on-the-job warfare training in the Southern Solomons -- all in preparation for their first invasion of enemy-held territory, Operation TOENAILS.
FROM THE FOREWORD
"McGee combines exhaustive research with the words of the men who took the theory of the amphibious doctrine and the new machines to sea. His dedicated work will surely help keep the day-to-day naval record of the 'Greatest Generation' from being lost."
- John Lorelli, author "To Foreign Shores, U.S. Amphibious Operations in WWII"
110 b/w photos, 13 maps, plus charts, appendices, notes, bibliography, and index.
OTHER TITLES IN THE SERIES:
Vol. II, THE SOLOMONS CAMPAIGNS, 1942-1943: From Guadalcanal to Bougainville, Pacific War Turning Point. Winner of the Military Writers Society of America 2018 Silver Medal Award for History.
Vol. III, PACIFIC EXPRESS: The Critical Role of Military Logistics in World War II