Book Review of The Battle of Tinian
The Capture of the Atomic Bomb Island, July-August 1944
Authors: John Grehan & Alexander Nicoll
Images of War Series
Pen & Swords Books Ltd.
ISBN: 978-1-39908-527-4
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2023 by Frontline Books and Pen & Swords Books Ltd.
MSRP: $28.95
Pen & Swords Books Ltd.
ISBN: 978-1-39908-527-4
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2023 by Frontline Books and Pen & Swords Books Ltd.
MSRP: $28.95
THE BOOK:
Frontline Books is based in Yorkshire-Philadelphia, England. Pen & Sword is based in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England and has an office in Havertown, PA, USA.
This book is soft-bound of 291 pages (3 pages are blank), in 9 ¾” x 7 ½” page format. It holds 184 black and white wartime photos (including the covers).
The cover art shows 4 black and white wartime photos.
The large photo at the top of the cover shows 3 U.S. Marine LST’s, packed with Marines, heading for the shore at Tinian on the morning of 24 July, 1944.
The LST in the foreground has 2 machine-gun turrets on its bow. One turret has a small white number 2 on it. There is a white board on the side of the stern with a large black number 48 on it.
Below, on the left, and in the center are photos of U.S. Marines, dismounting either white 1 or white 2 LST on 24 July, 1944.
Below, on the right, is a photo of a M4 Sherman tank of the 2nd Tank Battalion, nicknamed “Corsair”, moving on the beachhead at Tinian, while still fitted with deep-water fording trunks, 24 July 1944.
These 4 photos are repeated inside the book again with their captions.
The back cover shows 3 more black and white wartime photos of Marines in action. These photos with captions are not repeated in the book.
The book contains:
The title page.
Page with addresses, copyright date etc.
CONTENTS:
Acknowledgements
Introduction-Foraging for Victory
Tinian Timeline
Chapter 1 Plans & Preparations
Chapter 2 Bombardment, 11 June 1944
Chapter 3 Jig-day, 24 July 1944
Chapter 4 The Inevitable Counter-attack . 25 July 1944
Chapter 5 Securing the North, 25-26 July 1944
Chapter 6 The Drive South 26-30 July 1944
Chapter 7 “A Violent. Frontal Surge”, 31 July 1944
Chapter 8 Tinian Secured, 1-3 August 1944
Chapter 9 Mopping Up, 3 August 1944-1 January 1945
Chapter 10 Tinian’s Secret Mission Tragedy, 30 July 1945
Chapter 11 Atom Bomb Island
Notes & References
Selected Bibliography
Pictures of aircraft in the book are of:
TBM Avenger, TBD Dauntless, Republic Thunderbolt, Lockheed P-38 Lightning, Ventura Patrol Bomber, Boeing B-29’s (including the two A-bombers “Enola Gay” & “Box Car”).
Pictures of ships:
U.S.S. Lexington a battle cruiser, U.S.S. New Mexico a battleship, U.S.S. Bunker Hill an aircraft-carrier, U.S.S. Pennsylvania a battleship, U.S.S. Monterey a guided-missile cruiser, U.S.S. Iowa a battleship, U.S.S. New Orleans a cruiser, U.S.S. Honolulu a cruiser, U.S.S. New Jersey a cruiser, U.S.S. Fullam a destroyer, U.S.S. Colorado a battleship, U.S.S. Norman Scott a destroyer, U.S.S. White Plains a combat-stores ship, U.S.S. Indianapolis a heavy cruiser, U.S.S. Tranquility a hospital ship, U.S.S. Missouri a battleship, Japanese aircraft carrier Zuikaku, Japanese submarine I-58 (shown inside and out).
Pilots.
Japanese prisoners.
Japanese concrete command post.
U.S. Marines entering ruins of Guam’s capitol Agana.
A cliff on Saipan that Japanese soldiers and civilians used to jump off and commit suicide.
Two maps.
Two uniform medals.
Wounded Marines.
Two photos of Japanese Type 95 Ha-Go tanks.
A U.S. track-mounted 4.5 in. rocket-launcher.
Japanese civilians.
Captured Japanese 6 in. coastal defense gun.
North Airfield on Tinian.
“Little Boy” & “Fat Man” A-bombs.
Bomb-loading pits.
Col. Paul W. Tibbets Jr., the pilot of the B-29 that A-bombed Hiroshima. His aircraft, that was named “Enola Gay”, after his mother.
Photo of the atomic mushroom-cloud over Hiroshima.
The Japanese surrender signing by General Yoshijiro Umezu, with General MacArthur aboard the U.S.S. Missouri.
Many aerial photos of Tinian etc.
This book will be of great interest to both modelers and military historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. They are the N. American distributor of Pen & Sword books and all their titles can be viewed on their website at:
Frontline Books is based in Yorkshire-Philadelphia, England. Pen & Sword is based in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England and has an office in Havertown, PA, USA.
This book is soft-bound of 291 pages (3 pages are blank), in 9 ¾” x 7 ½” page format. It holds 184 black and white wartime photos (including the covers).
The cover art shows 4 black and white wartime photos.
The large photo at the top of the cover shows 3 U.S. Marine LST’s, packed with Marines, heading for the shore at Tinian on the morning of 24 July, 1944.
The LST in the foreground has 2 machine-gun turrets on its bow. One turret has a small white number 2 on it. There is a white board on the side of the stern with a large black number 48 on it.
Below, on the left, and in the center are photos of U.S. Marines, dismounting either white 1 or white 2 LST on 24 July, 1944.
Below, on the right, is a photo of a M4 Sherman tank of the 2nd Tank Battalion, nicknamed “Corsair”, moving on the beachhead at Tinian, while still fitted with deep-water fording trunks, 24 July 1944.
These 4 photos are repeated inside the book again with their captions.
The back cover shows 3 more black and white wartime photos of Marines in action. These photos with captions are not repeated in the book.
The book contains:
The title page.
Page with addresses, copyright date etc.
CONTENTS:
Acknowledgements
Introduction-Foraging for Victory
Tinian Timeline
Chapter 1 Plans & Preparations
Chapter 2 Bombardment, 11 June 1944
Chapter 3 Jig-day, 24 July 1944
Chapter 4 The Inevitable Counter-attack . 25 July 1944
Chapter 5 Securing the North, 25-26 July 1944
Chapter 6 The Drive South 26-30 July 1944
Chapter 7 “A Violent. Frontal Surge”, 31 July 1944
Chapter 8 Tinian Secured, 1-3 August 1944
Chapter 9 Mopping Up, 3 August 1944-1 January 1945
Chapter 10 Tinian’s Secret Mission Tragedy, 30 July 1945
Chapter 11 Atom Bomb Island
Notes & References
Selected Bibliography
Pictures of aircraft in the book are of:
TBM Avenger, TBD Dauntless, Republic Thunderbolt, Lockheed P-38 Lightning, Ventura Patrol Bomber, Boeing B-29’s (including the two A-bombers “Enola Gay” & “Box Car”).
Pictures of ships:
U.S.S. Lexington a battle cruiser, U.S.S. New Mexico a battleship, U.S.S. Bunker Hill an aircraft-carrier, U.S.S. Pennsylvania a battleship, U.S.S. Monterey a guided-missile cruiser, U.S.S. Iowa a battleship, U.S.S. New Orleans a cruiser, U.S.S. Honolulu a cruiser, U.S.S. New Jersey a cruiser, U.S.S. Fullam a destroyer, U.S.S. Colorado a battleship, U.S.S. Norman Scott a destroyer, U.S.S. White Plains a combat-stores ship, U.S.S. Indianapolis a heavy cruiser, U.S.S. Tranquility a hospital ship, U.S.S. Missouri a battleship, Japanese aircraft carrier Zuikaku, Japanese submarine I-58 (shown inside and out).
Pilots.
Japanese prisoners.
Japanese concrete command post.
U.S. Marines entering ruins of Guam’s capitol Agana.
A cliff on Saipan that Japanese soldiers and civilians used to jump off and commit suicide.
Two maps.
Two uniform medals.
Wounded Marines.
Two photos of Japanese Type 95 Ha-Go tanks.
A U.S. track-mounted 4.5 in. rocket-launcher.
Japanese civilians.
Captured Japanese 6 in. coastal defense gun.
North Airfield on Tinian.
“Little Boy” & “Fat Man” A-bombs.
Bomb-loading pits.
Col. Paul W. Tibbets Jr., the pilot of the B-29 that A-bombed Hiroshima. His aircraft, that was named “Enola Gay”, after his mother.
Photo of the atomic mushroom-cloud over Hiroshima.
The Japanese surrender signing by General Yoshijiro Umezu, with General MacArthur aboard the U.S.S. Missouri.
Many aerial photos of Tinian etc.
This book will be of great interest to both modelers and military historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. They are the N. American distributor of Pen & Sword books and all their titles can be viewed on their website at:
Highly recommended.