Okinawa 1945

Name: Okinawa 1945
Price: 34.99 AUD
Availability: InStock
ISBN: 9781472866745

The Royal Navy's biggest carrier campaign

Angus Konstam, Gareth Hector (Illustrator)

$34.99

Paperback

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English

Osprey Publishing
02 June 2026

History; 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000; Second World War; Naval forces & warfare; Air forces & warfare; Battles & campaigns

Series: Air Campaign

This fully illustrated study explains the British Pacific Fleet’s campaign against the Japanese in the Sakishima Islands, its overlooked role in the battle for Okinawa.

The invasion of Okinawa was, famously, the culmination of the United States’ island-hopping campaign. Less well known is the fact that it was also the greatest campaign of the British Pacific Fleet’s war against Japan, fought by five fleet carriers over two months, with a distinct task. The Fleet Air Arm’s job at Okinawa was to suppress and destroy the Japanese airfields on the Sakashima Islands, which were used as bases for kamikazes as well as to route aircraft from Japan to Okinawa.

In this book, naval expert Angus Konstam offers a newly researched account of the Fleet Air Arm’s air campaign in the Sakashimas. By 1945, the carriers and their aircrews were well worked up, and ready to tackle challenging and important targets. He explains the capabilities of the late-war Fleet Air Arm at Okinawa, and analyses their effectiveness against Japan’s still-dangerous

airpower. Famously, at Okinawa the Royal Navy’s armoured carriers proved much more resilient to kamikaze strikes than the wooden-topped carriers of the Americans.

Packed with spectacular original artwork, photographs, diagrams and maps, this book is a superbly illustrated history of the Royal Navy’s most extensive carrier campaign.

By: Angus Konstam
Illustrated by: Gareth Hector (Illustrator)
Imprint: Osprey Publishing
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 246mm, Width: 184mm, Spine: 8mm
Weight: 300g
ISBN: 9781472866745
ISBN 10: 1472866746
Series: Air Campaign
Pages: 96
Publication Date: 02 June 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Angus Konstam is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and has written widely on naval history, with well over a hundred books in print. He is a former Royal Navy officer, maritime archaeologist and museum curator, who has worked in the Royal Armouries, Tower of London, and Mel Fisher Maritime Museum. Now a full-time author and historian, he lives in Orkney. Gareth Hector is an internationally renowned digital aviation artist.

Reviews for Okinawa 1945: The Royal Navy's biggest carrier campaign

this well written and profusely illustrated account describes the operations in detail and offers a concise history of this important campaign in attractive and affordable form. * Flypast Magazine *