Curated playlist
Naval aviation operations and battles
- Indian Ocean raidBritish codebreakers knew Japan's carriers were coming to Ceylon in April 1942.
- Operation PedestalIn Operation Pedestal, a radio-controlled bomber aimed at a carrier failed and hit a mountain in Algeria.
- Battle of Leyte GulfAt Leyte Gulf, a message ending "THE WORLD WONDERS" left an admiral sobbing with rage. Those words were only padding.
- Battle of MidwayAmerican code breakers tricked Japan into confirming Midway was its target. They had Midway radio a fake water shortage.
- Battle of the Philippine SeaAt the Philippine Sea in June 1944, Japan lost 346 carrier aircraft in a single day.
- Sinking of Prince of Wales and RepulseThe sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse took place on the 10th of December 1941, in the South China Sea, about 70 miles east of Kuantan. A modern battleship and an older battlecruiser of the Royal Navy were both sent to the bottom by…
- Battle of the Coral SeaIn the Battle of the Coral Sea, the fleets never saw each other. Carrier planes did all the fighting in May 1942.
- Battle of CreteIn the 1941 Battle of Crete, a wrong guess about two lost companies left Maleme Airfield undefended.
- Siege of Malta (World War II)Malta began World War II with six obsolete biplane fighters. It still survived more than two years of siege.
- Battle of TarantoAt Taranto, a wire and drum kept British torpedoes from sinking into the mud. The harbor was only about 39 feet deep.