Curated category
Naval aviation operations and battles
- Indian Ocean raidThe island of Ceylon commanded the Indian Ocean in early 1942. It controlled access to India and vital Allied shipping routes to the Middle East.
- Operation PedestalBy late July 1942, the island of Malta faced a desperate shortage of fuel. Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park warned that only a few weeks of aviation fuel remained…
- Battle of Leyte GulfThe Battle of Leyte Gulf began on the 23rd of October 1944 and ended on the 26th of that same month. It involved over 200,000 naval personnel across more…
- Battle of MidwayOn the 18th of April 1942, sixteen B-25 Mitchell bombers launched from the aircraft carrier Hornet to bomb targets in Tokyo and other Japanese cities.
- Battle of the Philippine SeaOn the 31st of March 1944, Admiral Mineichi Koga died when his Kawanishi H8K aircraft crashed into a typhoon. His chief of staff, Vice Admiral Shigeru…
- Sinking of Prince of Wales and RepulseWinston Churchill and his cabinet met on the 17th of October and the 20th of October to discuss sending a modern battleship to the Far East.
- Battle of the Coral SeaOn the 4th of May 1942, the Imperial Japanese Navy began Operation MO with a clear goal: seize Port Moresby in New Guinea and Tulagi in the Solomon Islands.
- Battle of CreteHitler signed Directive 28 on the 25th of April 1941, ordering an invasion of Crete. The German Army High Command remained preoccupied with finalizing…
- Siege of Malta (World War II)In June 1940, the British Crown Colony of Malta held a population of around 250,000 people. Most lived within two miles of Grand Harbour, where density…
- Battle of TarantoThe Mediterranean Sea became a deadly choke point in 1940. British convoys traveling from Gibraltar to Egypt faced constant threats from Italian naval forces.