Enterprise

November 21, 2011
Military historian Tillman (Whirlwind: The Air War Against Japan, 1921–1945) documents life and death aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (aka the Big E), interviewing the last surviving veterans who served on the ship through major Pacific battles. Launched in 1936, the Enterprise was commissioned in 1938, setting out with “some 2,070 officers, sailors, and marines.” Based at Pearl Harbor, the Enterprise transported planes to island bases and was returning from Wake Island during the December 7 attack. Seaman Bobby Oglesby recalled, “We had come into Pearl on December 8, to find ships still burning and the stench of the dead on the air. Every man was hopping mad to refuel, rearm, get back to sea and kill the enemy.” Revenge came six months later at Midway when Big E squadrons sank three of four enemy carriers. By 1945, Enterprise aviators were credited with the destruction of 911 enemy aircraft and 71 ships. Though Enterprise was one of the most celebrated carriers of WWII, following years of inactivity she was sold for scrap in 1958. Throughout the seagoing drama, Tillman fires off successive salvos of descriptive battle action, the result of exhaustive research. 40 b&w photos; maps. Agent: Jim Hornfischer.