| Contents |
Stumbling in the Dark: the Russo-Japanese War, 1904-1905 / by Stephen McLaughlin -- Tactics of Frustration: the German Navy and Night Combat, 1914-1916 / Leonard R. Heinz -- The British and Night Fighting at and over the Sea, 1916-1939 / by James Goldrick -- Forced to Fight: Italy, 1940-1943 / by Vincent P. O'Hara and Enrico Cernuschi -- How Can They Be That Good? Japan, 1922-1942 / by Jonathan Parshall -- Mastering the Masters: the U.S. Navy, 1942-1944 / by Trent Hone -- Controlling the Chops: Destroyer Night Action and the Battle of Ile de Batz, October 1943-June 1944 / by Michael Whitby. |
| Abstract |
"Before the twentieth century ships when relied upon visual signaling, vessels beyond range of sight or a cannon shot, were blind, deaf, and dumb in the dark, making night battles at sea rare, and near always accidental. The introduction of certain technologies like the torpedo, the searchlight, radio and then radar, transformed naval warfare by making night combat feasible and, in some cases, desirable. The process by which navies integrated these new tools of war and turned the dark into a medium for effective combat, however, was long and difficult. Fighting in the Dark tells the story of surface naval combat at night from the Russo-Japanese War through World War II. The book is about the process of confronting and mastering problems brought on by technological change during war. It does this by examining seven periods focusing on the Imperial Russian Navy in 1904-1905, the Imperial German Navy from 1914-1918, the Royal Navy from 1916-1939, the Regia Marina from 1940-1943, the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1942, the U.S. Navy in 1943-1944, and the Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy from 1943-1944.The chapters are written by authors hailing from Australia, Canada, Italy, and the United States, all recognized masters in their subject. "-- Provided by publisher. |
