Task Force 57: The British Pacific Fleet, 1944-45

206 p., [16] p. of plates : ill., maps ; 25 cm. #0921
Great Britain. Royal Navy. British Pacific Fleet. | World War, 1939-1945 — Naval operations, British. | World War, 1939-1945 — Pacific Ocean.
The British Pacific Fleet (BPF) was a Royal Navy formation that saw action against Japan during the Second World War. The fleet was composed of Commonwealth naval vessels. The BPF formally came into being on 22 November 1944 from the remaining ships of the former Eastern Fleet then being re-named the East Indies Fleet and continuing to be based in Trincomalee.[1] The British Pacific Fleet’s main base was at Sydney, Australia, with a forward base at Manus Island. One of the largest fleets ever assembled by the Royal Navy, by Victory over Japan Day (VJ Day) it consisted of over two hundred ships and submarines and more than 750 aircraft; including four battleships and six fleet aircraft carriers, fifteen smaller aircraft carriers, eleven cruisers and numerous smaller warships, submarines, and support vessels. The fleet took part in the Battle of Okinawa and the final naval strikes on Japan.