Carrier Warriors, The Men of Air Group 4 in World War II

By David G. Thomas

In the long and brutal sweep of World War II, few forces proved as versatile, fearsome, and transformative as the United States Navy’s aircraft carriers. They brought the fight to enemy shores, one launch at a time – projecting American power across thousands of miles of open sea with precision, daring, and deadly effectiveness. This book tells the stories of the men who flew from those decks – the pilots, crewmen, and air group leaders whose actions shaped the outcome of the war in the Pacific and beyond.

Their journey began in places like the North Atlantic, where in October 1943, OPERATION LEADER marked the first American carrier strike against German shipping off the coast of Norway. Though often overshadowed by later Pacific operations, it was a milestone in naval air power – a swift, unexpected blow that signaled the reach and potential of carrier-based warfare. From that point forward, American carriers were no longer defensive tools – they were strategic weapons, capable of hitting fast, far, and hard. Carrier Warriors: The Men of Air Group 4 in World War II uniquely includes two remarkable accounts written by German soldiers who survived that attack, offering rare insight into what it was like to be on the receiving end of a U.S. Navy air assault.

The scale and ferocity of the war in the Pacific soon dwarfed that early raid. At Iwo Jima, carrier pilots played a pivotal role in softening the island’s defenses, flying multiple sorties a day in support of Marines locked in some of the fiercest combat of the war. Day after day, in skies thick with flak and clouded by smoke, these aviators provided close air support – all to secure an airfield whose location would bring Japan within bomber range.

Then came the daring raids on Tokyo, where carrier task forces struck the Japanese homeland itself. These were not symbolic gestures; they were coordinated attacks against aircraft factories, shipyards, and military installations at the very heart of the enemy’s war-making capacity. The risk was enormous – ships operating deep inside enemy territory with no margin for error – but the impact was undeniable. These raids broke the illusion of Japanese invulnerability and signaled that the end was approaching.

Behind these legendary operations were the men who made them happen – young, often barely out of training, flying complex machines under extraordinary pressure. Carrier Warriors brings together firsthand accounts from the men of Air Group 4, a tightly knit unit of Navy aviators and aircrew who flew from the decks of the USS Ranger, USS Bunker Hill, and USS Essex. Collected by the author over more than 35 years, these narratives – written by the men themselves: pilots, gunners, radiomen, and mechanics – offer an unfiltered, personal perspective on what it meant to fight as part of one of the Navy’s most experienced and battle-tested air groups.

The book also tells the stories of those who didn’t make it home – men lost to carrier operational accidents, enemy fire, and missions that ended in death when their aircraft were downed during air strikes. In one tragic case, an Air Group 4 aviator who went down during a strike over French Indochina was killed by Japanese soldiers.

This book is not only a history of what carrier air power accomplished – it is a tribute, in the words of those who lived it. The missions, the machines, and the strategy all mattered – but in the end, it was the men of Air Group 4, climbing into cockpits, manning flight decks, and flying into danger, who carried the war forward. Carrier Warriors gives them the stage – and ensures they will not be forgotten.

211 photos, 304 pages

Paperback: 978-1-952580-18-5

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