Books and Plans

South Pacific Destroyer

The Battle for the Solomons from Savo Island to Vella Gulf By Russell Sydnor Crenshaw Jr.
This book is the story the USS Maury (DD-401) during her career in the South Pacific. It is told from the crew members point of view but doesn't rely only on memories. The Author instead researched the latest US and Japanese documents on the battles and paints a full picture of the action. Though the book deals mainly with the battles in the Solomon Isles, the ships participation in the attack on Pearl Harbor and later actions the Philippines are also documented. The places of the South Pacific are brought to life as you sail along with the crew from calm waters of Noumea to the torpedo filled waters of Kula Gulf. There are a number of B&W photo's of the Maury as well as maps of the battles she fought in. Facts about the weapons used are presented through out the book. Crenshaw also takes a look back at the situation with the benefit of hindsight to analyze the how and why things turned out as they did. The Maury earned a Presidential Unit Citation and sixteen battle stars. You can find out how by following along in this fascinating book. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who wants to get a feel for what it was like to do battle aboard one of the most decorated Destroyers to survive the war. This book is about 304 pages and 6 1/4 x 9 1/4 Hard Bound and has a list price of #34.95 US ISBN: 155750136X

Links: In the box review of Kobo Hiryu's 1/700 Resin kit of the Maury