USN Carriers vs IJN Carriers: The Pacific 1942

In the build-up to World War II both the United States and Japan
believed their battleships would play a central role in battle, but
after the Pacific War began in December 1941, the role of the battleship
proved to be much more limited than either side expected. There would
be only two battleship vs battleship actions in the Pacific in World War
II, both of which are assessed in this engaging study. At Guadalcanal
in 1942, Kirishima faced two modern US battleships, USS Washington and
USS South Dakota. In the Surigao Strait in 1944, two World War I-era
Japanese battleships, Yamashiro and Fuso, faced six American battleships
supported by four heavy cruisers in history's last-ever clash between
battleships.

Employing full-color artwork, carefully selected archive photographs,
and expert analysis, former US Navy Commander Mark E. Stille examines
the two head-to-head clashes between the battleships deployed by the
United States and Japan in the struggle for control of the Pacific
during World War II.