The Amphibians Are Coming! Emergence of the 'Gator Navy and its Revolutionary Landing Craft

"A deeply engaging biographical history of the World War II ship-to-shore landing craft and their crews. . . . A welcome and informative addition to personal and academic World War II history and reference collections." – Midwest Book Review Volume I in award-winning author William L. McGee's Pacific war series is a biographical history of the revolutionary amphibious landing craft of World War II – LCTs (Landing Craft, Tank), LSTs (Landing Ship, Tank) and LCIs (Landing Craft, Infantry) – each designed and built to land assault troops and equipment directly on a hostile or potentially hostile beach. The reader will learn: A brief history of amphibious warfare from the Revolutionary War to the 1942 Guadalcanal and North Africa campaigns. A focus on the "Earlybird" Flotilla Five LCTs, LSTs, LCIs, and their crews, from landing craft design and construction, to amphibious training, to crew and flotilla formations, and to on-the-job warfare training in the Southern Solomons. . .all in preparation for their first invasion of enemy-held territory, Operation TOENAILS. A profile of the famed "Green Dragons," the high-speed destroyer transports that filled a pressing Marine Corps need for ship-to-shore delivery prior to the availability of the new landing craft. "Bill McGee combines exhaustive research with the words of the men who took the theory of the amphibious doctrine and the new machines to sea. His dedicated work will surely help keep the day-to-day naval record of the 'Greatest Generation' from being lost." – From the Foreword by John Lorelli, author of "To Foreign Shores, U.S. Amphibious Operations in WWII" Other Titles in the Series Vol. II, The Solomons Campaigns, 1942-1943: From Guadalcanal to Bougainville, Pacific War Turning Point. * Winner of the Military Writers Society of America 2018 Silver Medal for History. Vol. III, Pacific Express: The Critical Role of Military Logistics in World War II