Essex class aircraft carriers of the Second World War / Steve Backer ; plans by Alan Raven ; colour profiles by Steve Wiper ; photographic consultant A D Baker.

"Built in larger numbers than any fleet carrier before or since, the Essex class can claim to be the US Navy's most significant weapon in the defeat of Japan. Carrying up to 100 aircraft and capable of absorbing enormous punishment (not one was sunk), they spearheaded the Fast Carrier Task Forces for most of the Pacific War."--Provided by the publisher.