In "Moving Bases" David Hobbs contributes to the redress of this imbalance in a manner that can accurately be described as groundbreaking. He has not only produced a fascinating book on the wartime workings of the Fleet Air Arm. but also offers us a welcome reminder of the huge effort that must always go on behind the front lines. He describes in great detail, for example, the ships and organisation that went to make up 'the air train', a hitherto largely neglected aspect of the BPF*s support operations. No reader could fail to be impressed by the sheer scale of the establishment required to maintain the striking power embodied in five armoured fleet carriers, three light fleet carriers and seven escort carriers across the vastness of the Pacific. Yet it is also food for thought that this fleet, fielded by a navy at the height of its wartime strength, could not operate entirely alone. Subordinate to the US Navy in a command sense, and including contributions from Canada, New Zealand and Australia, the officers and men of the BPF could nevertheless take pride in die fact that they were able to take the fight to the heart of the enemy; fighting side by side with the Americans as professional equals.
The ultimate success of the BPF is a tribute to the flexibility of maritime air power and the ingenuity and perseverance of many thousands of nameless men and women. David Hobbs has written a book fully worthy of their memory.