During World War II, the Essex class aircraft carriers (which were more than 800 feet long) became the premier ships in the U.S. Navy's Pacific fleet. These enormous vessels launched hundreds of planes against the Japanese with devastating consequences, and despite recurring kamikaze assaults, all the Essex carriers survived. Via archival footage, this documentary disc chronicles the dangers of daily life aboard the sailing cities.

In December 1941, the attack on Pearl Harbor marked the turning point in America's involvement in WWII - as well as a defining moment in U.S. Naval history.

Prior to that fateful day, the battleship had been the Navy's premier vessel of war. Ultimately, its place was taken by the aircraft carrier. The pride of the Pacific fleet during World War II was the Essex class of aircraft carriers. At over 800-feet long and with a displacement of 27,000 tons, these massive ships were able to launch hundreds of aircraft against the enemy. Although the massive carriers remained vulnerable to Japanese kamikaze attacks aimed at detonating the highly volatile aircraft fuel they carried, incredibly not one Essex carrier was lost to these attack during the war.

Join History as it goes below the decks and into the battle with the Essex carriers to show what it was like to serve aboard these floating cities during one of the greatest conflicts in the history of mankind.