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"The ability of the United States Navy to fight and win a protracted war in the Pacific was not solely the result of technology, tactics, or leadership. Naval aviation maintenance played a major role in the U.S. victory over Japan in the second World War. The naval war against Japan did not achieve sustained success until enough aircraft technicians were available to support the high tempo of aviation operations that fast carrier task force doctrine demanded. When the United States realized war was imminent and ordered a drastic increase in the size of its aviation fleet, the Navy was forced to reconsider its earlier practices and develop new policies in maintenance, supply, and technical training. Not only did a shortage of technicians plague the Navy, but the scarcity of aviation supply and repair facilities in the Pacific soon caused panic in Washington. While the surface navy's modernization of at-sea replenishment was beneficial, it did not solve the problems of sustaining war-time aircraft readiness levels sufficient to a winning a naval air war. Fisher outlines the drastic institutional changes that accompanied an increase in aviation maintenance personnel from fewer than 10,000 to nearly 250,000 bluejackets, the complete restructuring of the naval aviation technical educational system, and the development of a highly skilled labor force. The first comprehensive study on the importance of aircraft maintenance and the aircraft technician in the age of the aircraft carrier, Sustaining the Carrier War, provides the missing link to our understanding of Great Power conflict at sea."-- Provided by publisher

• Machine generated contents note:
• i. The Political Situation in 1930s Japan -- Manchuria
• ii. Palau
• iii. Truk
• i. USA
• ii. Japan
• iii. US Preparations
• iv. The US Pacific Fleet Moves to Hawaii
• i. 7 December 1941 -- Japan's Surprise Attack on Pearl Harbor
• ii. Japan's Second Offensive
• i. Command Appointments
• ii. Early US Fast-Carrier Operations, 1942
• iii. Halting the Japanese Expansion
• a. Battle of the Coral Sea, 4-8 May 1942
• b. Battle of Midway, 3-7 June 1942
• i. Battle of the Eastern Solomons, 24-5 August 1942
• ii. Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, 26 October 1942
• iii. Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, 12-15 November 1942
• iv. US Fleet Reorganisation Post Guadalcanal, March 1943
• i. Allied Timetable of Operations -- Rainbow 5
• ii. Two-prong Advance Across the Pacific
• iii. The Japanese Position Deteriorates, Reorganisation and New Carriers
• i. The Fast Carriers
• ii. US Navy Aircraft
• a. Fighters
• b. Dive-bombers
• c. Torpedo-Bombers
• i. The Isolation of Rabaul -- Operation CARTWHEEL, 13 June 1943-20 March 1944
• ii. The Battle of Empress Augusta Bay -- Operation CHERRYBLOSSOM, 1-2 November 1943
• iii. The Gilbert and Marshall Islands Campaign the Central Pacific Drive Begins, Operation GALVANIC, 20-8 November 1943
• a. Strike Force Composition
• b. Battle of Tarawa, 20-8 November 1943
• c. Battle of Makin, 20-3 November 1943
• i. Rear Admiral Marc 'Pete' Mitscher Takes Command, 23 December 1943
• ii. Service Squadrons 4 and 10
• iii. Task Force 58 is Formed, 6 January 1944
• i. The Invasion of Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls -- Operation FLINTLOCK, 29 January 1944-7 February 1944
• a. The Invasion of Majuro Atoll, 31 January 1944
• b. The Invasion of Kwajalein Atoll
• ii. The Invasion of Eniwetok Atoll -- Operation CATCHPOLE, 17 February 1944
• iii. Task Force 58 Smashes Truk -- Operation HAILSTONE, 17-18 February 1944
• a. DOG-DAY-MINUS-ONE, 17 February 1944
• b. DOG-DAY, 18 February 1944
• i. Scouting the Marianas
• ii. The First Air Assault on Palau -- Operation DESECRATE 1,30 and 31 March 1944
• a. K-DAY, 30 March 1944
• b. K-DAY PLUS ONE, 31 March 1944
• c. Aftermath
• iii. The Hollandia and Aitape Landings -Operations RECKLESS and PERSECUTION, 22-7 April 1944
• iv. Fast-Carrier Strikes Against Truk, 29-30 April 1944
• i. Battle of Saipan, 15 June-9 July 1944
• ii. First Battle of the Philippine Sea, 19-20 June 1944
• i. Guam and Tinian, July 1944
• a. 2nd Battle of Guam, 21 July-10 August 1944
• b. Battle of Tinian, 24 July-1 August 1944
• c. Aftermath
• ii. Aerial Photo-reconnaissance and the 2nd Palau Air Assault -- Operation SNAPSHOT, 23-30 July 1944
• iii. Raiding the Jimas and the Bonins, August 1944
• iv. Task Force 38 is Formed
• v. New Carriers and New Planes
• vi. Japan
• i. Operation STALEMATE II, 15 September-27 November 1944
• i. The Battle of Leyte Gulf, 23-6 October 1944
• a. Prelude to Battle -- Initial Submarine Action in the Palawan Passage, 23 October 1944
• b. Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, 24 October 1944
• c. Battle of the Surigao Strait, 24-5 October 1944
• d. Battle off Samar, 25 October 1944
• e. Battle off Cape Engano, 25 October 1944
• i. Raiding Tokyo and the Invasion of Iwo Jima Operation DETACHMENT, February-March 1945
• ii. Invasion of Okinawa -- Operation ICEBERG, 1 April-22 June 1945
• i. Invasion of Kyushu -- Operation OLYMPIC, 1 November 1945 (Projected)
• ii. Invasion of Honshu -- Operation CORONET, 1 March 1946 (Projected)
• iii. Endgame
• iv. Aftermath 467 Appendix Dramatis Personae
• i. Fleet Admiral Ernest Joseph King (23 November 1878-25 June 1956)
• ii. Fleet Admiral Chester William Nimitz (24 February 1885-20 February 1966)
• iii. Fleet Admiral William Frederick Halsey Jr, KBE (30 October 1883-16 August 1959)
• iv. Admiral Raymond Ames Spruance (3 July 1886-13 December 1969)
• v. Admiral John Henry Towers (30 January 1885-30 April 1955)
• vi. Admiral Marc Andrew Mitscher (26 January 1887-3 February 1947)
• vii. Admiral John Sidney McCain Sr (9 August 1884-6 September 1945)
• viii. Admiral Frederick Carl Sherman (27 May 1888-27 July 1957)

The new breed of American fast aircraft carriers could make thirty-three knots, and each carried almost one hundred strike aircraft. Brought together as Task Force 58, also known as the Fast Carrier Task Force, this armada at times comprised more than one hundred ships carrying more than ten thousand men afloat. By 1945, more than one thousand combat aircraft, fighters, dive- and torpedo-bombers could be launched in under an hour. Rod Macdonald covers the birth of naval aviation, the appearance of the first modern carriers in the 1920s, through to the famous surprise six-carrier Kido Butai Japanese raid against Pearl Harbor, and then the early U.S. successes of 1942 at the Battles of the Coral Sea and Midway. The fast carriers allowed America, in late 1942 and early 1943, to finally move from bitter defense against the Japanese expansionist onslaught, to mounting her own offensive to retake the Pacific. Task Force 58 swept west and north from the Solomon Islands to the Gilbert and Marshall Islands, neutralizing Truk in Micronesia, and Palau in the Caroline islands, before the vital Mariana Islands operations, the Battle of Saipan, the first battle of the Philippine Sea and the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot. The strikes by Task Force 58 took Allied forces across the Pacific, to the controversial Battle of Leyte Gulf and to Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Task Force 58 had opened the door to the Japanese home islands themselves --allowing US bombers to finally get close enough to launch the devastating nuclear bombing raids on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Task Force 58 participated in virtually all the US Navy's major battles in the Pacific theatre during the last two years of the war. Historian Rod Macdonald has created the most detailed account to date of the fast carrier strike force, the force that brought Japan to its knees and brought World War II to its crashing conclusion.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

This extensively illustrated volume tells the dramatic yet successful story of US aircraft carriers in World War II by class, ranging from early pre-war designs to escort carriers built from destroyer hulls, to the gigantic fleet carriers serving as the predecessors of modern-day super carriers. Besides covering the famous great carrier battles in the Pacific, this book also tells of the equally important actions of US flat tops hunting and destroying German U-boats in the Atlantic, making an enormous contribution to the elimination of the U-boat dangers and the safe arrival of transatlantic supplies, so desperately needed for the launch of D-Day. Including profiles and explanatory text boxes, the concise text gives a clear overview of each ship's career, its fate and its significance in American naval history. Moreover, the reader learns about the technical evolution of US carriers throughout the war, and the various aircraft launched from these magnificent vessels to engage their Japanese or German foes. This volume provides an overview of preserved World War II flat tops serving as floating museums for future generations as well as a dive to the sunken USS Saratoga at Bikini Atoll.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• List of Figures Acknowledgments List of Abbreviations Introduction
• Chapter 1. Carrier Interpretation
• Chapter 2. "Combustible, Vulnerable, and Expendable"
• Chapter 3. Triptych
• Chapter 4. Pearl
• Chapter 5. Amalgamation
• Chapter 6. "Well Done, Massie Hughes"
• Chapter 7. "Luminous Metallic Underworld"
• Chapter 8. "Better Part of Six Years"
• Chapter 9. "The Lord Looks Out for Drunks, Small Children, and CVEs"
• Chapter 10. "Quickening of Pulse"
• Chapter 11. "Like Bananas in Bunches"
• Chapter 12. "Rocket Business"
• Chapter 13. Denver Omelet Sandwiches
• Chapter 14. "Long Haired Scientists"
• Chapter 15. Massie
• Chapter 16. "Stand by to Repel Boarders!"
• Chapter 17. Buoyant Battlefield
• Chapter 18. Crucible
• Chapter 19. "Seeing Ghosts"
• Chapter 20. St. Valentine's Day Massacre
• Chapter 21. Okinawa
• Chapter 22. The Last D-Day
• Chapter 23. "Yanks Are on Their Way!"
• Chapter 24. Magic Carpet
• Chapter 25. Remembering Conclusion: Void of Memory Notes Bibliography Index.
• (source: Nielsen Book Data)

Recounts the stories of the USS Block Island CVE-21 and CVE-106 and their crews, many of whom served on both ships in the Atlantic and Pacific theatres In Valor and Courage: The Story of the USS Block Island Escort Carriers in World War II Benjamin Hruska explores the history and commemoration of the USS Block Island-or, more properly, the Block Islands, as two escort carriers bore that name during WWII. The first, CVE 21, bears the distinction of having been the only American aircraft carrier sunk in the Atlantic Theatre after being torpedoed by a German U-boat off the coast of North Africa. Of the CVE-21's 957 crew members, six sailors were killed and eighteen injured in the strike, and four of the Block Island's fighter pilots were lost later in the day searching for a safe place to land their planes. When the CVE-106 was commissioned to replace its predecessor, Captain Massie Hughes successfully persuaded the Navy to keep the CVE-21's crew together in manning the new ship. After resurrection as the CVE-106, the Block Island was assigned to the Pacific theater where it fought until the end of the war. The saga of these two ships and the crew that navigated two very different theaters of war offers a unique lens on naval strategy and engineering as it evolved during WWII, especially as pertains to the escort carrier class-generally underappreciated both in naval studies and in public memory. Using archival materials, dozens of oral histories, primary sources, and official records, Hruska traces the life of the Block Island from the CVE-21's construction through its missions in the Atlantic, its work as an antisubmarine hunter, its destruction, and the lasting impact of those experiences on its crew. Hruska's study juxtaposes traditional military history with an examination of the acts of remembrance and commemoration by veterans who served on the escort carriers, how those practices evolved over time, and how the meanings of personal wartime experiences and memories gradually shifted throughout that process.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

"Recounts the stories of the USS Block Island CVE-21 and CVE-106 and their crews, many of whom served on both ships in the Atlantic and Pacific theatres"-- Provided by publisher

• Prologue: the airman's admiral
• From Mississippi to the sea
• Naval aviation
• South Pacific Command
• Guadalcanal
• The war in Washington: The Bureau of Aeronautics
• Washington and the Pacific: DCNO (Air)
• Task Force Command
• Task Force 38
• Luzon and the South China Sea
• Carriers against Japan
• Triumph and tragedy.

Admiral John S. McCain and the Triumph of Naval Air Power covers the life and professional career of Adm. John S. McCain Sr. (1884-1945). McCain was among the select few officers who reached the heights of carrier task force command during World War II in the Pacific. Spanning most of the first half of the twentieth century McCain's life and career highlight the integration of aviation into the Navy emphasizing the evolution of the aircraft carrier from a tactical element of the fleet stressing sea control to a strategic force capable of long-range power projection. Although much of the book focuses on carrier aviation McCain was instrumental in the emergence of flying boats (VPs) considered essential for long-range reconnaissance in the Pacific. One of the senior officers branded as ""Johnny-Come-Latelys"" by pioneer aviators McCain nevertheless brought fresh approaches and innovation to naval aviation during the interwar and war years. His prewar and initial wartime commands encompassed tender-based and shore-based aviation which were critical to early operations in the Pacific. Yet McCain also understood the power and potential of carrier-based aviation initially as commanding officer of the Ranger before the war then as a carrier task force commander under Adm. William F. Halsey in the Pacific in 1944 and 1945. Moreover he served tours as Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics and the first Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Air) in 1942-1944. In these varied capacities he witnessed and played a role in the culmination of naval air power as a means of delivering crippling blows to the enemy's homeland. McCain was among only a handful of officers who achieved prominence during the war who had experience in all of these varied and challenging levels of command.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• Prologue: The airman's admiral
• From Mississippi to the sea
• Naval aviation
• South Pacific Command
• Guadalcanal
• The war in Washington: The Bureau of Aeronautics
• Washington and the Pacific: DCNO (Air)
• Task Force Command
• Task Force 38
• Luzon and the South China Sea
• Carriers against Japan
• Triumph and tragedy.

Admiral John S. McCain and the Triumph of Naval Air Power covers the life and professional career of Adm. John S. McCain Sr. (1884-1945). McCain was among the select few officers who reached the heights of carrier task force command during World War II in the Pacific. Spanning most of the first half of the twentieth century McCain's life and career highlight the integration of aviation into the Navy emphasizing the evolution of the aircraft carrier from a tactical element of the fleet stressing sea control to a strategic force capable of long-range power projection. Although much of the book focuses on carrier aviation McCain was instrumental in the emergence of flying boats (VPs) considered essential for long-range reconnaissance in the Pacific. One of the senior officers branded as ""Johnny-Come-Latelys"" by pioneer aviators McCain nevertheless brought fresh approaches and innovation to naval aviation during the interwar and war years. His prewar and initial wartime commands encompassed tender-based and shore-based aviation which were critical to early operations in the Pacific. Yet McCain also understood the power and potential of carrier-based aviation initially as commanding officer of the Ranger before the war then as a carrier task force commander under Adm. William F. Halsey in the Pacific in 1944 and 1945. Moreover he served tours as Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics and the first Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Air) in 1942-1944. In these varied capacities he witnessed and played a role in the culmination of naval air power as a means of delivering crippling blows to the enemy's homeland. McCain was among only a handful of officers who achieved prominence during the war who had experience in all of these varied and challenging levels of command.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

During the 1920s and 1930s Adm. Joseph Mason Reeves (1878-1948) emerged as the most important flag officer in American naval aviation. He took command of the U.S. Navy's nascent carrier arm during a critical period and, imagining the aircraft carrier's possibilities as an offensive weapon, transformed it from a small auxiliary command in support of the battle line into a powerful strike force that could attack far in advance of the fleet. All the Factors of Victory is the first full-length biography of this eminent naval officer, whose story makes an important contribution to our understanding of not only the development of carrier warfare, but also how intraservice rivalries and the development of new technologies affected the Navy's mission.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

Among all the celebrations of the RAF's centenary, it was largely forgotten that the establishment of an independent air force came at a cost - and it was the Royal Navy that paid the price. In 1918 it had been pre-eminent in the technology and tactics of employing aircraft at sea, but once it lost control of its own air power, it struggled to make the RAF prioritise naval interests, in the process losing ground to the rival naval air forces of Japan and the United States. This book documents that struggle through the cash-strapped 1920s and '30s, culminating in the Navy regaining control of its aviation in 1937, but too late to properly prepare for the impending war. However, despite the lack of resources, British naval flying had made progress, especially in the advancement of carrier strike doctrine. These developments are neatly illustrated by the experiences of Lieutenant William Lucy, who was to become Britain's first accredited air 'ace' of the war and to lead the world's first successful dive-bombing of a major warship. Making extensive use of the family archive, this book also reproduces many previously unseen photographs from Lucy's album, showing many aspects of life in the Fleet Air Arm up to the end of the Norway campaign. Although it is beyond the scope of this book, in November 1940 the inter-war concentration on carrier strike was to be spectacularly vindicated by the air attack on the Italian fleet at Taranto - it inspired the Japanese to a far larger effort at Pearl Harbor the following year, but the Royal Navy had shown the way.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• Introduction
• Chapter 1
• Part 1: Winning the Unwinnable War (1936-December 1941)
• Part 2: South to Rabaul (1 January--20 February 1942)
• Chapter 2: Beyond Rabaul (21 February--10 March 1942)
• Chapter 3: Setting the Board (9 March 1942-23 April 1942)
• Chapter 4: Opening Moves (23 April--3 May 1942)
• Chapter 5: ". . . disappointing" (4 May 1942)
• Chapter 6: Chasing Shadows (5-6 May 1942)
• Chapter 7: Scratch One Flattop (7 May 1942)
• Chapter 8: Seconds Out (8 May 1942)
• Chapter 9: Mopping Up & Dispersal (9-27 May 1942)
• Chapter 10: Afterword Appendix: Dramatis Personae Bibliography Index.
• (source: Nielsen Book Data)

By the beginning of May 1942, five months after the Pearl Harbor attack, the US Navy was ready to challenge the Japanese moves in the South Pacific. When the Japanese sent troops to New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, the Americans sent the carriers Lexington and Yorktown to counter the move, setting the stage for the Battle of the Coral Sea. In Scratch One Flattop: The First Carrier Air Campaign and the Battle of the Coral Sea, historian Robert C. Stern analyzes the Battle of the Coral Sea, the first major fleet engagement where the warships were never in sight of each other. Unlike the Battle of Midway, the Battle of the Coral Sea has received remarkably little study. Stern covers not only the action of the ships and their air groups but also describes the impact of this pivotal engagement. His analysis looks at the short-term impact as well as the long-term implications, including the installation of inert gas fuel-system purging on all American aircraft carriers and the push to integrate sensor systems with fighter direction to better protect against enemy aircraft. The essential text on the first carrier air campaign, Scratch One Flattop is a landmark study on an overlooked battle in the first months of the United States' engagement in World War II.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

By the summer of 1945, Adm. Bull Halsey's U.S. Third Fleet had fought its way far enough in the Pacific that its carrier-based fighters could launch attacks on Japan itself in preparation for the invasion of the home islands, planned for the fall of 1945. This mission U.S. Navy fighters, fighter-bombers, dive-bombers, and torpedo-bombers-Hellcats, Avengers, Helldivers, and more-carried out with a vengeance, striking airfields, industrial targets, and coastal facilities while flying into the teeth of Japanese air defenses. Meanwhile, the fleet's aircraft continued to attack the Japanese navy (sinking a submarine from the air, attacking-but not sinking-the famous battleship Nagato, and attacking other ships), interdict enemy merchant shipping, and defend against kamikaze attacks on Third Fleet. As late as the morning of August 15-the day the ceasefire took effect (before the formal signing on September 2)-the fighters saw hard fighting, downing Japanese fighters making last-ditch, almost literally last-minute attacks on the U.S. fleet. Numerous books have covered the American bomber war against Japan in World War II, from the Doolittle Raid to Curtis Lemay's strategic bombing campaign, the firebombing of Tokyo, and the dropping of the atomic bombs. But other than memoirs and bit parts in air war histories, fighter and fighter-bomber operations have received short shrift. Setting the Rising Sun corrects that oversight, zooming in on fighters during the war's final two months. In this carefully researched narrative history, Kevin Mahoney recounts this vital period of the Pacific War with drama and attention to detail. He draws on both American and Japanese perspectives to reconstruct intense combat missions and place them in the context of a war that was hurtling toward its conclusion in two mushroom clouds in Japan.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

The technical details of British warships were recorded in a set of plans produced by the builders on completion of every ship. Known as the 'as fitted' general arrangements, these drawings represented the exact appearance and fitting of the ship as it entered service. Intended to provide a permanent reference for the Admiralty and the dockyards, these highly detailed plans were drawn with exquisite skill in multi-coloured inks and washes that represent the acme of the draughtsman's art. Today they form part of the incomparable collection of the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, which is using the latest scanning technology to make digital copies of the highest quality. This book is one of a series based entirely on these draughts which depict famous warships in an unprecedented degree of detail-complete sets in full colour, with many close-ups and enlargements that make every aspect clear and comprehensible. Extensive captions point the reader to important features to be found in the plans, and an introduction covers the background to the design. HMS _Victorious_ was a ship with two almost separate incarnations-as built in 1941 she was one of a new type of armoured carrier which saw strenuous wartime service; post-war the ship underwent a massive reconstruction lasting nearly eight years that saw her recommission in1958 as one of the best equipped carriers in the world, ready for another decade of duty. Both these phases of the ship's life are fully documented, which allows this novel form of anatomy to cover two generations of carrier design.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

What defended the U.S. after the attack on Pearl Harbor, defeated the Soviet Union in the Cold War, and is an essential tool in the fight against terror? Aircraft Carriers. For seventy years, these ships remained a little understood cornerstone of American power. In his latest book, On Wave and Wing , Barrett Tillman sheds light on the history of these floating leviathans and offers a nuanced analysis of the largest man-made vessel in the history of the world.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Basic Concepts
• 3. Aircraft Reliability and Maintainability Analysis and Design
• 4. RCM and Integrated Logistic Support
• 5. Intelligent Structural Rating System Based on Back-Propagation Network
• 6. Fault Tree Analysis for Composite Structural Damage
• 7. Inspection Interval Optimization for Aircraft Composite Structures Considering Dent Damage
• 8. Repair Tolerance for Composite Structures Using Probabilistic Methodologies
• 9. Structural Health Monitoring and Influence on Current Maintenance
• 10. Maintenance Control and Management Optimization
• 11. The Methodologies of Reliability and Maintainability in the A380 Program.
• (source: Nielsen Book Data)

Reliability Based Aircraft Maintenance Optimization and Applications presents flexible and cost-effective maintenance schedules for aircraft structures, particular in composite airframes. By applying an intelligent rating system, and the back-propagation network (BPN) method and FTA technique, a new approach was created to assist users in determining inspection intervals for new aircraft structures, especially in composite structures. This book also discusses the influence of Structure Health Monitoring (SHM) on scheduled maintenance. An integrated logic diagram establishes how to incorporate SHM into the current MSG-3 structural analysis that is based on four maintenance scenarios with gradual increasing maturity levels of SHM. The inspection intervals and the repair thresholds are adjusted according to different combinations of SHM tasks and scheduled maintenance. This book provides a practical means for aircraft manufacturers and operators to consider the feasibility of SHM by examining labor work reduction, structural reliability variation, and maintenance cost savings.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• Table of Contents; List of Maps; Preface to Reprint; Preface; List of Abbreviations; Dramatis Personae;
• 1. Fast Carriers, 1922-1942;
• 2. Weapon of Expediency, 1942-1943;
• 3. Mobilizing the Carrier Offensive ;
• 4. Fast Carrier Task Force on Trial;
• 5. Task Force 58 ;
• 6. Battle of the Fast Carriers;
• 7. Emergence of the Air Admirals;
• 8. The Philippine Campaign;
• 9. British Fast Carrier Forces;
• 10. Changing Missions: Peripheral War;
• 11. Target Japan;
• 12. Action Report; Appendices; Bibliographical Essay ; Notes; Documentary Addendum ; Index ; About the Author.

Originally published in 1968, this now classic study is considered essential reading for its analysis of fast aircraft carrier development. It provides a fascinating record not only of the U.S. Navy's metamorphosis from a battleship-oriented to a carrier-centered fleet, but also of the heated debates that took place over the changing naval strategy. With an insider's grasp of the personalities involved, award-winning naval historian Clark G. Reynolds takes readers from the war rooms of Washington to the flight decks of the Pacific. He vividly describes the battles over the concept of fast carriers between the air admirals and battleship admirals and offers little-known details gleaned from personal interviews and private diaries.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• Super carrier
• Thunder ballet
• The golden age
• The Kitty Hawk
• Cold wars and hot spots
• Next-generation aircraft
• New developments
• Vietnam
• The Forrestal fire
• Turning point and aftermath
• Evolution
• Challenges
• A dangerous world
• Into the sunset
• Acknowledgments
• Appendix A: Technical data
• Appendix B: Individual ships
• Appendix C: Aircraft technical data
• Appendix D: Air wings.

The book covers the Forrestal class supercarriers and the follow-on ships, which are basically of the same design, i.e. the Forrestal CV-59, Saratoga CV-60, Ranger CV-61, Independence CV-62, Kitty Hawk CV-63, Constellation CV-64, America CV-66 and Kennedy CV-67. (The Enterprise CVN-65 is unique and is not covered beyond an explanation of the reasons for returning to conventional power in the America and Kennedy that followed her.) As in The Essex Aircraft Carriers and The Independence Light Aircraft Carriers, the main emphasis is on the operational history of these ships, which covers a span of over fifty years. There are 81 photographs included in four signatures covering the whole history of the supercarriers interspersed within the body of the book. Maps include the Western Pacific, Vietnam, Mediterranean, Middle East, Indian Ocean and Caribbean. The front end paper illustration shows the Saratoga as representative of the Forrestal class with port and starboard profiles and an overhead view. The rear end paper shows similar views of the Constellation as part of the Kitty Hawk class. Appendix A gives a brief overview of the design technical data for the ships including their dimensions, propulsion systems, arresting gear, catapults, armament, and radars. Illustrations include an annotated inboard profile of the class as built, as well as annotated cross sections comparing the differences between Forrestal and the John F. Kennedy. Appendix B profiles individual ships with a short description of significant items that are not included in the main body of the book. Data for each ship includes the builder as well as dates for keel laying, launch, commissioning, redesignations and decommissioning. Illustrations include the command shield for each ship. Appendix C provides technical data (power plants, dimensions, weights, performance, crew, and armament) for aircraft that operated from the ships over the course of their careers. Included is a table comparing the old Navy designations with the uniform system adopted in 1962 as well as an explanation of each system. Appendix D includes a description of the air wing and its component squadrons and how they have evolved over time, as well as an explanation of the tail code system. For each ship, every deployment is covered with tables showing the dates of deployment, the squadrons assigned within the air group/air wing, the modex and aircraft types. Where the tail code letters are different from the air wing, they are shown next to the modex.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• Super carrier
• Thunder ballet
• The golden age
• The Kitty Hawk
• Cold Wars and hot spots
• Next generation aircraft
• New developments
• Vietnam
• The Forrestal fire
• Turning point and aftermath
• Evolution
• Challenges
• A dangerous world
• Into the sunset
• Acknowledgments
• Appendix A: Technical data
• Appendix B: Individual ships
• Appendix C: Aircraft technical data
• Appendix D: Air wings.

The book covers the Forrestal class supercarriers and the follow-on ships, which are basically of the same design, i.e. the Forrestal CV-59, Saratoga CV-60, Ranger CV-61, Independence CV-62, Kitty Hawk CV-63, Constellation CV-64, America CV-66 and Kennedy CV-67. (The Enterprise CVN-65 is unique and is not covered beyond an explanation of the reasons for returning to conventional power in the America and Kennedy that followed her.) As in The Essex Aircraft Carriers and The Independence Light Aircraft Carriers, the main emphasis is on the operational history of these ships, which covers a span of over fifty years. There are 81 photographs included in four signatures covering the whole history of the supercarriers interspersed within the body of the book. Maps include the Western Pacific, Vietnam, Mediterranean, Middle East, Indian Ocean and Caribbean. The front end paper illustration shows the Saratoga as representative of the Forrestal class with port and starboard profiles and an overhead view. The rear end paper shows similar views of the Constellation as part of the Kitty Hawk class. Appendix A gives a brief overview of the design technical data for the ships including their dimensions, propulsion systems, arresting gear, catapults, armament, and radars. Illustrations include an annotated inboard profile of the class as built, as well as annotated cross sections comparing the differences between Forrestal and the John F. Kennedy. Appendix B profiles individual ships with a short description of significant items that are not included in the main body of the book. Data for each ship includes the builder as well as dates for keel laying, launch, commissioning, redesignations and decommissioning. Illustrations include the command shield for each ship. Appendix C provides technical data (power plants, dimensions, weights, performance, crew, and armament) for aircraft that operated from the ships over the course of their careers. Included is a table comparing the old Navy designations with the uniform system adopted in 1962 as well as an explanation of each system. Appendix D includes a description of the air wing and its component squadrons and how they have evolved over time, as well as an explanation of the tail code system. For each ship, every deployment is covered with tables showing the dates of deployment, the squadrons assigned within the air group/air wing, the modex and aircraft types. Where the tail code letters are different from the air wing, they are shown next to the modex.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• Tables; Figures; Foreword; A Note on the End of an Era; Acknowledgments; Introduction; What Created Success?; Strategic Culture; Relevance of the Study;
• 1. Preparing for War: Naval Education Between the World Wars; Introduction; Studying "The Right Stuff"; Study, Gaming, and Wartime Reality; The Naval Air Debate; The Carrier Debate; The Debate over Doctrine; War Plans; Implications for the War against Japan; Preparing for War; The United States Naval Academy and Strategic Culture; "Everybody Works but John Paul Jones"; Sound Military Decision; Strategic Culture in the Wartime Navy.

• Conclusio
• n2. The Battle of the Coral Sea; Japanese Opening Moves and Plans; Japan's Forces in the Pacific Area; The Situation in the Pacific in the Summer of 1942; Japanese Plans and Preparations; The American Plan; Operational Imperatives; The Tulagi Invasion; Prelude to the Main Action; The Main Action; Coral Sea in Retrospect: Conclusions;
• 3. The Battle of Midway; Opening Phases; The Situation in the Pacific in the Late Spring of 1942; The Commander and His Opponent; Japanese Preparations; Decisions vs. Intelligence; How the Plans Played Out.

• Prelude to Action in the Aleutians and at MidwayInformation Available to the Japanese Commander; Japanese Force Deployments; Information Available to the American Commander; American Command Relations; Aleutian Phase of the Operation; Midway Preliminary Action; Naval Air Station Midway 4 June Operations; Nagumo's Attack on Midway; Midway Carrier Action of 4 June 1942; Clash of Titans; Operations of the Hornet Air Group on 4 June; Operations of the Enterprise Air Group on 4 June; Operations of the Yorktown Air Group on 4 June; Recapping the Action; The Inevitable Japanese Counterattack.

• Death of the Kido ButaiJapan's Contemplated Night Action; Operations of 5 June; Operations of 6 June; Operations of 7 June; Midway in Retrospect: Conclusions;
• 4. The Fight for Guadalcanal: The Battle of the Eastern Solomons; Strategic Reappraisal; The Fight for Guadalcanal; Choosing a Commander; The Battle of Savo Island; Where Is Task Force 61? All the World Wonders; The Battle of the Eastern Solomons; Carrier Battle of 24 August 1942; Retirement from the Area and Aftermath; The Battle of the Eastern Solomons in Retrospect; Conclusions; Epitaph;
• 5. The Battle of Santa Cruz.

• The Battle for GuadalcanalPrelude to the Battle of Santa Cruz; Evidence of a Japanese Offensive; The Battle of Santa Cruz; The U.S. Carrier Strike; The Japanese Strikes; Results of the Battle; Continued Surface Action in the Solomons; Battle of Santa Cruz in Retrospect: Conclusions;
• 6. Battle of the Philippine Sea; Japan's "Absolute National Defense Line"; SLOCs to Victory Secured; MacArthur on a Roll; The U.S. Debate on Strategy; Executing the Combined Chiefs' Strategy; Central Solomons and New Britain: The Second Phase; Numbered Fleets; Operation "Elkton" and the Dual Advance on Rabaul.

A longtime professor at the Naval War College who once directed strategic and long-range planning for the Navy and Marine Corps in Europe considers the transformation of the U.S. Navy from a defensive-minded coastal defense force into an offensive risk-taking navy in the very early stages of World War II. Noting that none of the navy's most significant World War II leaders were commissioned before the Spanish-American War and none participated in any important offensive operations in World War I, Douglas Smith examines the premise that education, rather than experience in battle, accounts for that transformation. In this book, Smith evaluates his premise by focusing on the five carrier battles of the second world war to determine the extent to which the inter-war education of the major operational commanders translated into their decision processes, and the extent to which their interaction during their educational experiences transformed them from risk-adverse to risk-accepting in their operational concepts. His book will interest students of the Pacific War, naval aviation, education, and leadership. About the Author Douglas V. Smith is Professor of Strategy and Head of the Strategy and Policy Division at the U.S. Naval War College. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Naval Postgraduate School, and Naval War College, and holds a Ph.D. in military history from Florida State University.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• Contents: Preface, Geoffrey Till
• Introduction
• Replacement carriers and the new idea of an 'island strategy'
• The debate on carriers and the island strategy
• A new framework: a new debate on maritime air power
• The fate of the CVA-01
• New home-waters challenges, and the British forces
• The British heading home
• The grand story and the lessons learned
• Appendices
• Bibliography
• Index.
• (source: Nielsen Book Data)

During the 1960s - in the midst of its retreat from empire - the British government had to grapple with complex political and military problems in order to find a strategic defence policy that was both credible and affordable. Addressing what was perhaps the most contentious issue within those debates, this book charts the arguments that raged between supporters of a land based air power strategy, and those who favoured aircraft carriers. Drawing upon a wealth of previously classified documents, the book reveals how the Admiralty and Air Ministry became interlocked in a bitter political struggle over which of their military strategies could best meet Britain's future foreign policy challenges. Whilst the broad story of this inter-service rivalry is well known - the Air Force's proposal for a series of island based airfields, and the Navy championing of a small number of expensive but mobile aircraft carriers - the complexity and previous lack of archival sources means that it has, until now, only ever been partially researched and understood. Former studies have largely focused on the cancellation of the CVA-01 carrier programme, and offered little depth as regards the Royal Air Force perspectives. Given that this was a two-Service rivalry, which greatly influenced many aspects of British foreign and defence policy decisions of the period, this book presents an important and balanced overview of the complex issues involved. Through this historical study of the British debate about maritime air power and strategic alternatives in the 1960s, the detailed arguments used for and against both alternatives demonstrate clear relevance to both historical and contemporary conceptual debates on carrier forces and land-based air power. Both from military strategy and inter-service relationship perspectives, contemporary Britain and many other nations with maritime forces may learn much from this historical case.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• Foreword / by James Holloway
• Prologue: Mariners
• pt. 1. We interrupt this Cold War
• The Holloway
• Disturbing the peace
• The Pittsburgh Corsairs, the Long Island Panthers
• Onionskin angel
• Other Everests
• Iroquois flight
• pt. 2. The awful war you'll terminate
• The Ridgway
• Roads, rails, bridges, tunnels, dams
• Oh! Welcome to Korea Hills
• From a cold sea
• Unhappy valleys
• pt. 3. The bridges at Samdong-Ni
• Epics in failure
• Jersey Bounce
• Implacable enemies and unforgiving elements
• Countering at the right moments
• Something like peace
• Three epilogues
• Notes
• Glossary
• Bibliography
• Appendix 1: Ready rooms
• Appendix 2: Roll call
• Index.

In 1951, James Michener went to Korea to report on a little known aspect of Americas stalemated war: navy aviators. His research-inspired novel about these pilots became an overnight bestseller and, perhaps, the most widely read book ever written about aerial combat. Using Micheners notes, author David Sears tracked down the actual pilots to tell their riveting, true-life stories. From the icy, windswept decks of aircraft carriers, they penetrated treacherous mountain terrain to strike heavily defended dams, bridges, and tunnels, where well-entrenched Communist anti-aircraft gunners waited to shoot them down. Many of these men became air combat legends, and one, Neil Armstrong, the first astronaut to walk on the moon. Such Men As These brims with action-packed accounts of combat and unforgettable portraits of the pilots whose skill and sacrifice made epic history.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• Beginnings
• A purpose-built ship and numerous conversions
• Take-off decks
• Take-off platforms, catapults and lighters
• HMS Furious
• HMS Argus
• USS Langley
• Progress
• Different navies, different techniques
• Flight from ships other than carriers
• HMS Implacable described and compared
• Flying from a straight-deck carrier
• Design innovation and the 'rubber deck'
• Transformation
• Flying from an angled-deck carrier
• Helicopters
• Short take-off, vertical landing
• What might have been
• Cross-deck operations
• Postscript.