Full Description
Within six months of the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Navy had checked the Japanese military advance in the Pacific to the extent that the United States could return to its original "Defeat Germany First" strategy. That the Navy was able to accomplish this feat with only six fleet aircraft carriers and little more than 1,000 combat aircraft was not sheer luck but the culmination of more than two decades of determined preparation. This thorough study, with detailed drawings and photographs, explains and illustrates the trial and error process which went into developing the aircraft, airships and ships of the interwar period. The critical factors that shaped Naval Aviation after World War I--naval treaties, fleet tactics, government programs, leadership and organization, as well as the emergence of Marine Corps and Coast Guard aviation--are discussed in depth.
Contents
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction: Influences That Shaped Naval Aviation, 1919-1941
PART I: HEAVIER-THAN-AIR DEVELOPMENT
PART II: LIGHTER-THAN-AIR DEVELOPMENT
PART III: AVIATION-RELATED SHIP DEVELOPMENT
Between pages 298 and 299 are 8 color plates containing 40 images
Appendix 1: Foreign Aircraft and Airships
Appendix 2: Racing and Experimental Aircraft
Appendix 3: Naval Aircraft, Airship, Ship, and Aviation Unit Designations, Nomenclature, and Abbreviations
Appendix 4: Status of Naval Aviation, December 1941
Glossary of Naval and Aeronautical Terms
Bibliography
Index
