One Hundred Years of U.S. Navy Air Power

by Douglas V Smith USN (Ret.), George H. W. Bush (Foreword by)

Overview

Published to coincide with the centennial celebration of U.S. Navy Aviation, this book chronicles Navy aviation from its earliest days, before the Navy’s first aircraft carrier joined the fleet, through the modern jet era marked by the introduction of the F-18 Hornet. It tells how naval aviation got its start, profiles its pioneers, and explains the early bureaucracy that fostered and sometimes inhibited its growth. The book then turns to the refinement of carrier aviation doctrine and tactics and the rapid development of aircraft and carriers, highlighting the transition from propeller-driven aircraft to swept wing jets in the period after WW II. Land-based Navy aircraft, rotary-wing aircraft and rigid airships, and balloons are also considered in this sweeping tribute.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781612514239
Publisher:	Naval Institute Press
Publication date:	10/15/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	527,148
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Douglas V. Smith is Professor of Strategy and Policy and Head, Strategy and Policy Division, Naval War College in Newport, RI. A 1970 graduate of the Naval Academy, he also is the author of Carrier Battles: Command Decisions in Harm’s Way.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations ix

Foreword George H. W. Bush xi

Acknowledgments xiii

Chapter 1 Introduction Douglas V. Smith 1

Chapter 2 The Experimental Era: U.S. Navy Aviation before 1916 Stephen K. Stein 5

Chapter 3 Eyes of the Fleet: How Flying Boats Transformed War Plan Orange Edward S. Miller 31

Chapter 4 Ships in the Sky John E. Jackson 43

Chapter 5 Big Guns versus Wooden Decks: Naval Aviation Officer Personnel, 1911-1941 Donald Chisholm 52

Chapter 6 Admiral Joseph Mason "Bull" Reeves, Father of Navy Carrier Aviation Douglas V. Smith 79

Chapter 7 Aviation in the Interwar Fleet Maneuvers, 1919-1940 Albert A. Nofi 94

Chapter 8 The Two-Ocean Navy Act of 1940: The Impact on American Preparedness for World War II Timothy H. Jackson Stanley D. M. Carpenter 131

Chapter 9 U.S. Aircraft Carrier Evolution, 1911-1945 Norman Friedman 153

Chapter 10 Foundation for Victory: U.S. Navy Aircraft Development, 1922-1945 Hill Goodspeed 199

Chapter 11 Straight Up: Vertical Flight in the U.S. Navy Kevin J. Delamer 220

Chapter 12 The Transition to Swept-Wing Jets Robert C. Rubel 240

Chapter 13 Naval Aviation in the Korean and Vietnam Wars Gary J. Ohls 269

Chapter 14 By Land and Sea: Non-Carrier Naval Aviation Sterling Michael Pavelec 301

Chapter 15 U.S. Aircraft Carrier Evolution: 1945-2011 Norman Friedman 322

Chapter 16 Conclusions Douglas V. Smith 350

Contributors 355

Index 361

Editorial Reviews

…A very fine contribution to the history of twentieth century naval aviation and its part in the activities of the U.S. Navy.” — ausmarine Magazine, July 2012 “…Specialists as well as those with a more casual interest in the subject will find this book both informative and a fitting contribution to the centennial of naval aviation.” —The Journal of Military History “[This book] is valuable reading for all Naval leaders and certainly for Naval aviators.” —The Daybook, A Publication of the Hampton Roads Naval Museum “There are 30 excellent photographs interspersed with the text and a brief biography of each contributor and the editor. It is a book worthy of its subject, and is recommended.” — The Mariner’s Mirror, Spring 2012 “By focusing on organizational, policy, and technical issues rather than simply producing yet another hagiographic combat history, editor Smith and his team of authors have produced a long-overdue book. The essay on naval aviation in Korea and Vietnam, written by Gary Ohls, is a particularly fine one. Overall a very valuable and welcome work, with particular appeal for military professionals, scholars, students, and enthusiasts, but for curious laypeople as well. Highly recommended.” — Choice, August 2011 "...[T]he essays address their topics so thoroughly that the reader is left with a broad understanding of the impact naval aviation has had on warfare since its humble beginnings. . . . All of the chapters are rich in context and heavily footnoted for the serious researcher." —Seapower “. . . A balanced and entertaining intellectual analysis from which we (in the UK) could draw many a contemporary lesson.” —The Naval Review, August 2011

From the Publisher