Military Model Scene

Title: US Naval Aviation 1945-2003
Author: Leo Marriott
Publisher: Pen & Sword
ISBN: 978-1-39906-257-2

A second book on the topic in the Images of War (IOW) series from Pen & Sword, tackling US carriers and their aircraft from the end of WW2 through to 2003. A 178-page soft-cover book in the standard style for these IOW books, packed with black & white archive photos.
This time the story starts with the leftovers from WW2 which took the US Navy up to the Korean War and the deployment of the early jets, still on the WW2 era fleet carriers but still plenty of piston engined machines. After the Korean War period of 1950-1953, the jets went supersonic, the angled flight deck became the norm, and they started building the large Supercarriers. Pictures show the USS Antietam (CV-36) as the first Essex class carrier to be fitted with an angled flight deck. Aircraft include the Demon, the Skyray, the arrival of the A4 Skyhawk and the F-8 Crusader. With the coming of the Vietnam era there was perhaps my favourite mix of aircraft types, such as Crusader, Corsair, Phantom, Skyhawk, Intruder, and Vigilante among them. There is inclusion of the tragic accident on the USS Enterprise when 15 aircraft were destroyed on deck and 27 dead and 314 crewmen injured. The following chapter looks at helicopters and ASW, before moving on to AEW and Electronic Warfare. The famous Sea King and the coming of the E-2 Hawkeye and the Prowler among others. When it gets to the period of the Cold War, and countering the expansion of Soviet naval forces, there was the Tomcat and the new nuclear powered Nimitz class vessels. I think one of my favourite images shows the Nimitz being built and you clearly see the 4 huge troughs which will hold the vital steam catapults before the flight deck is put on. Just when the Cold War ended, there were various Hot War incidents, followed by inclusion of the various types of support aircraft which supported US Navy operations and lastly the tenth chapter catches up with some of the more unusual aircraft they they tested out during this post-war period. It includes such as the Convair XFY-1, Sea Dart and Tradewind.
Each chapter has some basic text plus detailed captions for each photo and there is a lot in here, over what I think is a really varied and interesting period for the development of the aircraft carrier as well as the great advances in aircraft design over the years. If you have an interest in US aircraft carriers and US Navy aviation, I have no doubt you will enjoy the wide variety you will find in this one.
Thanks to Pen & Sword for the review copy.

Robin