Aircraft Carriers: A History of Carrier Aviation and Its Influence on World Events, Volume II: 1946-2006

So I got this in the mail two days ago, and this is just about the first moment that I've taken my nose out of it. The volume is perfect for me because my interest in carriers end at 1945, with the end of WW II. Since this ends with the victory lap in Tokyo it is as ideal as a book could be for me. It is a huge book, not just in number of pages but in page dimensions. There is just a ton of content on a host of characters. Throughout the book are table and charts that provide valuable information. If you are a student of WW II this is an absolutely essential book if you are at all interested in either the naval war or in the aerial war, this contains a spectacular array of information. The photographs are spectacular throughout and even if you have many of them in other books, they are unlikely to have been reproduced as crisply as they are here. The unique thing about WW II in terms of naval warfare was the reorganization of fleets around aircraft carriers. Battleships, formerly the ship that defined a nation's international power, were largely relegated to anti-aircraft vessels to help protect carriers from attack by opposing aircraft. Nothing illustrated this quite so much as Pearl Harbor, where many older battleships were either damaged or destroyed. While the loss of human life was tragic, losing the battleships proved to be relatively unimportant, while the other the survival of American carriers prevented a possible knock out punch by the Japanese early in the war. While late in the war, the onslaught of a long string of Essex class fleet carrier, as well as light carriers and jeep carriers, not to mention the first of the heavy carriers. Whatever aspect of carrier development from the first days of naval aviation to the entry of the Pacific Fleet into Tokyo Bay, this is probably the single most important book on the aircraft carrier. It is not possible to overstress how essential this if for any student of the subject.

It would hard for me NOT to like this book. I served on the USS Independence CVA-62 from 1965-1968 during Vietnam. I continue to be enamored with all things aircraft carrier.

Arrived 1 week early, copy is in unread condition, pristine. Strongly recommended.

Its expensive, especially if you get both volumes, but its worth it. A superb look at carrier aviation of all the countries who possessed shipborne naval air throughout history. And it does cover ALL naval shipborne aviation, everything from fixed wing large deck carriers, down to helicopter assault ships and hybrid ships. Just about every military action that involved shipborne airpower is discussed here, often right down to the individual strikes and strike packages that were used.

Having served for over two years on a flat top I've read many carrier books. This one is by far THE BEST I've ever read. The Viet Nam chapter alone is LOADED with info I've never heard/read about. Being large it is a coffee table book. If you like carriers, this is THE ONE 4U !

I bought Volume I in Portland Maine at a Borders Store being closed so to make my Naval Reference Library complete I had to get Volume II. This is a reference book, not a novel, and very well done.

This book is required reading for any naval enthusiast. Polmar is the undisputed master of this subject area and perfectly balances technical details with policy analysis, operational history and interesting anecdotes.Using the Amazon shopping webpage was extremely easy and user friendly, and shipping was quick and cheap.

This is a good book and is a little more advanced for the young I do highly recommend this book

Hmmmm... a straight forward account, not sure about the "influence on history" claim- could be a lot better and more in depth.

Excellent, no other comment

Angesichts der bereits großen Anzahl von Veröffentlichungen zu diesem Thema war ich zuerst skeptisch, zumal der Preis ebenfalls deutlich aus dem Rahmen der Veröffentlichungen zu diesem Thema fällt. Inzwischen habe ich 30 % des Buches gelesen und bin begeistert. Hier wird ein komplexes Thema pragmatisch und doch in sehr detaillierter Form behandelt. Wer die legendären Veröffentlichungen der 80-Jahre nicht in seinem Schrank hat (z.B. Brown, Operationsbasis Flugzeugträger, oder Brown, Carrier Operations 1942-1945 bzw. Dull, die kaiserlich japanische Marine 1941-1945) hat in diesem Buch eine sehr gute Zusammenfassung mit hinreichender Illustrierung.1 Stern Abzug weshalb: Bei der tiefgründigen Recherche wäre es m.E. ohne größeren Aufwand möglich gewesen, Risszeichnungen der besprochenen Träger mit einigen grundsätzlichen technischen Hinweisen als Anhang zu integrieren, zumal Schattenrisse im Buchumschlag schon Verwendung finden. So bleibt dem interessierten Leser nur ggfs. die Anschaffung vo n Weyer*s Taschenbuch der Kriegsflotten oder Terzibaschitsch's Carriers of the US Navy u.ä. Büchern um auch technische Hintergründe zu erhalten. Der Anspruch an die Darstellung der "Einflüsse der Weltgeschehnisse" lt. Titel wird m.E. nur bedingt erfüllt, was dem Buch nur gut tut. Veröffentlichungen zu den politischen Rahmenbedingungen dieser Zeit existieren bereits in hinreichender Zahl und Qualität. Hier wäre eine Kürzung des Titels schon ausreichend (und würde die geneigte Leserschar sicher nicht verkleinern).

Un libro grueso, denso, bien documentado, si bien con algunas erratas menores. Mi ejemplar estaba relativamente bien conservado para ser de segunda mano con algunas dobleces y la sobrecubierta algo rasgada. Es un libro para los estudiosos de los más mínimos detalles de las operaciones aeronavales y embarcadas, por lo cual requiere una lectura pausada. Recomendable aunque difícil de encontrar en librerías.

題名どおりの航空母艦史概略で、パート1である今号では1909年～1945年までを取り上げています。主要レジュメは「なか見！検索」をご参照ください。時代、設計思想、戦史など扱う範囲が多岐にわたり、600ページ弱というボリュームながらどうしても「広く浅く」感じられてしまいます。ただし内容的には黎明期の試行錯誤、設計思想の変化、各種装備品の発展、各国の運用経過などが時系列でかなり詳しく綴られており、戦歴に関しても主要海戦のみならず大西洋などの船団護衛戦や各上陸作戦など、空母が関係したものについてほとんど網羅されているようで星4つの評価にしたのもこの関連情報があったからです。あまり知られていないことも色々載っており、例えば・WW1時　駆逐艦が曳航するはしけから複葉機を発信させる試み。（ツェッペリン飛行船対策とのことですが随分なことをするなと思います）・1943年シチリア島上陸作戦、および1945年硫黄島上陸作戦時のＬＳＴ艦上での　米陸軍偵察機Ｌ4パイパーカブの運用に関する写真と記事。（特に硫黄島戦の「ブロディシステム」＝発艦はカタパルト、着艦は艦の前後に　建てたマスト間にワイヤーを張り　翼上にフックを付けたパイパーを　ひっかけて止めるという曲芸のようなしろものの詳細を初めて知りましたが　護衛空母がありながらも、陸海軍の確執を象徴しており興味深いものです）　またこの流れは改造したリバティ船から運用できるＲ4ヘリコプターの登場で　ひとまずゴールを迎えたことも別途記述されています。写真に関しては小さいですが200以上あり、若干数ある地図などの情報も掲載されています。「空母のすべて」という感じの書籍なので個々詳細を求める方にはお勧めしませんが同様のテーマを扱った既刊本のなかでは結構面白い資料だと思います。