United States Naval Aviation 1910-1918 [Hardcover]

Noel C. Shirley (Author), Noel Shirley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2000 | Series: Schiffer Book for Designers & Collectors

United States Naval Aviation 1910-1918 for the first time provides a comprehensive study of the formation and initial deployment of naval aviation in a world war. The late eminent naval historian R.D. Layman wrote that the subject of naval aviation has, never been adequately explored, had been often underestimated, ignored, or unrealized. The author of this book, based upon over thirty years of research into the subject of World War I aviation, and based upon both primary and secondary reference sources, has compiled into one source a complete history of the early development of naval aviation in the United States. He then discusses the manner and role that the naval aviation service applied to the war effort during 1917-1918. The book covers not only the subject of naval aircraft, but also describes the activities of the Navy in the field of lighter-than-air craft. Specific information is provided on each of the Naval Air Stations constructed and operated, both domestically as well as in Foreign Service during the War. Detailed discussion is also provided regarding the role of Marine Corps aviation during this time period.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Schiffer Publishing (January 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764311794
• ISBN-13: 978-0764311796
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,521,653 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Barely airworthy . . ., August 6, 2001

By 

Joe Martin (Scottsdale, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: United States Naval Aviation 1910-1918 (Hardcover)

This version of the early history of U.S. Naval Aviation is told in the first 159 pages, consisting of 6 more-or-less independent chapters. Much of the first 2 chapters seems to be loosely strung together from a published USN chronology (which incidentally is now available on-line at the Naval Historical Center site.) In fact, the entire book is basically a dry recapitulation of sometimes unconnected events with no attempt at interpretation and very little comment. There are plenty of photos, a good portion of which were new to me, but many suffer from extremely poor copy technique. (What appears to be the reflection of a copy stand light appears along the edges, "whiting out" detail.)

The narrative is interrupted by several pages of aircraft serial numbers, personnel lists, etc., that might better have been added to the 26 [!] appendices that make up the second half of the book. Nineteen of these are devoted to accounts of U.S. Naval Air Stations in Europe during WWI and, judging from the footnotes, most appear to be almost verbatim reproductions of USN documents (or in one case, contemporary newspaper articles.)

Good editing/proofreading would have removed some irritants. For example, page 47 has USN ace David S. Ingalls as "Ingots" and adds a "d" to F. Trubee and Henry P. Davison's surname. Worse yet, on page 29, NACA chairman Dr. Charles D. Walcott becomes "Walkout". It's impossible, however, to quickly locate references to these gentlemen or anything else-there's no index.

This isn't a bad book, but much of the information is available gratis at the aforementioned web site or in the Government Documents section of any large library.

It has the feel typical of the Shiffer Military History series-solid, nice slick pages, well made overall, but I suspect even hard core naval aviation buffs will have a tough time justifying the cost for what new information they're apt to find between the covers.