Although many books have been published about various phases and facets of U.S. naval aviation, this book is the first to provide a comprehensive history. Fully illustrated, it allows the reader to finally appreciate the full breadth and depth of a monumental achievement of man and machine.

From World War I to Desert Storm, descriptions of combat operations combine with detailed and trenchant analyses to present a full understanding of the past eighty years of technological developments. After a decade of research, naval aviator, author, and editor Richard Knott fluidly traces the difficult integration of a suspect new invention into the hidebound battleship navy, its hard-won acceptance in battle, and its momentous role in world events.

His landmark study is filled with the latest scholarship on everything from flying boats and airships to the deciding role of carriers in the Pacific during World War II, from the conversion to jets and limited conflicts during the Cold War to debates about naval aviation's current and future roles in close air support, joint operations, and in space.