POINT MUGU TEST CENTERS : A Pictorial History - Part One (1945-1975)

Translation of description:

This book by Angelo Romano, famous author and expert historian of the United States Naval Aviation, is the first of a new series by RN Publishing - Naval Aviation Archives – NAVAR, and describes the history of the Testing and Experimentation Centers based at Point Mugu in California, in the period 1945-1975.

The United States Navy has established and maintained several test and experimentation centers to test and evaluate aircraft and weapons systems. Few have achieved the size and scope of operations like the one based in Point Mugu, California. Over the years, the Naval Air Missile Test Center, along with the co-located Pacific Missile Range, has become the Naval Missile Center and the Pacific Missile Test Center, reflecting the evolution of technology, complexity and sophistication needed to accurately evaluate performance of weapons.

This latest book by Angelo Romano is an illustrated work covering the aircraft and missiles used during the first thirty years (1945-1975) of activity at the Naval Air Station at Point Mugu and its peripheral stations and ranges. The book details a multitude of designs, aircraft, squadrons and base and facility modifications up to 1975. Readers will find a fascinating wealth of technical and historical information on aircraft and associated weapons from the beginning of activities at Point Mugu, all organized chronologically by chapters.

Accompanying the text are approximately 600 black and white and color photographs, almost completely unpublished, which illustrate the aircraft, modifications and project details. This incredible and spectacular collection of photos is the result of careful research also conducted by various experts to verify the accuracy regarding the type of model, serial number (i.e. Bureau Number), the date and the position of the subjects. An exclusive feature is the list of all QT-33As assigned to Point Mugu, accompanied by photos of most of them. An annual inventory of aircraft types assigned to Point Mugu has been provided in numerous tables, along with some individual airframe histories. For historians and modelers, patches and insignia have been reproduced as accurately as possible in terms of detail and color, in order to answer questions such as: "What was that insignia on that plane and what did it look like?"

In summary, this is an amazing overview of the aircraft and operations that took place at the experimental centers at Point Mugu. A future volume will cover the organizations, aircraft, missiles and tests, from 1975 onwards. The quantity and quality of the contents presented in this unprecedented volume make it an unmissable work for all aviation historians, passionate photographers and model makers.
 

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