Some Future Titles of Interest for SPF Members

Owens Z said:
No mention on Naval Institute Press's website yet, but this forthcoming book about ASW from 1946 through 1990 sounds interesting. Whenever I re-read Norman Friedman's authoritative U.S. Destroyers: An Illustrated Design History, I am struck that the USN's fears in the late 1940's, about a horde of Soviet high-speed submarines based on the advanced Type XXI U-boat rendering the existing fleet of destroyer escorts ineffective, have still not come to pass. As things have turned out, the fastest diesel-electric subs of the 2020's can do only a few knots more that the Type XXI's 17 knots, and that for only an hour or so. If one could catch a "slow steaming" 18-knot Maersk container ship at all, I suspect that an escorting John C. Butler-class DE armed with Hedgehog would be considered a dangerous adversary to this day.

Dr Friedman covers the period well in his fine book The Fifty Year War: Conflict and Strategy in the Cold War, which he kindly autographed for me, and he exhaustively covered ASW weapons and fire control (and the general principles of sonar, etc.) in the volumes of his big Naval Institute Guide to World Naval Weapon Systems, of which I own two.
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The fast submarines would, I think, have been Type 26 knock-offs (would you really like to serve on an HTP sub? I wouldn't), and the only extent to which they came to pass was nuclear subs. The Whiskeys were largely interpreted as Type XXI clones, but they were a lot slower (and shorter-legged); I'd guess that Zulus and Foxtrots came closest. What was largely missed in the West was a Soviet switch away from Battle of the Atlantic II to a focus on nuclear weapons (and going after Western SSBNs). It can be argued that had NATO not been crushed early on in a land war, the Soviets might have turned some of their subs loose against reinforcement shipping. We can't know, and knowing their war plans would not help, because this is speculation about what would have happened had their war plans gone sour.
 
Owens Z said:
Pasoleati, by mentioning Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War you set a very high bar. I love a good design & engineering technical history on naval or aviation or space subjects (or on tanks) more than most. For instance, I have read and re-read Dennis R. Jenkins's fourth edition, Space Shuttle: Developing an Icon 1972-2013, which has (not counting its tables and figure captions) double the word count of Tolstoy's War and Peace and approaches thrice that of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. And I know about misleadingly titled and advertised works (see for example post #34 in the recent thread "What do people think about current books?"). With that said, I myself enjoyed Battleship Bismarck, and my purchased copy of that hefty book has an honored place on my shelves.

If I am understanding correctly, the forthcoming new revised edition of Garzke/Dulin, Battleships: Allied Battleships in World War II plans to enrich and deepen the design & engineering info in the original 1980 classic, which will be good news to you and me and others.
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Mentioning the Japanese Cruisers bible is important for one major reason. The book has incredible amount of design and technical information on a Japanese topic. Information which poorer authors have claimed that "sources do not exist". Just like authors kept claiming that detailed material on German piston engines does not exist. Then Calum Douglas proved them so wrong.

What Lacroix's and Douglas's works have in common? Digging deep.

Regarding the forthcoming Allied Battleships by Garzke et al, it is worth noting that since the first edition John Jordan's book on French battleships has been published. The new edition should be very thoroughly revised and much expanded to make it worthwhile.
 
Pasoleati said:
Mentioning the Japanese Cruisers bible is important for one major reason. The book has incredible amount of design and technical information on a Japanese topic. Information which poorer authors have claimed that "sources do not exist". Just like authors kept claiming that detailed material on German piston engines does not exist. Then Calum Douglas proved them so wrong.
What Lacroix's and Douglas's works have in common? Digging deep.
Regarding the forthcoming Allied Battleships by Garzke et al, it is worth noting that since the first edition John Jordan's book on French battleships has been published. The new edition should be very thoroughly revised and much expanded to make it worthwhile.
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Pasoleati, I believe you and I are in agreement on these matters. And that's John Jordan's books on French battleships: I have both. It seems our one difference is that I give a hard-at-work author the benefit of the doubt until his published book proves to be poor, if that's indeed the case. This is why I have lurked on this valuable Books & Marketplace section for a long while, to hear what people think about a new book before I spend my limited money. So as to give back, I have recently been posting news here about relevant forthcoming books I have learned about, for anybody who might be interested.
 
fishpond said:
The fast submarines would, I think, have been Type 26 knock-offs (would you really like to serve on an HTP sub? I wouldn't), and the only extent to which they came to pass was nuclear subs. The Whiskeys were largely interpreted as Type XXI clones, but they were a lot slower (and shorter-legged); I'd guess that Zulus and Foxtrots came closest. What was largely missed in the West was a Soviet switch away from Battle of the Atlantic II to a focus on nuclear weapons (and going after Western SSBNs). It can be argued that had NATO not been crushed early on in a land war, the Soviets might have turned some of their subs loose against reinforcement shipping. We can't know, and knowing their war plans would not help, because this is speculation about what would have happened had their war plans gone sour.
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As for a switch, my reading of William Taubman's magisterial and widely praised Khrushchev: The Man and His Era (WW Norton, 2003) convinces me that the Soviet leader's emphasis on increasingly oversized H-bombs and rockets at the expense of tanks, bombers, and warships was for bluff and bluster against the apprehensive free world, rather than for imminent use. And for the Brezhnev era, to use too-brief Socratic logic: if in the maximum-danger period after Soviet total superiority in nuclear, chemical, and conventional weapons and American defeat in Vietnam but before the Reagan buildup really got going and the Chernobyl meltdown proved Soviet anti-radiation gear to be junk, had the Soviets believed they had a good chance to successfully conquer all Europe, then they would have tried to conquer all Europe. A world war was not started; therefore the Soviets never did have such assurance. They certainly did not spare lives out of any fellow feeling. Good riddance. And Desert Storm in 1991 (which Norman Friedman covered well in his book Desert Victory: The War for Kuwait) against Iraq's superior numbers of troops and Soviet tanks using Soviet tactics convinced the USSR in its final months that its own forces were no match for the United States and Britain, and perhaps never had been, or so I have heard. Regarding Battle of the Atlantic 2 (actually 3), the fictional yet informed works The Third World War: August 1985 and The Third World War: The Untold Story by General Sir John Hackett (the latter clearly with input from Viktor Suvorov) and Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy disagree with you. But all this is getting well off topic. I look forward to publication of Dr Friedman's in-depth book on ASW during the Cold War; no doubt another good read. Groan: I will need to somehow find more bookshelf space this year, again.

P.S. I have been a longtime enthusiast for hydrogen peroxide use in aerospace planes and launch vehicles, but no, I would not want to be in a submerged submarine with that volatile substance either in the engine room or the torpedoes, despite the apparent success of the Swedes with the latter. In fact, remembering my cramped discomfort inside German and American museum subs, I would not want to be in a submerged submarine at all.
 
Owens Z said:
Norman Friedman's forthcoming book Cold War Anti-Submarine Warfare is now shown on the Naval Institute Press website, with a publication date of mid-August 2025; see < https://www.usni.org/press/books/cold-war-anti-submarine-warfare >.
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As much as I'm looking forward to this book, I feel like the overall production quality of Naval Institute Press titles has taken an absolute nosedive over the last decade, especially when compared with what Seaforth has been pumping out recently. I've owned the reprint edition of his US Battleships, Cruisers, and Submarines since 1945 design histories, and they all look worse than the original editions, and no attempt was made to incorporate the new data organically in the revised edition of the submarine book.

I'm sure it'll be an absolute goldmine, and while I've bought most of Friedman's books the same month they were published, I'm having a hard time justifying spending $125 (or even $75...) on something printed by a publisher who clearly doesn't care anymore.
 
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Book listed on Amazon.co,uk ;

Hitler's and Hirohito's 'Kamikaze' Flying Bombs: The Axis’ Manned Suicide Attack Aircraft of WW2​

Hardcover​

– 30 July 2025​

by William Wolf (Author)


On 1 April 1945, US troops launched the largest amphibious assault of the Pacific War on the heavily-defended island of Okinawa. Supporting the invasion, the USS West Virginia participated in the bombardment of entrenched Japanese defenders. That evening, a Japanese aircraft launched a Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka, a rocket-powered kamikaze plane. West Virginia was hit by an Ohka, becoming the first ship damaged by such a weapon. Twelve days later, the USS Mannert L. Able became the first ship sunk by an Ohka. The deployment of the Ohka was a desperate measure by Japan as the war turned against them. This manned flying bomb evolved from earlier kamikaze tactics. However, the Germans had also considered similar weapons. As early as 1944, figures close to Hitler, such as Otto Skorzeny and Hanna Reitsch, advocated for kamikaze missions. Hitler authorized the creation of the Leonidas Staffel to prepare for these attacks, leading to the development of the Messerschmitt Me 328 and Fieseler Fi 103R, also known as the Reichenberg. Though the Fi 103R began production in October 1944, the changing dynamics of the war rendered it obsolete by the time it was ready for use. The project was formally abandoned in March 1945. This book details the development of both the Ohka and Reichenberg.
 
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Book listed on Amazon.co,uk ;

Skyhookers: An Illustrated History of Hook-on Aircraft and Their Dirigible Motherships​

Hardcover​

– 30 Sept. 2025​

by William Wolf (Author)


From the First World War's Zeppelins to the Second World War's large bombers, military aircraft were vulnerable to fast, manoeuvrable interceptors. To address this, fighter escorts were used, but their limited range often left bombers exposed. A solution was the use of Composite aircraft, where larger bombers carried smaller, short-range fighters, which could be launched and retrieved as needed. Zeppelins, particularly vulnerable to interceptors, were ideal for this concept. During the First World War, Germany briefly experimented with carrying parasite aircraft, while the British conducted post-war trials using airships like His Majesty’s Airship R-23 and R-33, carrying fighters such as the Sopwith Camel and de Havilland DH.53 Humming Bird. However, successful hook-on/retrievals were only achieved with the Humming Bird. The US Navy and Army further developed this concept. In 1918, the Navy launched a Curtiss JN ‘Jenny’ from a C-1 Blimp, and in 1924, the Army successfully flew a Sperry Messenger from a TC-Class airship. The US perfected the carry/launch/retrieval method for airship defence and scouting, notably with the USS Los Angeles, which carried aircraft on a ‘trapeze’ device. The Akron and Macon airships, with internal storage for aircraft, further advanced this technique, making them some of the most remarkable aircraft of their time.
 
phil gollin said:
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Book listed on Amazon.co,uk ;

Skyhookers: An Illustrated History of Hook-on Aircraft and Their Dirigible Motherships​

Hardcover​

– 30 Sept. 2025​

by William Wolf (Author)


From the First World War's Zeppelins to the Second World War's large bombers, military aircraft were vulnerable to fast, manoeuvrable interceptors. To address this, fighter escorts were used, but their limited range often left bombers exposed. A solution was the use of Composite aircraft, where larger bombers carried smaller, short-range fighters, which could be launched and retrieved as needed. Zeppelins, particularly vulnerable to interceptors, were ideal for this concept. During the First World War, Germany briefly experimented with carrying parasite aircraft, while the British conducted post-war trials using airships like His Majesty’s Airship R-23 and R-33, carrying fighters such as the Sopwith Camel and de Havilland DH.53 Humming Bird. However, successful hook-on/retrievals were only achieved with the Humming Bird. The US Navy and Army further developed this concept. In 1918, the Navy launched a Curtiss JN ‘Jenny’ from a C-1 Blimp, and in 1924, the Army successfully flew a Sperry Messenger from a TC-Class airship. The US perfected the carry/launch/retrieval method for airship defence and scouting, notably with the USS Los Angeles, which carried aircraft on a ‘trapeze’ device. The Akron and Macon airships, with internal storage for aircraft, further advanced this technique, making them some of the most remarkable aircraft of their time.
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Cover shot:

41v9y655L6L.jpg


Looking forward to this one.
 
phil gollin said:
.

Book listed on Amazon.co,uk ;

Hitler's and Hirohito's 'Kamikaze' Flying Bombs: The Axis’ Manned Suicide Attack Aircraft of WW2​

Hardcover​

– 30 July 2025​

by William Wolf (Author)


On 1 April 1945, US troops launched the largest amphibious assault of the Pacific War on the heavily-defended island of Okinawa. Supporting the invasion, the USS West Virginia participated in the bombardment of entrenched Japanese defenders. That evening, a Japanese aircraft launched a Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka, a rocket-powered kamikaze plane. West Virginia was hit by an Ohka, becoming the first ship damaged by such a weapon. Twelve days later, the USS Mannert L. Able became the first ship sunk by an Ohka. The deployment of the Ohka was a desperate measure by Japan as the war turned against them. This manned flying bomb evolved from earlier kamikaze tactics. However, the Germans had also considered similar weapons. As early as 1944, figures close to Hitler, such as Otto Skorzeny and Hanna Reitsch, advocated for kamikaze missions. Hitler authorized the creation of the Leonidas Staffel to prepare for these attacks, leading to the development of the Messerschmitt Me 328 and Fieseler Fi 103R, also known as the Reichenberg. Though the Fi 103R began production in October 1944, the changing dynamics of the war rendered it obsolete by the time it was ready for use. The project was formally abandoned in March 1945. This book details the development of both the Ohka and Reichenberg.
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Cover shot:

51vFTd5pEIL.jpg
 
GTX said:
Cover shot:

41v9y655L6L.jpg


Looking forward to this one.
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I am more than disappointed by this author in all of his earlier publications. A lot of stuff simply copied from manuals and very little, if any, new research making its way to the pages of the book. I'll wait 'til I see a copy and decide then if it is worth.

Enjoy the Day! Mark
 
GTX said:
9781800353343.jpg


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Available from July 2025

"All the major types are covered, from all-weather fighters, interceptors, strike aircraft, anti-submarine helicopters and airborne early warning aircraft.
as are many design studies and proposals that remained on the drawing board. Guided missiles during the post-war period and the evolution of the Royal Navy's aircraft carriers and the new technologies required to operate jet aircraft from ships are also analysed."

Promising... :)
 
Antonio said:

Available from July 2025

"All the major types are covered, from all-weather fighters, interceptors, strike aircraft, anti-submarine helicopters and airborne early warning aircraft.
as are many design studies and proposals that remained on the drawing board. Guided missiles during the post-war period and the evolution of the Royal Navy's aircraft carriers and the new technologies required to operate jet aircraft from ships are also analysed."

Promising... :)
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Another book by forum member @Hood. Looks good.
 
FighterJock said:
The Jaguar book in definitely one to look out for.
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Hood said:
I may be more than a little biased on this one!
I've just handed in some corrections and another five appendices of data. If all goes well it should make the April launch date.
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GTX said:
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Antonio said:
Available from July 2025
"All the major types are covered, from all-weather fighters, interceptors, strike aircraft, anti-submarine helicopters and airborne early warning aircraft.
as are many design studies and proposals that remained on the drawing board. Guided missiles during the post-war period and the evolution of the Royal Navy's aircraft carriers and the new technologies required to operate jet aircraft from ships are also analysed."
Promising... :)
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I don't yet own a James Jackson book, but I know that author is held in respect by those on this website. His forthcoming book on the SEPECAT Jaguar, which (checking just now) I see has been retired by its operators except India, is very tempting: I will have to decide whether to buy a copy, or remain content with the eponymous chapters of my Bill Gunston books Attack Aircraft of the West and Jet Bombers (which included the Jaguar's 1990-91 Gulf War experience).

This Hikoki book Wings Over the Fleet: British Naval Aircraft Since 1945 seems like a must-have; thanks for the notice GTX. Mr Jackson, other than the fact it will include the Fleet Air Arm's new F-35s (and not include WW2 and previous), how does the theme and content of your forthcoming book compare and contrast with, for example, Owen Thetford's British Naval Aircraft Since 1912 in the Putnam Aviation Series? Please comment. Best wishes to you for all your books' success.
 
Owens Z said:
I don't yet own a James Jackson book, but I know that author is held in respect by those on this website. His forthcoming book on the SEPECAT Jaguar, which (checking just now) I see has been retired by its operators except India, is very tempting: I will have to decide whether to buy a copy, or remain content with the eponymous chapters of my Bill Gunston books Attack Aircraft of the West and Jet Bombers (which included the Jaguar's 1990-91 Gulf War experience).

This Hikoki book Wings Over the Fleet: British Naval Aircraft Since 1945 seems like a must-have; thanks for the notice GTX. Mr Jackson, other than the fact it will include the Fleet Air Arm's new F-35s (and not include WW2 and previous), how does the theme and content of your forthcoming book compare and contrast with, for example, Owen Thetford's British Naval Aircraft Since 1912 in the Putnam Aviation Series? Please comment. Best wishes to you for all your books' success.
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I think you'll find the Jaguar book far more thorough that Bill Gunston's chapter, though I guess it boils down how much you like Jaguars as to whether you buy the book or not (I tend to only buy single type books on aircraft I particularly like that I don't have much information on).

If you want a modern version of Owen Thetford's British Naval Aircraft Since 1912 then David Hobb's latest book (released a few months ago) Aircraft of the Royal Navy since 1908 is probably the closest analogue, its even arranged in alphabetical order I believe (https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Aircraft-of-the-Royal-Navy-Hardback/p/51070).

Wings Over the Fleet is very similar to other titles within the Hikoki Since 1945 series with thematic chapters in a broadly chronological order. It starts with the Vampire jet trials, moving on the Sea Hawk and Attacker (I'm not covering the late war piston aircraft, Tony Buttler's Propeller Twilight should cover your needs for sleek, powerful piston jobs). Then the experiments with rubber decks, angled decks and steam catapults before examining the day fighters, all-weather fighters, strike aircraft, ASW, helicopters, Commando helicopters, AEW, V/STOL and all the way to the current day. It obviously covers aircraft carrier technologies etc. to put the aircraft into their context and at its heart it is a projects book as well as looking at the in service types. But its not an operational history - you won't find detailed accounts of Shar combats over the Falklands for example. There is a good deal of procurement politics involved and it covers a lot of ground as the RN carrier fleet fluctuates in size over the post-war decades. It doesn't dwell too heavily on wider defence politics, this is an aircraft book after all. It offers basic info on carrier studies etc., but again this isn't a naval reference book. Hobbs and others have covered this area and Friedman's forthcoming two-volume set will (hopefully) be a fairly definitive work on the subject (British Carrier Aviation being long overdue a refresh).

Anyone who is familiar with the AH section of the forum knows how emotive this topic is, I don't make any judgements, I leave the reader to do that.

And a shout out to forum member @CiTrus90 (Luca Landino) for the excellent cover 3D artwork - which features in the Jaguar book as well (hinting at the range of projects covered in that book, there are other CiTrus90 artworks in the Jag book). Although not a member here, a shout out to Luciano Alviani who painted six artworks of a range of the naval projects - they are pretty striking (if anyone wants to see a PD.13 lobbing a Red Beard towards a Soviet task force, here is your chance!), anyone who already owns one of Chris Gibson's Hikoki's or Blue Envoy Tech Profiles or my Teach for the Sky will know Luciano's work.
 
 
overscan (PaulMM) said:
Seaforth is an imprint of Pen & Sword.
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fishpond said:
Blurb was wrong. Originally it was a single volume, now it is to be two of them. So in this volume you get the story to the end of WW II; there will be a second volume on the story since.
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fishpond said:
These are primarily about the carriers, but they have to take into account the impact of the aircraft. For example, the RN felt compelled to modernize carriers (they wanted more than Victorious) because based on what was being developed, by 1952 surviving WW 2 carriers would have been unable to operate current aircraft. There is no way to divorce the development of STOVL carriers from that of STOVL aircraft -- and so on. And of course it is impossible to talk about the carriers without the developments which made them jet-capable and then VSTOL-capable. Nor is it possible to divorce either the aircraft or the carriers from perceived RN missions and threats.
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Norman Friedman's forthcoming book The British Aircraft Carrier: In Two World Wars now appears on Pen & Sword's website, which confirms a Seaforth imprint and that this will be the first of two volumes; see < https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/The-British-Aircraft-Carrier-Hardback/p/52026 >. An attractive front cover. No word yet from Naval Institute Press about a US co-publication of this two-volume work.
 
phil gollin said:

Skyhookers: An Illustrated History of Hook-on Aircraft and Their Dirigible Motherships​

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GTX said:
Cover shot:
Looking forward to this one.
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Mark Nankivil said:
I am more than disappointed by this author in all of his earlier publications. A lot of stuff simply copied from manuals and very little, if any, new research making its way to the pages of the book. I'll wait 'til I see a copy and decide then if it is worth.
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A potentially interesting subject, especially to airship fans like me; thanks for the notice. But I am unfamiliar with this author William Wolf, and Mark, your message worries me. Like you, I think I will wait to see what readers think of it after this book's publication, before making a decision.
 
BigD said:
As much as I'm looking forward to this book, I feel like the overall production quality of Naval Institute Press titles has taken an absolute nosedive over the last decade, especially when compared with what Seaforth has been pumping out recently. I've owned the reprint edition of his US Battleships, Cruisers, and Submarines since 1945 design histories, and they all look worse than the original editions, and no attempt was made to incorporate the new data organically in the revised edition of the submarine book.

I'm sure it'll be an absolute goldmine, and while I've bought most of Friedman's books the same month they were published, I'm having a hard time justifying spending $125 (or even $75...) on something printed by a publisher who clearly doesn't care anymore.
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I revere Norman Friedman's hardcover "Illustrated Design Histories" from the 1980s on US Navy ship classes (Subs Through 1945, Subs Since 1945, Aircraft Carriers, Battleships, Cruisers, Destroyers, Amphibious Ships, and Small Combatants), which I access from my local public library. I would be very interested in buying copies for myself, but when I heard from reviews that the recent Naval Institute Press revised editions are in fact the original books reprinted exactly as-is, even to the extent of not fixing old typos, with the addition of one new final chapter, and that the paper and printing are noticeably worse than the originals especially for the figures' legibility, I passed. It remains unclear to me whether the decision not to do a standard new edition (i.e. refresh the whole book from the ground up) was Dr Friedman's, or Naval Institute Press's.

BigD, may I ask whether your thoughts about a quality nosedive and a contemptuous lack of caring at USNI refer solely to those Friedman revisions, which others have complained about? Or are there more Naval Institute Press titles that you have in mind? Please clarify. As an example of my own experience, when I bought a copy of Naval Institute Press's 2020 reprint of the 650-page Junks and Sampans of the Yangtze by GRG Worcester I found it to be lavishly and meticulously produced, with better paper and binding than the 1971 original (which I know from the library).
 
 
Owens Z said:
A potentially interesting subject, especially to airship fans like me; thanks for the notice. But I am unfamiliar with this author William Wolf, and Mark, your message worries me. Like you, I think I will wait to see what readers think of it after this book's publication, before making a decision.
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William Wolf's books can be an absolute goldmine, but they tend to give off "the editor won't arrive until Tuesday" vibe. The later books in the "Ultimate Look" series are an improvement over the earlier ones, but there's still plenty of typos and a lot of the pictures tend to be overly contrasted or full of compression artifacts. His book on the B-29 exemplifies everything that's good and bad about his work - it's almost certainly the definitive technical study of the aircraft, and it's packed full of rare diagrams and operational insights, but the pictures tend to look like they came out of a high school yearbook, and the folks at Schiffer somehow managed to publish the book with file names and notes to the editor intact!

His book are still worth owning, but you can't go in expecting the same level of quality you might see in a Crecy or Specialty Press (RIP) title. In fairness, Schiffer has gotten better over the years, but they still have a long way to go.
 
This is distressing news. I used to get catalogs from Schiffer with high production values. The local hobby shop always stocked their titles. Then they decreased the number of military history books they produced.
 
phil gollin said:
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I hope this hasn't been listed before ;

Hawker Siddeley HS.801 Nimrod: Outstanding in the Role​

Hardcover​

– 31 May 2025​

by Chris Gibson (Author)



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Another £99.99 one from Amazon....I sense a pattern here.
 
Hood said:
Wings Over the Fleet is very similar to other titles within the Hikoki Since 1945 series with thematic chapters in a broadly chronological order. It starts with the Vampire jet trials, moving on the Sea Hawk and Attacker (I'm not covering the late war piston aircraft, Tony Buttler's Propeller Twilight should cover your needs for sleek, powerful piston jobs). Then the experiments with rubber decks, angled decks and steam catapults before examining the day fighters, all-weather fighters, strike aircraft, ASW, helicopters, Commando helicopters, AEW, V/STOL and all the way to the current day. It obviously covers aircraft carrier technologies etc. to put the aircraft into their context and at its heart it is a projects book as well as looking at the in service types. But its not an operational history - you won't find detailed accounts of Shar combats over the Falklands for example. There is a good deal of procurement politics involved and it covers a lot of ground as the RN carrier fleet fluctuates in size over the post-war decades. It doesn't dwell too heavily on wider defence politics, this is an aircraft book after all. It offers basic info on carrier studies etc., but again this isn't a naval reference book. Hobbs and others have covered this area and Friedman's forthcoming two-volume set will (hopefully) be a fairly definitive work on the subject (British Carrier Aviation being long overdue a refresh).
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Very excited for this book - it's a good year for those of us interested in the FAA!

Do you expect to be able to cover the development of the support roles (i.e. photographic reconnaissance, in-flight refuelling, electronic warfare, COD, target towing, etc.) at all, or will it purely focus on the front line ones? Most of those roles seem to have received a fair bit of investment from the RN over the years, but I've yet to see them get more than a passing mention in any book - it would be great to finally get to hear some of the story behind them!
 
ChocolateCrisps said:
Very excited for this book - it's a good year for those of us interested in the FAA!

Do you expect to be able to cover the development of the support roles (i.e. photographic reconnaissance, in-flight refuelling, electronic warfare, COD, target towing, etc.) at all, or will it purely focus on the front line ones? Most of those roles seem to have received a fair bit of investment from the RN over the years, but I've yet to see them get more than a passing mention in any book - it would be great to finally get to hear some of the story behind them!
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Many thanks.

It will focus mainly on the main frontline roles, with a detailed look at AEW, ASW and amphibious helicopter assault as separate roles. Recon kit is looked at where relevant, the buddy Scimitar tankers for Bucc S.1 are covered. The ECM and COD conversions are covered in the text, but not in any depth (ECM training and FRADU were part of Teach for the Sky), so still passing mentions sadly given the space available and the lack of detail to really flesh out chapters on some of these subjects.
The RN was very adept at electronic warfare in various forms (especially passive listening), not enough has really come up in the archives for me to give a through examination; I've talked to another researcher and author in this area and even he has very little material on the RN's aerial EW activities.
 
Hood said:
The RN was very adept at electronic warfare in various forms (especially passive listening), not enough has really come up in the archives for me to give a through examination; I've talked to another researcher and author in this area and even he has very little material on the RN's aerial EW activities.
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Thanks for the reply - sounds like the book will be as thorough as is viable at present then. I'll look forward to it!

I wonder if more material on EW will become available in the archives in future, or if it's lurking somewhere else?
 
Hood said:
It will focus mainly on the main frontline roles, with a detailed look at AEW, ASW and amphibious helicopter assault as separate roles. Recon kit is looked at where relevant, the buddy Scimitar tankers for Bucc S.1 are covered. The ECM and COD conversions are covered in the text, but not in any depth (ECM training and FRADU were part of Teach for the Sky), so still passing mentions sadly given the space available and the lack of detail to really flesh out chapters on some of these subjects.
The RN was very adept at electronic warfare in various forms (especially passive listening), not enough has really come up in the archives for me to give a through examination; I've talked to another researcher and author in this area and even he has very little material on the RN's aerial EW activities.
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FighterJock said:
Pre-Ordered all ready Hood, I cannot wait.
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ChocolateCrisps said:
Thanks for the reply - sounds like the book will be as thorough as is viable at present then. I'll look forward to it!
I wonder if more material on EW will become available in the archives in future, or if it's lurking somewhere else?
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With Wings Over the Fleet: British Naval Aircraft since 1945 and other titles coming, it looks like a good year for all of us, ChocolateCrisps. (By the way, chocolate on potato chips sounds awful.)

Mr Jackson, may I ask—is the unnamed EW authority you mention the famed Doug Richardson?
 
51D2wVVZD1L.jpg

French Aircraft Carriers 1910-2000
Hardcover
288 pages
Amazon.co.uk

French carrier aviation traces its origins to the Foudre, a highly original ship initially designed to carry torpedo boats into action but later converted into a seaplane carrier. During the First World War this was supplemented by a number of merchant ships requisitioned to support aircraft and the former sloop Bapaume became the first French ship to launch wheeled aircraft while underway. The Washington Treaty of 1922 prevented the completion of traditional capital ships, so France, like the other major naval powers, decided to convert an incomplete battleship, the Béarn, to an experimental carrier. Between 1929 and 1936 there were fifteen ‘paper designs’, all covered in this book, but the only aviation ship added to the inter-war French navy was the highly unusual Commandant Teste, whose tactical rationale and service history is explored at length. France’s first purpose-designed carriers, Joffre and Painlevé were ordered just before the outbreak of the Second World War but the Armistice of 1940 meant that neither was ever completed. Some design work continued during the war, which culminated in the projected PA28 Clemenceau of 1948, but the ship proved too expensive and was cancelled in 1949. Instead, France acquired four second-hand ships from Britain and the USA which, as Dixmude, Arromanches, Lafayette and Bois Belleau, played a significant role in the postwar conflict in French Indochina. After budgeting and planning delays, the Marine National finally obtained its first modern indigenously built carriers with Clemenceau (1961) and Foch (1963). These important ships enjoyed long and successful careers, and their evolution and service histories form a major focus of this book. The final chapters cover developments up to the nuclear-powered Charles de Gaulle and an epilogue looks at the French Navy’s plans for future naval aviation, making this a complete history from the earliest days to the present.
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Aerial mining by RAF Bomber Command was a vital part of the Allied war effort – claiming far more tonnage of Axis shipping destroyed than direct attack by either Coastal or Bomber Command itself. Minelaying operations commenced in April 1940 and expanded dramatically as the war progressed, yet today this vital campaign and its wide-ranging achievements against Axis merchant vessels, Kriegsmarine ships and U-boats are virtually unknown.

The Invisible Campaign, based on Air Ministry and Admiralty archival material, together with squadron records, veteran accounts and logbooks as well as contemporary publications and press releases, provides the most detailed account of Bomber Command’s minelaying operations and their effects ever written.

Historian Jane Gulliford Lowes looks at the aims of the campaign and how it was implemented, together with the measure of its success and how it compared against the mining operations implemented by the Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine. The role of Arthur ‘Bomber’ Harris in overseeing minelaying operations is assessed and the experiences of the men who delivered the campaign, particularly the hazards they faced, are explored.

Featuring a foreword by renowned historian James Holland, The Invisible Campaign - Bomber Command Gardening Operations 1940-1945 sheds new light on a little-discussed but important and ultimately highly successful aspect of Bomber Command and is a must-read for anyone interested the RAF’s in wartime bombing operations.

ISBN: 9781911704287
Author: Jane Gulliford Lowes
Pages: 150
Published: 14/03/2025
 
Some more details on Friedman's upcoming British Carriers in Two World Wars, though based on Friedman's publishing schedule (which is already breakneck to begin with!) I'm sure British Carriers in the Cold War Era and Beyond probably won't be out until mid-2027.
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Pages: 400
Illustrations: 16 colour illustrations, 250 mono illustrations
Published: 30th May 2025

The Royal Navy invented the aircraft carrier and most of the key innovations which have enabled carriers to remain effective, exploiting continuing changes in aircraft technology, from biplanes to supersonic jets. This work, in two volumes, tells (and explains) how that happened over more than a century of British carrier development, based largely on declassified official documents, both British and US.

Major themes include British domination of the early years of carrier development, and the audacious and highly original plans for their use during World War I, which inspired later naval thinking on the potential of carrier aviation. The introduction of armoured flight decks in the 1930s was only the first of a sequence of British innovations, the most important of which made it possible for carriers to operate jet aircraft (the angled deck, the steam catapult, and the mirror landing sight). These British developments, particularly the steam catapult, were crucial to the survival of the US carrier force in the postwar era, to an extent often forgotten, and covered in the next volume (subtitled 'in the Cold War Era and Beyond' is to be published June 2025.)

This book covers all British-built carriers, including those in Commonwealth and foreign service, with the historical context, both operational and technical, explained in detail, as is the connection to larger British national concerns. The book is heavily illustrated with photographs, but also reproduces official plans from the National Maritime Museum, many of which have never previously been published.
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