Some Future Titles of Interest for SPF Members

More naval books listed on Amazon.co.uk;

Coastal Motor Boats: Thornycroft and the Origins of Fast Attack Craft -- Hardcover – 30 July 2025

Russian Cruisers of the Tsarist Era: 1880–1918 - Hardcover – 30 Sept. 2025

Japanese Aircraft Carriers: 1920 - 1945 -
Hardcover – 30 Sept. 2025

Submarine Aircraft Carriers: From World War I to the Age of Drones - Hardcover – 18 Nov. 2025
 
Japanese Aircraft Carriers: 1920 - 1945 -
Hardcover – 30 Sept. 2025

A forthcoming technical history about the aircraft carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy is potentially great news, joining the forthcoming John Jordan book on French carriers, and Norman Friedman's two books on British Carriers. What a cornucopia for later this year; thanks for the notice Phil Gollin. I don't know the author, Ermanno Martino, although I see he has several works to his credit going back many years. How is his (or his translator's) written English? And the page count listed here seems worrisome: can this book do justice to the wide-ranging subject in only 128 pages?

See: https://www.waterstones.com/book/japanese-aircraft-carriers/ermanno-martino/9781036133528
 
ISBN: 9781800352971
Binding: Hardback
Dimensions: 280mm x 216mm
Pages: 280
Photos/Illus: Over 150 photographs
Finally to be available on Amazon.com as of 31 March 2024! (Also applies to "Wings of Argentina".)
Two interesting books gatoraptor.
Also slipped to 31 May.

Now that William M Cahill's new book Ferret! USAAF Airborne Signals Intelligence 1942-1945 has been published worldwide, has anybody here read it? If yes, please consider commenting. Presumably Hikoki did their usual excellent job in page layout and color reproduction, but how is the writing? Given the subject matter (American electronic warfare flights during WW2), I would be interested in principle in buying a copy, if the book is indeed worthwhile. That the author is "a former USAF officer with a reconnaissance background" is a good sign, but please let us know.
 
A couple of new books in Crecy's Hikoki range coming up this year:
Wings of Argentina by Santiago Rivas and Fernando Benedetto due in June
Finally to be available on Amazon.com as of 31 March 2024! (Also applies to "Wings of Argentina".)

Wings of Argentina: Argentina's Aircraft Industry Since 1927​


The long-awaited Hikoki book Wings of Argentina: Argentina's Aircraft Industry Since 1927 now looks like May 2025. Perhaps of special interest are Kurt Tank's Pulqui II jet fighter, the IA-63 Pampa, and Falklands War vet Pucará (I had seen a war trophy at Duxford), although presumably this 384p book will include plenty that I, and maybe you, have never heard of.

P.S. I haven't yet read it, but co-author Santiago Rivas had also written the Hikoki book Wings of the Malvinas: The Argentine Air War Over the Falklands.
 
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Nothing on the Atlantic I’m afraid, although the design wind tunnel tested by the RAE used the original Vulcan B.1 wing, and was actually used for the phase 2 (kinked) leading edge development.
There’s a preview (of sorts) of the book in the Feb 2025 Aeroplane Monthly: https://www.key.aero/article/avro-vulcan-how-legend-was-created
Designing the Vulcan
Order placed 23 August 2024
Arriving 22 March
This keeps changing though and probably will again from experience.
No worries mate, not complaining.
These marvels get done in the time it takes, publishing and printing extra yo say nothing of shipping.
Very lucky to have such as yourself and others here writing and collating data that for myself, would drive me into crossed eyes and insomnia by now.
As is said on any military range, "In your own time, go on"...
Thank you, Sir.
You’re very welcome! Remiss of me not to thank you for ordering.

I too am looking forward to the publication of your new book (on the development of the Avro Vulcan), Mr Liddle. 350 pages (as listed on Amazon UK) sounds pleasingly in-depth.
 

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I think the Naval Institute will be marketing this book in the US.
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.
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.

A representative at Seaforth confirms to me that Norman Friedman's forthcoming two-volume work on British aircraft carriers will be co-published in the United States by Naval Institute Press, though no word of this as yet on Naval Institute Press's own website.
 
Always nice to see a new book published telling the story of the Liberty Ships.


71+ES4GJXoL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_FMwebp_.jpg



 

"Interesting" that the publisher's blurb makes the Liberty Ship seem like a wholly American invention and never mentions that they were versions of the British "Ocean" class design which had been modified for mass production in American shipyards.

Just pointing this out because I've been re-reading Liberty's Provenance: The Evolution of the Liberty Ship from its Sunderland Origins. It's kind of a clunky read, but it does go into quite a bit of detail on the evolution of the Liberty Ship design which I haven't seen elsewhere. Of course, the publisher's blurb is just there to draw in potential readers, I'm just hoping this book doesn't repeat a lot of old myths.
 
E. Vincent "Jell-O" Aiello - Through the Yellow Visor: The Life and (Mis)Adventures of a US Navy Fighter Pilot
Ride Along with a Real Top Gun and Get His View from the Cockpit

You’ve heard him as host of the Fighter Pilot Podcast. More than 100k listeners have been waiting for this book.

Now ride along. From the cockpit of a Navy jet circling overhead, an aircraft carrier—1,000 feet long and displacing 98,000 tons—looks no bigger than a child’s toy. No wonder the fighter pilots call it a boat. Try landing on one of these bucking broncos without boltering.

TOPGUN instructor and seasoned naval aviator, E. Vincent “Jell-O” Aiello takes readers on an exhilarating flight from being a wide-eyed eight-year-old peering into a jet’s cockpit at the Point Mugu Airshow to flying one. Not the Hollywood version by any means, Vincent explains his tough, terrifying, and trusted path to flying America’s war planes.

With heart (spoiler alert), Vincent recounts the
  • Challenges of flight school,
  • Terror of his first carrier landing (and many after),
  • Importance of family back home for those serving our country, and
  • Hard-earned lessons about life when viewed from the cockpit.

From flying F/A-18 Hornets on missions worldwide, to serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, to teaching the art of air combat at TOPGUN, Jell-O brings you into the adrenaline-fueled world of naval aviation while proving that persistence is a pilot’s most valuable skill.

After retiring from the Navy with more than 3,800 flight hours and 700 carrier landings, Vincent, now an airline pilot, hosts the popular Fighter Pilot Podcast, where he explores the fascinating world of air combat with stimulating revelations about—
  • The complex, multi-million-dollar aircraft,
  • The lethal weapons systems they employ, and
  • The fearless people who protect our country every single day.
This is the personal story of a boy with big dreams who became the man behind the yellow visor.

Grab your copy today! And then, "Strap in," as Rear Admiral Mike “Nasty” Manazir, TOPGUN fighter pilot and former commander of the USS Nimitz, says, because this is an "adrenaline rush from the first page.”
Links:
Ward Carroll said:
Secrets of a U.S Navy Fighter Pilot
Retired U.S. Navy Commander and former fighter pilot Vincent "Jell-O" Aiello, the host of the "Fighter Pilot Podcast," talks about his path from teenager with a dream to the cockpit of an F/A-18 Hornet flying into harm's way off of aircraft carriers sailing over hostile waters. [...]
Video:
View: https://youtu.be/JtCjYJPPJXc?si=UheKVla-ZzhR2n8y

Code:
https://youtu.be/JtCjYJPPJXc?si=UheKVla-ZzhR2n8y
 
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