STRIKE FROM THE SEA
U.S. Navy Attack Aircraft From Skyraider to Super Hornet 1948- Present

by Tommy H Thomason

Specialty Press

Reviewed by Al Bowie

Strike From the Sea is available online from Squadron.com

Naval aviation has been with us from its uncertain infancy during the early decades of the 20th Century through to today’s highly potent Strike wings. This book details the development of the U.S. Navy’s strike aircraft beginning in 1948 through to and looking beyond today’s current fleet of supersonic attack aircraft. Detail is the theme and like the other titles from this publisher it is presented in a seamless and readable format well supported by over 370 excellent photographs. Print quality is excellent as is the hardcover binding resulting in a book that will withstand many years of handling and use. This book is one you will find yourself coming back to over and over and like a good novel I found myself captured by the story resulting in an inability to put it down and go to sleep.

Unlike other titles this is not just a collection of photos and information about the various aircraft although it does have a large amount of photos. Beginning with visionary strategic planners who saw the massive potential and flexibility that naval strike aircraft presented the reader is taken through the concept of deployable nuclear capable carrier based strike aircraft to today’s flexible air wings with precision strike capabilities via those aircraft that made it possible and even those aircraft and concepts that fell beside the wayside.

The book covers a great deal in its 228 pages and presents itself as thirteen solid chapters packed with detail. Following a chronological theme the chapters cover:

Preface

Introduction

1. Forged in Battle – The WW2 Experience

2. The Navy’s First Attack Aircraft

3. Long range Nuclear Bombers

4. Disappointments

5. The Whales Tale

6. One man, One Bomb, One Way?

7. Supersonic Strike

8. All-Weather Attack

9. Light Attack redux

10. One if by Land, Two if by Sea

11. Replacing the A-6 round One

12. Replacing the A-6 round Two

13. Summary

Epilogue

Recommended Reading

Glossary

End Notes

Index

The Author examines not only the aircraft and their development but also the critical role of the aircraft carriers themselves, pivotal in the provision of floating airbases for these potent strike wings. Armaments in their diversity are covered in great detail and this book additionally explains the blending of weapons platforms and explains  how today’s advanced aircraft undertake the many roles previously allocated to many different types of aircraft.

This is not a title for the modeller looking for colourful schemes to do his or her squadrons of kits in but will find equal appeal amongst Modellers, Historians and Naval Aviation Enthusiasts. The reader will come away from this title with a thorough understanding of how the US Navy’s potent aerial strike capability had its genesis and how it developed into today’s vanguard of US Military power projection. Along the way  the myriad plethora of carrier strike aircraft, their development and service will be presented to the reader in an easily followed style of writing which is in no way “low Brow” but extremely readable. I highly recommend this title.

The book may be ordered calling Speciality Press at 1-800-895-4585 or at their website Speciality Press

Thanks to Specilaty Press for the sample