Secret Aerospace Projects of the U.S. Navy Vol. 1 1948-1949

[overscan]

Secret Aerospace Projects of the US Navy, Volume 1: The Incredible Attack Aircraft of the USS United States, 1948-1948 is now out!  As promised, I have completed a thumbnail slide show at aeroarchivepress.com, where you may preview the entire contents of the book.  As you will see, this is a project enthusiast's dream, with approximately 15 main types presented in copious detail, along with scores of variants and offshoots.

The book tells the story of some of the most radical attack aircraft ever designed to operate from an aircraft carrier. These incredible projects were developed in 1948 to equip the USS United States, an immense 65,000-ton supercarrier that was to have been the core of the Navy's nascent strategic nuclear bombardment capability. The ship was a substantial departure from traditional carrier design, with a fully submersible bridge that permitted the operation of aircraft of unprecedented size and weight. Two classes of attack aircraft were to have equipped this mighty ship: the Class VA, Heavy Attack and Class VA, Long Range Special Attack. Legendary aerospace companies such as Convair, Curtiss-Wright, Douglas, Fairchild, Lockheed, Martin, North American, Northrop, and Republic would each submit proposals to the competitions. Recently declassified, details of these fascinating projects are presented here for the first time.

Varying widely in appearance, these studies ranged from Douglas's relatively small and modern Model 593 to their unconventional Model 1186 series, which was inspired by the X-3 Stiletto and featured a small parasite aircraft mounted atop a gigantic missile. They are representative of a postwar aerospace engineering revolution that produced great advances in high speed aircraft design, jet engine development, and offensive nuclear capability. Unfortunately for the Navy, the USS United States and its aircraft complement were abruptly cancelled on April 23, 1949 at the behest of the Air Force, sparking the infamous "Revolt of the Admirals." Only one of the aircraft proposals would survive the cancellation and reach production; while smaller and less capable than its competitors, it would go on to have a long and distinguished career in the Navy. Featuring an authoritative text and hundreds of previously unpublished illustrations and photos, this book belongs in the library of any serious student of naval aviation and Cold War history.

Published by Schiffer, this 11" x 8 ½" landscape hardcover book comes with a dust jacket and features 232 copiously illustrated pages printed on semi-gloss paper stock with a sewn binding.  It is reasonably priced at $37.79 on Amazon.com.  For those who have purchased the book and enjoyed it, please take a few moments and add a quick review on Amazon.  A few positive reviews can really help sales!

Best Regards,

Jared Zichek

http://aeroarchivepress.com/?p=194

[sagallacci]

Just got a copy. Full of fairly detailed data on the major contenders and all kinds of lesser teaser data on some of the odds and ends. A whiffing gold mine!

[Madoc]

I'll second that!  I just picked up mine yesterday as well.  Awesome stuff!  I like the detail with which the various proposals are presented.  The effort that went into some of those things was amazing.  All the more so due to many of them being so outlandish even at first blush.

About the only criticism I have is that to many of the "blueprints" reproduced in the book come up to faint.  Sure, they're half a century old now and have faded quite a bit but that's what Photoshop is for!  The faint lines tend to wash out into the rest of the image and that takes away from their utility.  I'd hope that in future volumes they do some digital manipulation to enhance the contrast and such.

That aside, this book is a keeper.  Fascinating stuff here!  I mean, a supersonic jet powered biplane?  Huh?  Yet, there it is!

I found this book very worthwhile and am enjoying it immensely with every turn of the page!

Madoc

[thomasweir]

Looks like a great read but unfortunately too expensive foe me

[deathjester]

Actually, a supersonic biplane is quite feasible!  Apparently, if there is a small gap between the two wings, it creates a kind of venturi effect, so it's easier for the airflow to go faster...!!