When Billy Mitchell returned from WWI, he brought with him the deep-seated belief that air power had made navies obsolete. However, in the years following WWI, the U.S. Congress was far more interested in disarmament and isolationist policies than in funding national defense. For the military services this meant lean budgets and skeleton operating forces. Billy Mitchell's War with the Navy recounts the intense political struggle between the Army and Navy air arms for the limited resources needed to define and establish the role of aviation within their respective services in the period between the two world wars. 
After Congress rejected the concept of a unified air service in 1920, Mitchell and his supporters turned on the Navy, seeking to substitute the Air Service as the nation's first line of defense. While Mitchell proved that aircraft could sink a battleship with the bombing of the Ostfriesland in 1921, he was unable to convince the General Staff of the Army, the General Board of the Navy, the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Navy, or Congress of the need for an independent air force. When Mitchell turned to the pen to discredit the Navy, he was convicted by his own words and actions in a court-martial that captivated the nation, and was forced to resign in 1925. 
Rather than ending the rivalry for air power, Mitchell's resignation set the stage for the ongoing dispute between the two services in the years immediately before WWII. After Mitchell's resignation, the rivalry for air power between the two services resurfaced when the Navy's plans to procure torpedo planes for the defense of Pearl Harbor and Coco Solo were brought to the attention of the Army. The book concludes with a description of the events surrounding the Air Corps' abysmal performance at Pearl Harbor and Midway followed by a critical assessment of how the development of aviation was pursued by the Army and the Navy after WWII.

Billy Mitchell's War with the Navy: The Interwar Rivalry Over Air Power

History

Wildenberg, Thomas

Military

Naval_Institute_Press

Details the development of the fleet oiler concept on the US Navy, addressing the logistics of how fleets are able to stay at sea in an operational mode and charting the evolution of refueling capabilities from the first fleet oilers of WWI through the Gulf War. Includes b&amp;w photos and drawings, and numerous tables. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Gray Steel and Black Oil: Fast Tankers and Replenishment at Sea in the U.S. Navy, 1912-1992

Americas

On 4 June 1942 three squadrons of U.S. Navy Dauntless dive bombers destroyed Japan's carrier force sent to neutralize Midway and changed the course of the war in the Pacific. As Thomas Wildenberg convincingly demonstrates in this book, the key ingredient to the navy's success at Midway was the planning and training devoted to the tactic of dive bombing over the previous seventeen years. Examining how political, economic, technical, and operational factors influenced the development of carrier airpower between 1925 and 1942, he shows why dive bombing became the navy's weapon of choice--why it was emphasized over all other methods of aerial warfare and finally brought to bear to stop the Japanese advance. He also pays tribute to the select group of naval aviators and senior leaders whose insights and determination drove the evolution of carrier tactics in this formative period. 
The title reflects the essence of the story: the development of carrier air power in the U.S. Navy was driven by an unwritten understanding that the years spent on experimentation, training, and innovations were "destined" to bring success in a future battle. As part of this work, the author introduces newly discovered information showing that the outcome at Midway was actually predicted by naval aviators years before the battle took place. The book sheds new light on the navy's preparations for war, demonstrating beyond a shadow of a doubt the effectiveness of U.S. naval planning before Pearl Harbor.

Destined for Glory: Dive Bombing, Midway, and the Evolution of Carrier Airpower

Naval Inst Pr

During the 1920s and 1930s, Adm. Joseph Mason Reeves (1872-1948) emerged as the most important flag officer in American naval aviation. He took command of the U.S. Navy's nascent carrier arm during a critical period and, imagining the aircraft carrier's possibilities as an offensive weapon, transformed it from a small auxiliary command in support of the battle line into a powerful strike force that could attack far in advance of the fleet. Astute politically, Reeves fashioned an offensive role for carriers without threatening the supremacy of the battleship, so that the Navy's carrier arm continued to receive valuable resources during the lean years of the Depression. "Admiral Reeves," Thomas Wildenberg writes, "did more to shape the future role of U.S. carrier aviation than any other flag officer before World War II." Indeed, until the carrier commanders of World War II proved their mettle, his expertise in the use of the aircraft carrier in naval tactics was unequalled anywhere in the world. Reeves, who entered the U.S. Naval Academy in 1890, retired from the Navy in 1936. In May 1940, the service recalled him to active duty for the wartime emergency. He served another six years, making his career as an officer not only one of the most significant but also one of the longest in American naval history. All the Factors of Victory is the first full-length biography of this eminent naval officer, whose story makes an important contribution to our understanding of not only the development of carrier warfare, but also how intraservice rivalries and the development of new technologies affected the Navy's mission.

All the Factors of Victory: Admiral Joseph Mason Reeves and the Origins of Carrier Airpower

Biographies & Memoirs

Potomac Books Inc.

Adm. Joseph Mason Reeves (1872-1948) took command of the U.S. Navy's nascent carrier arm during a critical period, transforming it from a small auxiliary command in support of the battle line into a powerful strike force. Until the carrier commanders of World War II proved their mettle, Reeves's expertise in the use of the aircraft carrier in naval tactics was unequalled. All the Factors of Victory is the first full-length biography of this eminent naval officer.

All the Factors of Victory: Admiral JOSEPH MASON REEVES AND THE ORIGINS OF CARRIER AIR POWER

Leaders & Notable People

Since the start of the 20th Century there have been several thousand books published about submarines and on the order of a thousand discussing aircraft attacks on ships. The principal weapon of most of those submarine attacks and many of the aerial attacks--both by land- and carrier-based aircraft--was the torpedo. Indeed the torpedo and the mine share responsibility--by a large margin--for sinking more ships than those lost to gunfire and bombs over the past 100 years. 
However, only a handful of these books have been about torpedoes. Ship Killers will fill that gap by discussing U.S. Navy torpedo development through the end of the Cold War. It begins with a brief description of the weapons developed for "submarines" prior to the beginning of the 20th Century--the efforts of Americans Bushnell and Fulton, the spar torpedo of the Civil War, and the U.S. Navy's attempts to imitate the Whitehead torpedo. Then, from the beginning of the 20th Century, the book will discuss American torpedo development in peace and during war, and their use--from submarines, surface warships and small combatants, and aircraft, including blimps and helicopters. The book will also covers the technologies and politics involved in torpedo development, and many unusual efforts to deliver torpedoes.

Ship Killer: A History of the American Torpedo

POLMAR, Norman

On 4 June 1942, three squadrons of U.S. Navy Dauntless dive bombers destroyed Japan's carrier force sent to neutralize Midway, changing the course of the war in the Pacific. As Thomas Wildenberg convincingly demonstrates in this book, the key ingredient to the navy's success at Midway was the planning and training devoted to the tactic of dive bombing over the previous seventeen years. Examining how political, economic, technical, and operational factors influenced the development of carrier airpower between 1925 and 1942, he shows why dive bombing became the navy's weapon of choice--why it was emphasized over all other methods of aerial warfare and finally brought to bear to stop the Japanese advance. He also pays tribute to the select group of naval aviators and senior leaders whose insights and determination drove the evolution of carrier tactics in this formative period. 
The title reflects the essence of the story: the development of carrier air power in the U.S. Navy was driven by an unwritten understanding that the years spent on experimentation, training, and innovations were "destined" to bring success in a future battle. As part of this work, the author introduces newly discovered information showing that the outcome at Midway was actually predicted by naval aviators years before the battle took place. 
The book sheds new light on the navy's preparations for war, demonstrating beyond a shadow of a doubt the effectiveness of U.S. naval planning before Pearl Harbor. 
Destined for Glory is the first book to thoroughly document the development of carrier air power in the United States Navy during the interwar years. Aviation enthusiasts and naval historians alike will find a wealth of previously unpublished data on the development of carrier aircraft and their tactical doctrine. Readers will discover new material related to the evolution of the fighters, torpedo bombers, and scout planes that made up the carrier air groups in World War II. 
Although several excellent books have been written about the Battle of Midway, none has focused on how the U.S. Navy came to develop the one aerial weapon "dive bombing" which proved to be the decisive instrument of victory. For it was dive bombing, and only dive bombing, that turned the tide of Japanese expansion in the Pacific. 
Introduced and developed in the interwar years, dive bombing became the corner stone in the navy's efforts to secure command of the air. Although the development of the dive bomber played an extremely important role in the advance of naval aviation during the interwar period, it is only part of a much broader story that illustrates an important lesson for historians: what comes before the battle is as important as the battle itself. It will become evident from reading the text that the aerial successes of 1942 were unequivocally rooted in the tactics and equipment developed during the previous seventeen years.

During the 1920s and 1930s Adm. Joseph Mason Reeves (1878-1948) emerged as the most important flag officer in American naval aviation. He took command of the U.S. Navy's nascent carrier arm during a critical period and, imagining the aircraft carrier's possibilities as an offensive weapon, transformed it from a small auxiliary command in support of the battle line into a powerful strike force that could attack far in advance of the fleet. 
All the Factors of Victory is the first full-length biography of this eminent naval officer, whose story makes an important contribution to our understanding of not only the development of carrier warfare, but also how intraservice rivalries and the development of new technologies affected the Navy's mission.

All the Factors of Victory: Adm. Joseph Reeves and the Origins of Carrier Airpower

Charles Stark Draper, often referred to as "The Father of Inertial Navigation," was the moving force behind the development of the floated gyroscope in the United States. He was an engineer, a scientist, and an inventor; an inspiring teacher; and a dynamic leader responsible for creating the laboratory that brought inertial navigation to fruition for operational use in submarines, aircraft, and space vehicles. These factors alone make him worthy of study. But Draper also created and ran the famous laboratory, now bearing his name, that helped make MIT into one of the nation's leading research centers for government research. The story of Draper's life and his accomplishments cannot be separated from those of the Instrumentation Laboratory, which are one and the same. Thus, this biography of Charles Stark "Doc" Draper, is also a chronological accounting of the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory and its contributions to the nation. Draper's personality, drive, and intellectual curiosity, where at the heart of the success of the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory. But Draper's success was also due to his association with MIT, a place that provided the resources, funding, and environment that enabled Draper to achieve greatness. The presence of the Institute's engine laboratory and the research fellowship that drew him back to MIT to pursue a graduate degree laid the ground work for his doctoral dissertation and the development of both the Engine Indicator and the MIT-Sperry Apparatus for Measuring Vibration. For those who are interested in naval history, three of Draper's accomplishments stand out: the Mark 14 lead-computing gunsight, the Submarine Inertial Navigation System, and the inertial guidance systems designed and engineered by Draper's laboratory for the Polaris, Poseidon, and Trident ballistic missiles. The Mark 14 was the first of several Draper gunsights and directors that revolutionized anti-aircraft gunnery in World War II. Close to eighty percent of all enemy aircraft shop down by the U.S. Navy ships in the Pacific during the period from October 1944 thru January 1945 were brought down by Draper equipped anti-aircraft guns. Draper's relationship with the Navy has continued to this day. Draper, the research institution bearing his name that evolved from the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory, continues to be the Navy's sole source for Trident's Mk-6 guidance system.

Hot Spot of Invention: Charles Stark Draper, MIT, and the Development of Inertial Guidance and Navigation

Fighting in the Electromagnetic Spectrum: U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Electronic Warfare Aircraft, Operations, and Equipment

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Wildenberg, Thomas. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Wildenberg, Thomas

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Wildenberg, Thomas. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Billy Mitchell's War with the Navy: The Interwar Rivalry Over Air Power

Gray Steel and Black Oil: Fast Tankers and Replenishment at Sea in the U.S. Navy, 1912-1992

Destined for Glory: Dive Bombing, Midway, and the Evolution of Carrier Airpower

All the Factors of Victory: Admiral Joseph Mason Reeves and the Origins of Carrier Airpower

All the Factors of Victory: Admiral JOSEPH MASON REEVES AND THE ORIGINS OF CARRIER AIR POWER

Ship Killer: A History of the American Torpedo

Destined for Glory: Dive Bombing, Midway, and the Evolution of Carrier Airpower

All the Factors of Victory: Adm. Joseph Reeves and the Origins of Carrier Airpower

Hot Spot of Invention: Charles Stark Draper, MIT, and the Development of Inertial Guidance and Navigation

Fighting in the Electromagnetic Spectrum: U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Electronic Warfare Aircraft, Operations, and Equipment