David Brown (3) (1928–2008)

A text that is very spritely, and a dozen photographs and not many maps. But a useful book for the beginning student of the Fleet Air Arm. From the position of world's leader in WWI, the RN fell behind in the interwar period, and the operations in the big war were often circumscribed by weaknesses in equipment and technique. However the stress of combat under such conditions led to several useful innovations.

Well, it is a special purpose book with a very focussed audience, and not bad for its origin. The reader gets histories of the ship, and the air groups that operated from her. While beginning with WWI, it does end in 1972. The air groups are also covered for their time in other ships and assignments than HMS Eagle, so there is some overlap value. There are good full colour drawings of the WWII aircraft so there is a plus for me.

An outstanding book on the British Navy's preparation, role, actions and the hard knocks taken in the short and bloody war in the far South Atlantic,1982.

This short (64 page) reference work covers the aircraft carriers of all the combatants of World War 2. Each nation is coverred, including Germany's Graf Zeppelin and Italy's Aquila, which were largely completed but never deployed during the war. The entries include a brief history of the vessels, their characteristics and a description of the technical details for each one. As a rapid ready reference source this book is useful for the student of WW2 naval operations who wants quick details, show more but doesn't need an extended discussion of any particular carrier. show less