PDF-[READ]-U.S. Aircraft Carriers: An Illustrated Design History

For the past forty years aircraft carriers have been the mainstay of US seapower They remain both the most impressive and the most controversial of warships often criticized for their size but always valued for the image of power they can project throughout the worldThis account of US carrier development based on the internal files of the US Navy presents a complete evolutionary design history at a level of detail and accuracy never before approached The author a recognized authority on US warships uncovers the reason behind the issues behind the emergence of todays carrier explaining the reasons for the periodic but always aborted attempts to trim back its dimensions As a result US Aircraft Carriers is relevant to both current and future plans for new carrier constructionNorman Friedman points out many features of carrier design that have recurred over the years For example he shows how recent interest in the conversion of merchant hulls to limitedcapability ASW carriers harks back to a major conversion program of the 1930s and to the escortcarrier program of World War II Both programs are fully described here as are those for the proposed VSTOL carrier the seacontrol ship and the VSTOL support shipThis book treats the reader to detailed information on every US carrier class from the gigantic warships of the Nimitz class to the sidewheeler training carriers that operated on the Great Lakes during World War II Included in this comprehensive history are flight deck plans outboard profiles sketches of major design studies and descriptions of several unique carrier proposals that never got beyond the designers table but still had a major influence upon contemporary design thinkingHere too is Friedmans lucid explanation of the changing function of US carriers from their origin as auxiliaries to their present role as the main components of the battle force The postWorld War II controversy over the role of carrier operations is also covered Extensive appendices provide additional data on the carriers and synopses of developments in the design of their catapults and arresting gearThe talented draftsman A D Baker III has drawn carefully detailed scale profiles and plan views for each major class of carrier Numerous photographs many before never published also complement the textUSgt Aircraft Carriers is essential reading for those concerned with the future of the US Navy Naval historians and architects alike will find this the most comprehensive reference available on the subject and a fitting companion to Friedmans US Destroyers An Illustrated Design History. The Aircraft Carrier Alliance ACA is a single integrated team formed from Babcock BAE Systems Thales UK and the MOD which acts as both partner and client It is responsible for delivering the Queen Elizabeth class ships to time and cost MOD delivery Putting It All Together. Airplane Flight:. X-Plane in the Classroom. Engineering Design Process. Aircraft Design. Engineering Design Process. Research. Aircraft Design. Engineering Design Process. In this new, fully updated edition, expert author Francis Crosby traces the development of fighters from World War I to the present day, and highlights actions in which fighters played a crucial role. The A-Z sections form an illustrated guide to over 170 fighter aircraft. The first covers aircraft from the pioneering days of air fighting in World War I through to the early jets at the end of World War II, and the second focuses on the remarkable advances of post-World War II, mainly jet, aircraft from 1945 to the present day. Specification boxes for each aircraft provide information about the plane\'s country of origin, first flight, power, armament, size, weight and performance. Also included is a glossary explaining aviation terms. Illustrated with 600 photographs, this is a key reference book for all aircraft enthusiasts. Aircraft designed to attack and destroy other aircraft have existed almost as long as military aviation. With the outbreak of World War I in 1914, aircraft designed specifically as fighters appeared. This book of fighter aircraft traces the development of fighters from World War I to the present day, and highlights actions in which fighters played a crucial role. The first section covers aircraft from the pioneering days of air fighting in World War I through to the early jets in action at the end of World War II. This section is brimming with information and often rare photographs of truly classic fighter aircraft including the Bristol Fighter, Spit re and P-51 Mustang. The second section of the book focuses on the remarkable advances of post-World War II, mainly jet aircraft from 1945 to the present day, and includes the MiG-15, Hunter, Harrier and F-15 Eagle. Detailed specification boxes are featured for every aircraft listed. These contain up-to-date information, including country of origin, first flight, power, armament, size, weights and performance. This splendidly illustrated book, with many previously unpublished pictures from the Imperial War Museum Photograph Archive, is a must-have reference book for everyone interested in the aircraft that have helped make history. The Cambridge Illustrated History of Astronomy traces the history of astronomy as a science, describing in detail the various discoveries that have led to our current beliefs about space and the universe. It shows how speculations based on sky-gazing have formed part of the essential mythology of societies from the earliest times reveals astronomy to be an exacting and serious science evolving in tandem with geometry and mathematics and describes the contributions made by great thinkers such as Pythagoras, Galileo, Descartes, and Newton. From the moon’s formation, to its potential for future exploration, this richly illustrated volume presents 100 milestones in lunar history.   With dazzling images on every spread, and illuminating text by astrobiologist Dr. David Warmflash, Moon: An Illustrated History chronologically presents 100 milestones in the Moon’s development and exploration. Starting 4.5 billion years ago when the Moon formed, this stunning volume moves from the hypotheses of the Moon’s formation (4.5 billion years ago) to sixth-century BCE predictions of solar eclipses, from the twentieth-century Space Race between the US and the Soviet Union to private space companies and possible future lunar colonies. Find out about lunar calendar systems and cults in the Bible how lunar brightness was used to estimate stellar distances how advancing telescopes in the seventeenth century allowed us to eye the Moon more closely how author Jules Verne inspired the Father of Astronautics the originals of the Saturn V Moon Rocket the Apollo missions, and so much more. The ultimate SR-71 book which profiles the history, development, manufacture, modification, and active service of all 50 models in the SR-71 program.At the height of the Cold War in 1964, President Johnson announced a new aircraft dedicated to strategic reconnaissance. The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird spy plane flew more than three-and-a-half times the speed of sound--so fast that no other aircraft could catch it. Above 80,000 feet, its pilots had to wear full-pressure flight suits similar to what was used aboard the space shuttle.Developed by the renowned Lockheed Skunk Works, the SR-71 was an awesome aircraft in every respect. It was withdrawn from use in 1998, when it was superseded by satellite technology. Twelve of the thirty-two aircraft were destroyed in accidents, but none were ever lost to enemy action.Throughout its thirty-four-year career, the SR-71 was the world\'s fastest and highest-flying operational manned aircraft. It set world records for altitude and speed: an absolute altitude record of 85,069 feet and an absolute speed record of 2,193.2 miles per hour.The Complete Book of the SR-71 covers every aspect of the SR-71\'s development, manufacture, modification, and active service from the insider\'s perspective of one of its pilots and is lavishly illustrated with more than 400 photos. Former pilot and author Richard Graham also examines each of the fifty planes that came out the SR-71 program (fifteen A-12s three YF-12s and thirty-two SR-71s) and tells each plane\'s history, its unique specifications, and where each currently resides. For the past forty years, aircraft carriers have been the mainstay of U.S. seapower. They remain both the most impressive and the most controversial of warships, often criticized for their size but always valued for the image of power they can project throughout the world.This account of U.S. carrier development, based on the internal files of the U.S. Navy, presents a complete evolutionary design history at a level of detail and accuracy never before approached. The author, a recognized authority on U.S. warships, uncovers the reason behind the issues behind the emergence of today\'s carrier, explaining the reasons for the periodic but always aborted attempts to trim back its dimensions. As a result, U.S. Aircraft Carriers is relevant to both current and future plans for new carrier construction.Norman Friedman points out many features of carrier design that have recurred over the years. For example, he shows how recent interest in the conversion of merchant hulls to limited-capability ASW carriers harks back to a major conversion program of the 1930s and to the escort-carrier program of World War II. Both programs are fully described here, as are those for the proposed VSTOL carrier, the sea-control ship, and the VSTOL support ship.This book treats the reader to detailed information on every U.S. carrier class, from the gigantic warships of the Nimitz class to the side-wheeler training carriers that operated on the Great Lakes during World War II. Included in this comprehensive history are flight deck plans, outboard profiles, sketches of major design studies, and descriptions of several unique carrier proposals that never got beyond the designer\'s table but still had a major influence upon contemporary design thinking.Here, too, is Friedman\'s lucid explanation of the changing function of U.S. carriers, from their origin as auxiliaries to their present role as the main components of the battle force. The post-World War II controversy over the role of carrier operations is also covered. Extensive appendices provide additional data on the carriers and synopses of developments in the design of their catapults and arresting gear.The talented draftsman A. D. Baker III has drawn carefully detailed scale profiles and plan views for each major class of carrier. Numerous photographs, many before never published, also complement the text.U.S> Aircraft Carriers is essential reading for those concerned with the future of the U.S. Navy. Naval historians and architects alike will find this the most comprehensive reference available on the subject and a fitting companion to Friedman\'s U.S. Destroyers: An Illustrated Design History. This fully illustrated series offers detailed descriptions of the evolution of all classes of the principle U.S. combatant types, as well as plans, profiles, and numerous detailed photographs. It\'s called the Raptor. The F-22 will be the U.S. Air Force\'s premier fighter for the first decades of the 21st century. Like other expensive military programs, the F-22 endured continuous scrutiny throughout its development - the aircraft that evolved was worth the wait. The F-22 is definitely top gun - it is more agile than current U.S. aircraft, has stealth capability, and is flexible in both air-to-air and air-to-ground attack missions. The Raptor is planned to start operational service with the U.S. Air Force in the year 2004, and when on-line, will provide a capability far beyond that of any other fighter aircraft. In this latest addition to his acclaimed U.S. warship design history series, Norman Friedman describes the ships and the craft of the U.S. amphibious force, from its inception in the 1920s through World War II to the present. He explains how and why the United States successfully created an entirely new kind of fleet to fight and win such World War II battles as D-Day and the island landings in the Pacific. To an extent not previously documented, his book lays out the differing views and contributions of the U.S. Army, Navy, and Marines as well as the British, and how they affected the development of prewar and wartime amphibious forces. Current and future amphibious forces and tactics are explained, together with their implications for ships and craft, from 40,000-ton amphibious carriers down to tracked amphibious vehicles.As in earlier volumes in the series, this study uses previously unpublished sources to illustrate not only what was actually built but what was planned and never brought into service. For example, the book offers the first comprehensive and fully illustrated account of abortive attempts in the 1960s and beyond to build new fire support ships (LFS). With nearly two hundred photographs and specially commissioned line drawings and extensive appendixes, the work conveniently brings together details of the ships and their service histories found elsewhere only in scattered official references. This new book covers every nuclear delivery system the United States ever deployed. With few exceptions, each weapon and system is illustrated by either color or black and white photographs. Each weapon also comes with specifications and a history of its development, deployment and retirement (if retired). This fully illustrated series offers detailed descriptions of the evolution of all classes of the principle U.S. combatant types, as well as plans, profiles, and numerous detailed photographs. It\'s called the Raptor. The F-22 will be the U.S. Air Force\'s premier fighter for the first decades of the 21st century. Like other expensive military programs, the F-22 endured continuous scrutiny throughout its development - the aircraft that evolved was worth the wait. The F-22 is definitely top gun - it is more agile than current U.S. aircraft, has stealth capability, and is flexible in both air-to-air and air-to-ground attack missions. The Raptor is planned to start operational service with the U.S. Air Force in the year 2004, and when on-line, will provide a capability far beyond that of any other fighter aircraft. In this latest addition to his acclaimed U.S. warship design history series, Norman Friedman describes the ships and the craft of the U.S. amphibious force, from its inception in the 1920s through World War II to the present. He explains how and why the United States successfully created an entirely new kind of fleet to fight and win such World War II battles as D-Day and the island landings in the Pacific. To an extent not previously documented, his book lays out the differing views and contributions of the U.S. Army, Navy, and Marines as well as the British, and how they affected the development of prewar and wartime amphibious forces. Current and future amphibious forces and tactics are explained, together with their implications for ships and craft, from 40,000-ton amphibious carriers down to tracked amphibious vehicles.As in earlier volumes in the series, this study uses previously unpublished sources to illustrate not only what was actually built but what was planned and never brought into service. For example, the book offers the first comprehensive and fully illustrated account of abortive attempts in the 1960s and beyond to build new fire support ships (LFS). With nearly two hundred photographs and specially commissioned line drawings and extensive appendixes, the work conveniently brings together details of the ships and their service histories found elsewhere only in scattered official references.