Model Publishing lists their goal as: “The primary goal of Model Publishing is to release pictorial books covering the aviation history, providing selected photos, color illustrations and artworks, detailed and exhaustive text, actual camouflage schemes and markings, data sheets, wartime squadron records and lineages, etc.”  This book - the second they have published - more than meets each of these goals.  It is without a doubt the definitive work on the subject.

      The book is the result of close to fifty years of research and collecting photographs by Douglas Olson, one of the founders of the American Aviation Historical Society, and is truly “exhaustive.”  I would doubt there is a detail in the operational histories of the squadrons assigned to the wing and the carriers they flew off of that is not covered in the book.  It is the very definition of “a labor of love.”

      Carrier Air Wing One was created in 1934 when VF-3B, VB-3B, VF-5B and VS-1B were assigned to the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, USS “Ranger,” the first American aircraft carrier designed as such from the keel up.  Over the years, the squadron numbers have changed, but Carrier Air Wing One is the oldest continuously-organized unit in American Naval Aviation. 

     For me, one of the most important things is the book presents new information - or at least information new to me - in the histories and the photographs.  I would particularly mention the photographs, since after fifty years of looking at airplane books myself, it is nice to see photos I haven’t seen published to death everywhere else.

      I was particularly interested in the operational history of USS “Ranger,” a ship that was vitally important to the development of naval aviation that has somehow slipped through the historical cracks for most aviation enthusiasts, other than to recount her role in the invasion of North Africa in Operation Torch.  While the ship was too small and too slow for combat in the Pacific, she performed an important role in the Atlantic that wasn’t limited to “Operation Torch” and Operation Leader” - both of which events are fully covered here. I was also interested in the exhaustive review of her operations before the war in both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets, since the “golden wings era” is one of my favorites.

      The squadron histories are equally exhaustive and complete and contain information I had not previously been aware of. The chapters are lavishly illustrated with both color and black and white photos, with high-quality color profiles done of aircraft shown in the photos. Carrier Air Wing One flew every combat type used by the U.S. Navy during this period, thus the history, photos and profiles provide modelers with information unavailable in any other single volume.

      Model Publishing plans three more books detailing the history of Carrier Air Wing One, covering 1957-1973, 1974-1991, and 1992 to the present.  Once all these volumes are published this series will be the premiere history of naval aviation available.

      I am very impressed with this book, which is one of the best of its type I have ever seen.  The information contained here has already been put to use on three projects I have in progress.

      I highly recommend this as one of the best aviation history books it has been my pleasure to read.  It is already one of the most useful.

 Thanks to Model Publishing for the review copy.

February 2007

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