Those of us who have spent time aboard aircraft carriers know that it is one of the more hazardous places to be during flight operations. This is not a place for those who are not attuned to their surroundings and while it is hazardous in today's Navy, it was even more so in the days of spinning propellers and wooden decks.

This was especially true of the pilots, who had little room for error when it came to landing their planes as the straight decks offered little opportunity to give the landing another try. These landings were even more hazardous if one's plane had been damaged, let alone the normal problems that often cropped up.

Specialty Press has gathered together some of the more spectacular incidents regarding naval aviation during WWII and a bit after. Basically the piston engine aircraft of the time. If you can think of an operational, carrier borne aircraft of the era, it is in here.

Author Cory Graff has segregated the book into time periods and while he tells the story of the events of the time, the photos cover those planes used during those events, a rather neat way to combine naval aviation history and the aircraft of the period. This also includes a number of aviator first hand accounts of the battles and the aftermath as they work to bring their wounded aircraft aboard a crowded carrier deck.

The photos have been chosen on the basis of clarity of image and some of the more unusual circumstances  in which these planes come to rest. Especially vivid are the images of Hellcats whose fuel tanks have broken loose and then been chopped up by the prop as it slides forward. In addition to wartime images, there are those that cover training accidents, some pre-war incidents and those involving some post war piston powered planes.

In all, it is a superb book, not only from a historical context, but also as a photo essay of some of the most spectacular crashes and accidents that I have ever seen. A book that you will certainly be browsing through time and time again. Most highly recommended.

May 2008

Review book courtesy of , where you can order your copy of this and many other superb aviation and modeling books.

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and quickly, please contact me or see other details in the Note to Contributors.