These feats included flying 112 nonstop miles, attaining altitudes of 500 feet and flying at 47 miles per hour. The first successful attempt to get an airplane aloft at sea from a ship was accomplished by Eugene Ely, later landing on land.

Two months later, Ely made a successful attempt to land on the deck of another naval vessel. Only after WWI did England, the U.S. and Japan produce true aircraft carriers. These were the prototypes of the hulking flattops that revolutionized naval warfare in WWII.

The Carrier War book is one volume included in the Time-Life Epic of Flight series.

Epic of Flight: The Carrier War
Book Contents

Chapter                                                                         Page             

1          Wings for the world’s navies                                                     21
2          Blunting the Japanese onslaught                                     61
3          Turning point at Midway                                                           83
4          Collisions on the road to Tokyo                                                115
5          “We wish for the best place after death�                                    151