This thorough study of the history, development and service of floatplanes carried on battleships and cruisers documents a long neglected subject for the first time in over 400 photographs. From the 1920s through World War II, aircraft operating from catapults were used for spotting gunfire and scouting ahead of the fleet. Flying these planes was unique and the dramatic launching and recovery operations are covered by both photographs and text. Colors and markings are detailed and special attention has been paid to images showing catapult and ship details for both the ship and aircraft modeler. The assignment of all aircraft by type, totals, squadrons and ship is given annually from 1942 to 1949. In addition to rare photos of all of the experimental aircraft that were tested for this purpose, an addition chapter covers floatplanes used on small ships and submarine. William Larkins is also author of The Ford Tri-Motor 1926-1992, and U.S. Navy Aircraft 1921-1941, U.S. Marine Corps Aircraft 1914-1959(both titles are available from Schiffer Publishing Ltd.).

More than thirty years after their first publication, William T. Larkinss illustrated surveys of Navy and Marine Corps aircraft remain two of the most valuable books about these airplanes ever written. First published in 1959 and 1961, these two volumes have become classics eagerly sought in the rare-book market by aviation buffs worldwide. They have become the criteria against which serious aviation research is measured. With over 1,000 photographs combined, they remain the definitive record of the formative years for Navy and Marine Corps aviation. Larkinss emphasis throughout is on squadron use, experimental and one-of-a-kind types, insignia, colors and marking schemes, technical innovations, and the service duty and tactical deployment of the various aircraft.

A large number of people in the United States had their first airplane ride in a Ford Tri-Motor during the 1920s and 1930s, a plane that remains to this day a fine example of engineering, planning and production. It was the application of a modified assembly line production by the world\s largest automobile manufacturer to a continuously refined design, backed by extensive advertising and publicity concerned with safety, at a time when such dependability and safety was crucial, that put Ford ahead of all of its competitors.\nThe all-metal construction, stressed so much by the Ford advertising campaign of the late 1920s, proved its worth in later years. The life span of the average airplane in the 1920s was relatively short and so it is not surprising to find the Ford Company timidly stating in their 1929 advertising that "no Ford plane has yet worn out in service."\nThis new book by aviation historian William T. Larkins is the most complete information available on the Ford Tri-Motro, and includes information on design, contruciton, model designations, a cross-indexing of U.S. and foreign registrations, a cross-index to military Ford Tri-Motors, accident summaries, Ford factory employees and Ford Tri-Motor pilot listing.