The Naval Institute Guide to the Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet

Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2013. Nineteenth Edition [stated]. First printing [stated]. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. Format is approximately 9.25 inches by 12.25 inches. viii, 676, [2] pages. Illustrations. Technical Data. Appendixes: A: Navy Force Levels, 1945-2010; B: Navy Shipbuilding Programs, Fiscal Years 1947-2012; C: University National Oceanographic Laboratory System; D: DARPA Naval Programs; and E: Ship Memorials and Museums. Addenda. General Index. Ship Index. This updated, 19th edition of this classic work meets the high expectations and exacting standards of those who rely on this volume to stay information and to make related policy, force level, technological, and weapons decisions related to the U.S. Navy. Norman Polmar is a prominent author specializing in the naval, aviation, and intelligence areas. He has led major projects for the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Navy, and foreign governments. His professional expertise has served three Secretaries of the U.S. Navy and two Chiefs of Naval Operations. He is credited with 50 published books, including eight previous editions of Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet and four editions of Guide to the Soviet Navy. Polmar writes a column for Proceedings and was editor of the United States and several other sections of the annual publications of Jane's Fighting Ships. In 2019, the Naval Historical Foundation awarded Polmar the Commodore Dudley W. Knox Naval History Lifetime Achievement Award. The Nineteenth Edition is packed with comprehensive information, up-to-date photographs, line drawings, and useful appendixes, this timely volume describes the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard during a period of intensive transformation while engaged in combat operations. In describing the Navy's "ships and aircraft," extensive coverage is given to the new littoral combat ships (LCS), joint high-speed vessels (JHSV), Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers, and other new ships as well as developments in shipboard ballistic missile defense. At the same time, the convoluted path in surface combatant construction is "deciphered," while the belated decision to cancel the Marine expeditionary fighting vehicle (EFV) is explained. Also addressed in detail is the new F-35 series Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) and other aviation programs. Similarly addressed are Navy personnel, Marine Corps issues, Coast Guard forces, marine mammals, unmanned underwater and aerial vehicles, and other aspects of U.S. naval forces. This update continued the longstanding tradition of maintaining this essential reference work as the most complete resource of its kind.