This book provides a concise historical survey of the various types of aircraft used by the United States Army Air Corps, Army Air Forces, and Air Force, and the Navy and Marine Corps to accomplish air attack missions since 1926. The text covers four types of fixed-wing aircraft: designated attack aircraft; light, medium, and tactical bombers; fighter-bombers; and adapted attack aircraft.
Reports on individual aircraft types include the aircraft’s original military requirements, production history, and operational record, usually accompanied by photographs, illustrations, and technical specifications. Four appendices detail aircraft designations and nomenclature used throughout the military, the organizational structure of various military air units, aircraft designs that never made it into official service, and the evolution of attack aircraft weapons and tactics.

E.R. Johnson, an attorney, has flown 25 different types of aircraft as pilot-in-command. He is the author of six books and more than 100 articles on aviation and lives in Mountain Home, Arkansas.

E.R. Johnson
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 455
Bibliographic Info: 345 photos, appendices, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2012 [2008]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7162-1
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5189-0
Imprint: McFarland

Preface      1

PART I—USAAC, USAAF, AND USAF ATTACK AIRCRAFT
Historical Note
The Emergence of Tactical Air Power      3
Attack Aircraft Procurement      6
First Series • 1926–1944      11
Second Series • 1946–1961      109
Third Series • 1962–present      161
Fourth Series (Adapted Attack Aircraft) • 1950–Present      205

PART II—USN AND USMC ATTACK AIRCRAFT
Historical Note
The Role of the Aircraft Carrier      227
The Emergence of Marine Corps Aviation      228
Attack Aircraft Procurement      229
First Series • 1926–1946      234
Second Series • 1946–1962      332
Third Series • 1962–present      367

Appendix 1: Aircraft Designations and Nomenclature      413
Appendix 2: Attack Aircraft Unit Organization      416
Appendix 3: Attack Aircraft Designs That Never Flew      418
Appendix 4: Evolution of Weapons and Tactics      433
Bibliography      441
Index      443

“a serious in-depth review of aircraft…recommended”—Choice; “provides succinct and encyclopedic coverage of these machines during this time period”—ARBA; “valuable”—Aviation History.