Naval Air Weapons Meet 1956-1959

In 1956, the US Navy decided to establish an annual competition between specially selected Navy and Marine Corps squadrons from both coasts. The first such competition was named 'Navy Fleet Air Gunnery Meet' and was held at NAAS El Centro, in June 1956. The Second Annual competition was named 'Naval Air Weapons Meet 1957', and was held again at NAAS El Centro, in April 1957. The Third Annual Naval Air Weapons Meet took place at NAAS El Centro, in April 1958. The Fourth (and last) Annual Naval Air Weapons Meet was held at MCAAS Yuma, between 30 November and 4 December 1959. It is not clear why the Navy suspended the organisation of the annual meet after 1959. Most likely, budget constraints and operational commitments precluded the colourful gathering of so many squadrons at the same time. Angelo Romano has compiled this pictorial book to cover the history of the four Naval Air Weapons Meets. In particular, the book mainly focuses on the 1959 gathering thanks to the valuable contribution of the World famous amateur photographer William L Swisher, who himself took part to the event. The book features several excellent and unpublished images photographed by Swisher on 3 December 1959, on colourful Kodachrome slides and 616 Kodak negatives. This volume is the first of a series of books about various US Naval Aviation subjects written by Angelo Romano, books that are planned to be published on a quarterly basis by Model Publishing. It is the outcome of an on-going Project named NAVA (Naval AViation Archives) initiated by the author almost 30 years ago. Using detailed descriptions and selected photographs, NAVA's ultimate intent is to provide military aviation enthusiasts, historians and modellers with the best available coverage of the history, colour and markings of all Squadrons and Air Wings.

A Naval Life - The Edited Diaries and Papers of Admiral John Locke Marx 1852-1939

As a young officer, John Locke Marx grew up in the hey day of the Old Navy, with its gun boats, naval brigades and autonomous captains ruling distant seas; he was a mature officer in the New Navy, with its armed cruisers and battleships, its great Atlantic Fleet and its professional Officer Corps; he was a retired Admiral in the First World War, fighting as a captain in the dangerous Q ships and as an active admiral in charge of convoys when it ended. Thus his career spanned the long and important development of the Royal Navy from 1866-1917, from the Pax Britannica to Jutland. Admiral Marx left an archive of diaries, letters and papers, important not only for its historical interest and its intrinsic readability, but for the light it throws on Marx’s distinctive personality and the way in which the experience of a naval officer impacted upon it. Every page of his journal was headed private, and there is no doubt that he intended it for his eyes alone. In his sexual and social experiences, his imperial adventures, and his World War One heroism, his papers present a unique account of 'A Naval Life'.