Contents

       List of Illustrations

       Preface

       Acknowledgments

1    THE NAVY TESTS ITS WINGS

       Japanese Naval Aviation, 1909–1921

2    AIRBORNE

       Japanese Naval Aircraft and Naval Air Tactics, 1920–1936

3    FLIGHT DECKS

       Japanese Carriers and Carrier Doctrine, 1920–1941

4    SOARING

       Japanese Naval Aircraft and the Japanese Aircraft Industry, 1937–1941

5    ATTACKING A CONTINENT

       The Navy’s Air War in China, 1937–1941

6    FORGING THE THUNDERBOLT

       Japanese Naval Air Power as an Offensive System, 1937–1941

7    DESCENDING IN FLAME

       Japanese Naval Air Power Destroyed

       Appendix 1: Biographical Sketches

       Appendix 2: Glossary of Naval Aviation Terms

       Appendix 3: Generic Organization of Japanese Naval Aviation

       Appendix 4: Naval Aviation Vessels

       Appendix 5: Naval Air Bases and Land-Based Air Groups

       Appendix 6: Principal Naval Aircraft

       Appendix 7: Naval Aircraft Designation Systems

       Appendix 8: Principal Naval Aircraft Engines

       Appendix 9: The Hineri-komi (“Turning-in”) Maneuver

       Notes

       Bibliography

       Index