Sunburst: The Rise of the Japanese Naval Air Power, 1909-1941

Serving as a sequel to Kaigun the prize-winning study of the surface and sub-surface forces of the Imperial Japanese Navy this work illuminates the rise of Japanese naval aviation from its genesis in 1909 to its thunderbolt capability on the eve of the Pacific War. It provides the most detailed account yet available in English of Japans naval air campaign over China from 1937 to 1941 and concludes with a revealing chapter on the utter destruction of Japanese naval air power by 1944 in the process explaining its essential strengths and weaknesses. Author Mark Peattie traces the development of the Navys land-based air power as well as the evolution of its carrier forces. He also treats all the salient aspects of the naval air service: training personnel tactics doctrine technology and industrial base. In doing so he combines data found in previous handbooks with important new information derived from Japanese language sources. The books appendixes include biographic summaries of important personnel mentioned in the text detailed drawings and data on Japanese carriers and naval aircraft and information on Japanese naval air bases and land-based air groups as of 7 December 1941.