Wings for the Fleet

The men who ventured into the air in the Navy’s first aircraft were not onlydaring—they had vision, persistence, and a nearly unlimited determination toconvince the skeptics that their frail kite-like structures could someday possessmilitary value. Wings for the Fleet is the story of their trials, tragedies, andtriumphs. These men patched cooling systems with chewing gum, lived by“crash, repair, and fly again,” but succeeded in developing this new service intoan effective arm of the fleet.

Wings for the Fleet, first published in 1966, covers the fascinating details ofthose pioneering days from 1910 to the entry of the United States into WorldWar I. All of the heroic “early birds” are here with full accounts of theirexploits. Admiral van Deurs, himself a naval aviator since the early 1920s,rendered a significant service by his careful preparation of this well-balanced,thoroughly illustrated historical account, which comes complete withappendixes listing early naval aviators and the planes they flew. Over onehundred photographs were selected from official and private sources toillustrate this book.