THE FAST CARRIERS: THE FORGING OF AN AIR NAVY, SIGNED ON A CUSTOM BOOKPLATE BY WORLD WAR II NAVY ACE VINCENT A. RIEGER

REYNOLDS, Clark G. The Fast Carriers. The Forging of an Air Navy. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1992. Octavo, original navy and teal cloth, original dust jacket. $125.

Later edition of this history of the U.S. Navy, with 34 pages of photographic images, signed on a custom bookplate tipped onto the half title by a prominent World War II fighter ace Vincent Rieger.

"The navy's big switch from battleship to aircraft carrier power is exhaustively reviewed here. Reynolds, a young historian, wrote this account on a U.S. Naval Academy research grant. His 'analytical history' occasionally is critical of navy policy or strategy, but on the whole he sticks to explaining the implications of what happened, not of what might have happened. The Fast Carrier Task Force came of age in World War II, and by the end of the war the transformation from 'a battleship-oriented to an air-centered navy' was complete. Reynolds follows carrier task force operations, particularly in the Central Pacific, throughout the war. From leaders to logistics, every step in development is covered. Initially, aircraft were used as back-up operations for amphibious assaults; later airpower itself became the ""dominant factor."" Such problems as night capability, implementation of radar reconnaissance, and developing plane technology figure prominently… [W]ill serve… the serious history and aviation reader." (Kirkus). The first edition was published by McGraw-Hill in 1968. This copy bears the tipped-in custom bookplate of World War II fighter ace Vincent A. Rieger. The bookplate is printed with: "WWII U.S. Navy ace VF-31 USS CABOT 5 Victories" and is additionally signed by Vincent Rieger. Rieger was a Lieutenant, Junior Grade during World War II. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as a Fighter Pilot in Fighting Squadron 31.

Fine condition.