Comments: Hardcover, 192 pages, 82 color photos, 188 black-and-white
ISBN: 978-1-58007-235-9
Price: $39.95
Publisher: Specialty Press
From the publisher:
From the beginning, landing airplanes on ships at sea has been considered the ultimate challenge in aviation. The success of generations of aircraft carrier operations would never have been possible without the Landing Signal Officer, or LSO. A full history of the LSO has never been published before now. The major changes brought about by visual landing aids and angled decks are nothing less than revolutionary, and these features are explained by a seasoned naval aviator who flew attack jets from carriers.
This book traces the history of LSOs from the first carrier operations in 1922 through World War II, the early jet era, Korea, Vietnam, and up to today’s nuclear-powered leviathans. Also explained are naval aircraft and equipment development through the years, including the faster and heavier aircraft and the changes in shipboard flight-deck systems. Diagrams show the evolution of aircraft-carrier deck design from World War I to the present.
History and data is interspersed with anecdotes that put you on the fantail as jets scream past at 200 mph and land right next to you. There’s a good reason the LSO platform is called "the best seat in the house." From biplanes to supersonic jets, aircraft and their pilots have relied on the LSO.
FSM says:
Entertaining stories and up-close views from the LSO’s perspective provide useful information and inspiration for carrier-deck modelers.