Foreword / by George H.W. Bush -- Introduction / Douglas V. Smith -- The experimental era : U.S. Navy aviation before 1916 / Stephen K. Stein -- Eyes of the fleet : how flying boats transformed War Plan Orange / Edward S. Miller -- Ships in the sky / John E. Jackson -- Big guns versus wooden decks : naval aviation officer personnel, 1911-1941 / Donald Chisholm -- Admiral Joseph Mason "Bull" Reeves, father of navy carrier aviation / Douglas V. Smith -- Aviation in the interwar fleet maneuvers, 1919-1940 / Albert A. Nofi -- The two-ocean navy act of 1940 : the impact on American preparedness for World War II / Timothy H. Jackson and Stanley D.M. Carpenter -- U.S. aircraft carrier evolution, 1911-1945 / Norman Friedman -- Foundation for victory : U.S. Navy aircraft development, 1922-1945 / Hill Goodspeed -- Straight up : vertical flight in the U.S. Navy / Kevin J. Delamer -- The transition to swept-wing jets / Robert C. Rubel -- Naval aviation in the Korean and Vietnam wars / Gary J. Ohls -- By land and sea : non-carrier naval aviation / Sterling Michael Pavelec -- U.S. aircraft carrier evolution : 1945-2011 / Norman Friedman -- Conclusions / Douglas V. Smith.