This work is a comprehensive, heavily illustrated history of the many flying boats and amphibious aircraft designed and built in the United States. It is divided into three chronological sections: the early era (1912-1928), the golden era (1928-1945), and the post-war era (1945-present), with historical overviews of each period. Within each section, individual aircraft types are listed in alphabetical order by manufacturer or builder, with historical background, technical specifications, drawings, and one or more photographs. Appendices cover lesser known flying boat and amphibian types as well as various design concepts that never achieved the flying stage.

"An award-winning aviation historian chronicles the Navy's efforts to develop a powerful sea-based strike force through the use of long-range attack seaplanes supported by surface ships and submarines. William Trimble traces the concept back to the early 1930s when American strategic planners sought ways to mount an assault across the Pacific with minimum air support. But it was not until 1950, when the Navy was threatened with losing its big carriers and long-range aircraft, that the idea of a Seaplane Striking Force was resurrected. Lured by breakthroughs in seaplane performance and the promise of the turbojet-powered Convair Sea Dart fighter and the Martin Sea Master attack flying boat, the Navy believed it could challenge the Air Force in the strategic role, the author explains, but found that the technology did not live up to expectations. This book investigates the difficulties of weapon system procurement within the context of strategic realities, interservice rivalry, and constrained defense budgets. It also looks at an alternative weapon system that the Navy saw as a means of extending its conventional reach and as a complement to the carrier and land-based bomber used for nuclear deterrence. That weapon, however, proved unsuccessful in the end. The author helps the reader understand that while conceptual and operational flaws kept the Seaplane Striking Force from achieving the goals set for it, the idea of a mobile weapon system capable of long-range attacks from the sea remains valid. Other books touch briefly on the subject, but this is the first to examine the concept in depth."

Without the support of airlift, the modern American military machine would be brought to a standstill. Since World War II--beginning with the Cold War and continuing up to the present day--the U.S. armed forces have come increasingly to rely upon airlift for mobility. The power to rapidly move and thereafter support a military operation--anywhere in the world, at any time--has become a foundational element of American defense policy. This work provides the reader with a comprehensive historical survey--including technical specifications, drawings, and photographs--of each type of fixed-wing aircraft used by U.S. military forces over a nearly 90-year period to carry out the airlift mission.

First published in 1979, this fully illustrated study includes complete data on all of the Navy's flying boats since 1912.

"Illustrated with rare period photographs, vintage travel posters, magazine ads and colorful company brochures, Pan American Clippers covers every aspect of the era of flying boats, from 1931-1946. Trautman explains PanAm's founding and growth, their wartime activities, and the design choices that made the company a symbol of luxury. "--

The U.S. did not become the world's foremost military air power by accident. The learning curve--World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and more recently the war on terror--has been steep. While climbing this curve, the U.S. has not only produced superior military aircraft in greater numbers than its foes, but has--in due course--out-trained them, too. This book provides a comprehensive historical survey of U.S. military training aircraft, including technical specifications, drawings and photographs of each type of fixed and rotary-wing design used over a 98-year period to accomplish the first step of the learning process: the training of pilots and aircrews.

It wasn't very long after the first commercially viable automobiles came on the scene that ambitious engineers began to dream of vehicles that could travel not only on land but also in the air, or by water. For a century, talented designers have created unique dual purpose vehicles for land, water and air (in various pairings) for both civil and military applications. Sometimes converted from standard vehicles, sometimes beginning as clean-sheet designs, these machines have met the engineering and economic challenges of dual-mode travel with varying degrees of success. This book describes a fascinating array of these vehicles from the United States and abroad, including flying automobiles, roadable aircraft, amphibious vehicles, hovercraft, road-rail trains, and triphibious inventions.