Norman Polmar

Provides a detailed analysis of the U.S. Navy and gives the history, specifications, and tactical role of naval ships and aircraft.

The Naval Institute Guide to the Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet

On the morning of April 10, 1963, the world's most advanced submarine was on a test dive off the New England coast when she sent a message to a support ship a thousand feet above her on the surface: experiencing minor problem . . . have positive angle . . . attempting to blow . . . Then came the sounds of air under pressure and a garbled message: . . . test depth . . . Last came the eerie sounds that experienced navy men knew from World War II: the sounds of a submarine breaking up and compartments collapsing.When she first went to sea in April of 1961, the U.S. nuclear submarine Thresher was the most advanced submarine at sea, built specifically to hunt and kill Soviet submarines. In The Death of the USS Thresher, renowned naval and intelligence consultant Norman Polmar recounts the dramatic circumstances surrounding her implosion, which killed all 129 men on board, in history's first loss of a nuclear submarine. This revised edition of Polmar's 1964 classic is based on interviews with the Thresher's first command officer, other submarine officers, and the designers of the submarine. Polmar provides recently declassified information about the submarine, and relates the loss to subsequent U.S. and Soviet nuclear submarine sinkings, as well as to the escape and rescue systems developed by the Navy in the aftermath of the disaster. The Death of the USS Thresher is a must-read for the legions of fans who enjoyed the late Peter Maas's New York Times best-seller The Terrible Hours.

The Story Behind History's Deadliest Submarine Disaster

Death of the USS Thresher

Robert Stan Norris

Illustrated with more than 100 b & w photographs, this reference offers a complete, up-to-date history of the development of US nuclear weapons and detailed descriptions of the entire American nuclear arsenal, including the variety of systems capable of delivering them. It describes all of the nuclear weapons developed by the US, as well as the nuclear missiles and rockets carried by air-defense fighters within the US, and the nuclear-armed surface-to-air missiles surrounding major US cities and military bases. In addition to a history of weaponry, deployment, and dismantlement, the reference offers a history of American nuclear strategy, analyzes the various technical streams of research and the doctrinal evolution that led to the weapons, and assesses the impact of those developments on the larger history of the Cold War and its aftermath. Appendices give information on US nuclear stockpiles, effects of nuclear weapons, and US strategic offensive forces from 1945 to 2008.

A History of Weapons and Delivery Systems Since 1945

The U.S. Nuclear Arsenal

Thomas B. Allen

"What would have happened if atomic bombs had not been dropped on Japan in August 1945? Distinguished military writer historians Thomas B. Allen and Norman Polmar answer that provocative question in Code-Name Downfall, a vivid and dramatic narrative of America's war in the Pacific, which would lead inevitably to massive amphibious assaults against the Japanese home islands. Based on newly declassified documents, personal interviews, and a decade of meticulous research, their book traces the progress of the Pacific War and reveals the top-secret details of the plans and preparations, on both the American and Japanese sides, for an invasion that would be far more complex - and costly in human lives - than the D-Day landings in France." "Some historians have argued that the use of the atomic bomb was both unnecessary and immoral. Allen and Polmar totally refute that argument and back up their position with hard evidence. More than that, the authors describe the deep personal beliefs of the men who determined the course of the war, not only from the vantage point of history, but also in the context of that terrible time. In the end, with new knowledge and understanding of the events during these climactic days of the war, readers will be able to decide for themselves whether Truman's decision was justified."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

The Secret Plan to Invade Japan and why Truman Dropped the Bomb

Code-name Downfall

John Bessette

"Spyplanes is an illustrated history of manned spyplanes, with profiles, pictures, and technical specifications for each plane."--Provided by publisher.

The Illustrated Guide to Manned Reconnaissance and Surveillance Aircraft from World War I to Today

Spyplanes

In the post-1945 era, the aircraft carrier has remained a valued weapon despite the development of nuclear weapons, cruise and ballistic missiles, and highly capable submarines. At times, as in the early days of the Korean and Vietnam Wars and in the Falklands conflict, carriers alone could deploy high-performance aircraft to the battlefield. In other operations, such as enforcing the no-fly zones and the U.S. invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, only carriers could provide the bases needed for sustained combat and support operations. This second volume of Norman Polmar's landmark study details the role of carriers in the unification of the U.S. armed forces and strategic deterrence, fiscally constrained Great Britain, the development of British Commonwealth and ex-colonial navies, and the efforts of France and the Netherlands to rebuild their fleets. The role of the modern carrier-nine nations currently possess them-is discussed, as are the issues confronting nations that might acquire them. Chapters on the Soviet Union's effort to produce carriers are included for the first time. The development of both carrier planes and the many "oddball" aircraft that have flown from carriers-such as the U-2 spy plane-are also examined. Appendixes include comprehensive data on all carriers built and converted through 2006. This volume is a valuable companion to the critically acclaimed Volume I, which covers aircraft carrier development and operations from 1909 to 1945.

A History of Carrier Aviation and Its Influence on World Events, Volume II: 1946-2006

Aircraft Carriers

Examines the life, career, controversies, accomplishments, and blunders of the man in charge of the Navy's nuclear power program for over 30 years.

Rickover

Hyman G. Rickover was not long removed from his Jewish roots in Poland when he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1922. After a respectable career spent mostly in unglamorous submarine and engineering billets, he took command of the U.S. Navy's nuclear propulsion program and revived his career, being retired--involuntarily--some thirty years later in early 1982. He was not only the architect of the nuclear Navy but also its builder. In the process, he erected a network of power and influence that rivaled those who were elected to high office, and that protected him from them when his controversial methods became objectionable or, as critics would suggest, undermined the nation's vital interests. Authors Thomas B. Allen and Norman Polmar, whose full-length biography of Rickover (in manuscript in 1981) was consulted by the Reagan Administration during the decision to remove him from active duty, are eminently qualified to write an essential treatment on the controversial genius of Admiral Rickover.

Father of the Nuclear Navy

Dorr Carpenter

Submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy

Brigette Polmar

Long a family-friendly tourist destination and educational mecca for students, Washington, DC, is immediately recognizable for its world-class museums and monuments riddled with symbolism. Washington’s other signature stamp—politics—attracts visitors of a different kind. Power players from around the globe gather in the nation’s capital to make history. But that’s not all there is to the city. Part tour guide, part trivia book, Washington, DC’s Most Wanted™ shows you its ins and outs (and sometimes confusing roundabouts). Included in the book’s many chapters are top-ten lists on homegrown artists, authors, and athletes; historic hotels and bars known for their patrons’ wheelings and dealings; local hauntings and lore; and, of course, memorable scandals that erupted within the originally diamond-shaped district. Native Washingtonians, as many know, are few and far between, but even they will find a treasure trove of entertaining facts inside these pages.

The Top 10 Book of Tourist Treasures, Powerful Politicians, and Capital Wonders

Washington DC's Most Wanted™

Chronology compiled by the Office of the Historian of the Strategic Air Command under the direction of John T. Bohn.

People, Aircraft, and Missiles

Strategic Air Command

The story of the most famous airplane of World War II

The B-29 that Dropped the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima

The Enola Gay

Lee J. Mathers

“We were certainly pioneers as the Trieste was one of only two such vehicles in the world—the French Navy’s bathyscaphe FNRS-3 was the other. It meant that we had to ‘write the book’ about deep submergence operations in terms of technique and technologies. We learned by doing and by failures, although very few of the latter were serious. For example, if we needed a piece of equipment we would have to design it and make it. There were no commercial vendors who catered to deep submergence technology requirements. The market was far too small.”​—From the foreword by Capt. Don Walsh, USN (Ret.), PhD, U.S. Navy Submersible Pilot No. 1​ Developed by French physicist Auguste Piccard and his son Jacques, the bathyscaph Trieste was a scientific marvel that allowed unprecedented scientific, technical, and military feats in the ocean depths. France and the United States both acquired and subsequently developed variants of the original bathyscaph. While both France and the United States employed​​the bathyscaph as a tool for scientific investigation of the deepest ocean depths, the U.S. Navy developed and employed the Trieste for military missions as well.​From its earliest years, participants in the Trieste program realized that they were making history, blazing a trail into previously unexplored and unexploited depths, developing new capabilities and opening a new frontier. Comparisons with developments in space and the space-race between the United States and the Soviet Union often were​made​ concerning the Trieste program and contemporary developments in undersea technologies and capabilities.​ The Trieste opened the entire oceans to exploration, exploitation, and operations. The bathyscaph was a first-generation system, a “Model-T” that spawned an entirely new industry and encouraged new concepts for deep-ocean naval operations. Advances in deep-sea technologies lacked the “gee-whiz” factor of the concurrent space​race, but were highly significant in the development of new technology, new knowledge, and new military capabilities.​ Opening the Great Depths is the story of the three Trieste​ deep-ocean vehicles, their​ officers and enlisted men, and the civilians, often told in their own words, documenting for the first time the earliest years of humanity's probing into Earth's final frontier.​

The Bathyscaph Trieste and Pioneers of Undersea Exploration

Opening the Great Depths

Provides a detailed analysis of the U.S. Navy and gives the history, specifications, and tactical role of naval ships and aircraft

Thomas  Allen

Ship of Gold is an exciting, fast-paced tale of action, intrigue, and adventure on the high seas-told with the ringing authenticity only firsthand knowledge can impart. In 1945, the U.S. submarine Tigerfish mistakenly torpedoed and sunk a Japanese cargo ship. The ship, allegedly carrying supplies to allied POWs, had been given safe passage. But, in fact, the Osaka Maru was a Japanese Trojan horse: a cunning ruse devised by a powerful secret society to transport tons of gold out of Japan under the very eyes of the enemy. Some thirty years later, the commander of the Tigerfish is murdered in Washington. As the CIA launches its investigation into his death, a race to raise the ship and recover its treasure begins, which mounts to an international incident involving the U.S., China, the Soviet Union and Japan. The action of this taut thriller provides the behind-the-scenes reality of the national security system at work-the CIA, the Oval Office, the Pentagon, and the National Security Council-all scrambling to solve the crisis and to have control of the operation. It is a stunning portrait that all too closely resembles real life. This gripping, authentic thriller, which culminates in the most exciting naval chase since The Hunt for Red October, is must-reading for fans of Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler, and Alistair MacLean.

A Novel

Ship of Gold

The Spy Book uncovers the secrets and decodes the messages of the covert world of espionage. Over 2,000 entries on people, agencies, operations, and tools comprise this definitive work. Insiders Norman Polmar and Thomas Allen have unearthed files that have only recently been made available, including many from the KGB. This second edition includes the latest unveiled spies and situations, as well as new entries on the effects of espionage on literature, movies, television, and other media.

The Encyclopedia of Espionage

Spy Book

This authoritative and comprehensive survey features over 2,400 entries. Subjects range from battles, soldiers, and military activities to politics, culture, and the Holocaust. Enlivened by 85 illustrations, its panoramic perspective encompasses WWII's enduring influences on the American way of life. "A unique and valuable look at the war."—General James Doolittle

World War II: the Encyclopedia of the War Years, 1941-1945

Aircraft Carriers is the definitive history of world aircraft carrier development and operations. Norman Polmar’s revised and updated, two-volume classic describes the political and technological factors that influenced aircraft carrier design and construction, meticulously records their operations, and explains their impact on modern warfare. Volume I provides a comprehensive analysis of carrier developments and warfare in the first half of the twentieth century, and examines the advances that allowed the carrier to replace the battleship as the dominant naval weapons system. Polmar gives particular emphasis to carrier operations from World War I, through the Japanese strikes against China in the 1930s, to World War II in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, Arctic, and Pacific theaters. It begins with French inventor Clément Ader’s remarkably prescient 1909 description of an aircraft carrier. The book then explains how Britain led the world in the development of aircraft-carrying ships, soon to be followed by the United States and Japan. While ship-based aircraft operations in World War I had limited impact, they foreshadowed the aircraft carriers built in the 1920s and 1930s. The volume also describes the aircraft operating from those ships as well as the commanders who pioneered carrier aviation. Aircraft Carriers has benefited from the technical collaboration of senior carrier experts Captain Eric M. Brown and General Minoru Genda as well as noted historians Robert M. Langdon and Peter B. Mersky. Aircraft Carriers is heavily illustrated with more than 400 photographs—some never before published—and maps. Volume II, which is forthcoming from Potomac Books in the winter 2006-2007 (ISBN 978-1-57488-665-8), will cover the period 1946 to the present.

A History of Carrier Aviation and Its Influence on World Events, Volume I: 1909-1945

John D. Gresham

Presents a detailed description of the events, issues, and personalities involved in the lead-up to the Cuban Missile Crisis and the fateful thirteen days in October, offering an incisive analysis of one of the pivotal events of the Cold War.

Norman Polmar

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