This, and it's companion volume on US Navy Airships,  should be read as one book. The author has done the incredible task of listing complete details of all American Service airships and in turn, providing a complete history and, nearly always, a photograph, of every single airship which flew – plus details of designs which did not.

Few World War I details appear because the US armed forces did not enter this conflict until 1917, when they effectively copied their airships upon the Royal Naval Air Service’s (by then) well-tried models. However they do give an accurate account of those early days.

Until 1942 both the US Army and Navy operated as individual air forces with much the same problems that the RFC and RNAS had prior to the formation of the Royal Air Force in 1918. Hence the separate volumes, each covering their individual airships until the formation of the USAF in 1942.

The US Army passed over its airship operations to the US Navy during a period 1936-1937, but did retain the use of motorised balloons and barrage balloons right up to the formation of the United States Air Force in 1942. Until these books were published, accurate details of US Army airships have been scarce. Included is a roster of all the army personnel involved in aircrew during this period, which is invaluable. Appendices include all the various factors involved in US Army lighter-than-air operations.

US Navy 1915-1962 gives complete details of every naval airship, including those (with spares etc.) which came from the US Army in 1936-1937. The US Navy rigid airships get full coverage. Naturally, the bulk of this volume deals with the magnificent efforts made by the airships of the US Navy to keep the sea-lanes free from U-Boats. As the production of airships increased, a Squadron flew across the Atlantic and patrolled the Straits of Gibraltar in 1945. Preparations were in hand to send another Squadron over to the Isle of Wight for Channel patrols, but the sudden end of hostilities in Europe in May 1945 precluded this. Post-war lighter-than-air operations are covered in great detail, right up to the last flight of a Naval airship.

How many people realise that the US built and operated the largest fleet of airships the world has ever seen? Prior to the development of the helicopter, airships, with their ability to hover and fly at slow speeds, were the ideal anti-submarine and sea-mine antidote. In World War I the RNAS boasted that no ship was lost to U-Boats if accompanied by an RNAS airship. In World War II, the US Navy claimed a similar record. This book clearly shows the valuable contribution made by airships to the safety of sailors at sea.

No one with a genuine interest in airships can afford to miss these two books. Here at last are two volumes which must be classed as ‘definitive’. Printed in A4 format, their binding leaves something to be desired. All photographs are digitally printed and, if a certain loss of definition is accepted, they provide enough detail for their purpose. Their author is to be commended for his diligent research which has produced such valuable reference books. One small warning – both these volumes are rather fragile and should be handled with care.