The arrival of the jet fighter at the end of the Second World War presented the U.S. Navy with a difficult problem: how to adapt high-performance jet aircraft to the demanding environment of aircraft-carrier operations. This expanded study traces the development and evolution of U.S. Navy carrier-based jet fighters, their airframes and engines, from the closing days of World War II into the modern era.

Tommy H. Thomason examines both successful designs—including the Fury, Banshee, Crusader and Phantom II—and less successful types such as the Fireball, Demon, Pirate and Cutlass, placing their development against changing operational requirements, political pressures and advances in engine and aerodynamic technology.

Substantially expanded from the earlier edition, the book adds coverage of the F6D/F-111B, F-14 Tomcat and F/A-18 Hornet families, as well as later developments including the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, F-35C and unmanned aerial-refuelling programs. Numerous photographs, engine cutaways, comparison diagrams and illustrations document the aircraft and the carrier innovations that made high-performance jet operations at sea possible.