The Complete History of U.S. Cruise Missiles Book Review
By David L. Veres
| Date of Review | October 2018 | Title | The Complete History of U.S. Cruise Missiles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Author | Bill Yenne | Publisher | Specialty Press |
| Published | 2018 | ISBN | 9781580072564 |
| Format | 204 pages, softbound | MSRP (USD) | $34.95 |
Review
Bill Yenne surveys the century-long saga of unmanned American military aircraft in The Complete History of U.S. Cruise Missiles from Specialty Press.
Subtitled "From Kettering's 1920s' [sic: 1920's] Bug & 1950's Snark to Today's Tomahawk", text traverses the total tale – from WWI aerial torpedoes and WWII assault drones through 1950s and 1960s jet-propelled designs to today's satellite-guided cruise missiles.
Ground-launched. Vehicle-launched. Ship-launched. Air-launched.
Sperry Flying Bomb. Loon. Navaho. Hound Dog. Tomahawk. And at least 20 more – some as fresh as today's headlines and proposals.
Guidance systems naturally proved critical to cruise missile accuracy. And coverage recaps these, too. Mechanical-gyroscopic. Radio. Television. Satellite. Yenne notes them all.
Hundreds of color and B&W photos, drawings, and action illustrations – many from official government and corporate sources – tincture text. And extended captions augment all.
But the plural of "Waffe" ("weapon") is "Waffen". And German "vengeance" weapons might have "inspired" post-WWII American designs. But I doubt that, by the 1950s, US programs like Navaho were "entirely derived from" Nazi technologies.
Quibbles aside, if you're seeking a convenient compendium on US unmanned aerial weapons, grab this handy, 12-chapter handbook.
Recommended!
With thanks to Specialty Press for the review copy.