Sunburst: The Rise of Japanese Naval Air Power, 1909-1941

Sea Power, Jun 2002

SUNBURST: The Rise of Japanese Naval Air Power, 1909-1941, by Mark R. Peattie. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 2002. 224 pp. $36.95. [Internet: www.Naval I nstitute.org] Sunburst is an illuminating roadmap following the rise of Japanese naval aviation from its inception in 1909 to its devastating capability on the eve of the Pacific war.

Peattie also traces the development of the Imperial Japanese Navy's land-based air power as well as the evolution of its carrier forces. The extensive appendixes provide thumbnail biographies of the key personnel mentioned in the text; detailed drawings and data on Japanese carriers and naval aircraft; and helpful information on Japanese naval air bases and land-based air groups prior to 7 December 1941. Sunburst serves as a sequel to the Mark Peattie and David Evans study, Kaigun, of the surface and subsurface forces of the Imperial Japanese Navy. With notes, bibliography, index, six maps, nine appendixes, 20 photographs, and 50 line drawings.