First and Foremost: An Illustrated History of Carrier Air Wing One

Part Two: 1957-1973
By Douglas Olson & Angelo Romano
Model Publishing, ©2008
ISBN 88-89392-03-7
Softbound, 136 Pages

By Chris Banyai-Riepl

With such rave reviews of the first volume, anticipation of the second volume of Model Publishing’s First and Foremost: An Illustrated History of CAW 1 was high. Now that it is here, the anticipation matches the results. Like the first volume, the information presented here is simply stunning, and an outstanding reference on US Navy aircraft from that period.

While the first volume covered a wide array of aircraft, from biplanes to jets, this volume has jets, jets, and more jets. This is one of the most colorful periods of Navy aircraft, and the Phantoms, Crusaders, Skyhawks, Vigilantes, Skyrays, Demons, and Skywarriors all reflect that. While that is a good start of subjects, this book covers much more than that, and as one flips through the pages of this book there will be classic propeller aircraft as well, such as the Skyraider and Tracker, as well as helicopters. The text follows a chronology of CAW1, beginning with a North Atlantic cruise in 1957 aboard the USS Forrestal and ending in 1973 aboard the USS John F. Kennedy, once again in the North Atlantic. In between the Wing flew off both the USS Roosevelt and the USS Enterprise, including a Vietnam tour in 1966-67. As an East Coast unit, though, the majority of time was spent either in the Atlantic or the Mediterranean.

While the text is well written and does a great job of highlighting the various operations CAW1 went through over the years, the big draw of this book is the photographs. Most of these are in color, and they really show the striking markings worn by the individual squadrons. For those looking for great schemes to plant on their latest Skyhawk or Crusader model, this book will have that, and then some. The Phantoms alone would be worth the price of the book. In addition to the photos, there are many color profile illustrations that show some of the minor variations seen from cruise to cruise. With this information, one could accurately pinpoint exactly where a particular photo was taken, whether the Mediterranean, or the North Atlantic, or off the shores of Vietnam.

Anyone who is interested in US Navy aviation should not hesitate to purchase this book (and the first volume, for that matter). The level of research and amount of information presented is excellent, whether you are interested in written history or the photographic record. My thanks to Model Publishing for the review copy.