Wave-Off!: A History of LSOs and Ship-Board Landings Hardcover – February 8, 2017

The rave reviews for Robert "Boom" Powell's WAVE-OFF! are all spot-on. This is one of the best carrier aviation books ever written - heck, one of the best naval books ever written - in terms of how things work, what they do, why they're the way they are and the history of how they came to be. Focusing throughout on Landing Signal Officers/LSOs -- known on the ship as Paddles, or Batsmen in BritSpeak -- Boom's breezy style easily takes in all carrier aviation eras and the practices of most countries, especially during the early days of carriers, through World War II and into the Cold War. Incredibly well illustrated and captioned, authoritative and relentlessly informative, the book drills down into specific details while always keeping the higher view of how it all fits into the big picture. Boom uses lingo and slang interchangeably with more technical terms, and unlike many members of tight-knit organizations, brings the reader onto the LSO platform and into the ready room and makes them familiar with the terms of the trade. My only complaint is I would've wanted Boom's take on current practices by other nations, especially those of the Chinese and Russians. The work makes it clear that today's LSOs, carrier operators and naval aviators stand on the shoulders of giants (and the blood of many), and it would be interesting to read more about the challenges of trying to jump in at high operational levels without the benefit of home-grown experience, as the Chinese now are doing.

Like all good books about aviation you need lots of quality photos and diagrams to complement the content. This book has all that and more. The content is rich in naval aviation history regarding aircraft carrier evolution, flight operations from the beginning to present, and enough easy to understand technical information to give the reader a depth of knowledge that satisfies while keeping anticipation of what the next page holds at a high level. CDR Powell's writing style is like he is having a one sided, friendly conversation with the reader as he covers material that he knows as a subject matter expert. Plus this book covers a part of naval aviation that heretofore has not been given enough recognition in my opinion. And that is the Landing Signal Officer, or LSO. This is an in depth look inside the evolution of the LSO as carrier aviation grew in scope, missions, and expertise. The main battery of an aircraft carrier is the air wing. And the LSOs play the most important part of keeping both the training of pilots and their proficiency at the extremely high standard of performance required of those who fly in challenging weather both day and night as they operate globally on our world's seas and oceans. As we say in the U.S. Navy - Bravo Zulu to CDR Powell. BZ = Well Done!

I hope someone like Mr. Tommy H. Thomason will solve my long time question about the Barricade for the early jet fighters of the strait deck carriers.In the bottom of the page 33, the author mentioned “Beside the low barriers, the tall barricade is raised, indicating the airplane had a problem”. Dose this mean that if there is no problem, the Barricade is always not raised until any problems will be revealed? And if any kind of problem was noted, the Barricade was raised as quickly as possible? What kind of mechanism was used to raise the Barricade so quickly?According to the Mr. Tommy H. Thomason’s books and the website as well as many videos, I thought the Barricade was also always raised in addition to the Davise Barriers, during every jet fighter’s landings on the strait flight deck carriers, with or without a trouble.It is much appreciated if someone would solve my simple question. At the time of Korean War, during the intact F9F panther jet’s uneventful landing operations, was the Barricade raised and lowered for each landing, even though some hindrance for the impending wave-off by the tall Barricade? Or the Barricade was not raised unless a jet fighter had any problems.Thank you in advance.

Boom Powell is a familiar name to aficionados of naval aviation history and operations, and anything he writes is always worth reading. Specialty Press has established itself as a major international publisher of path-breaking books in military affairs. Landing aboard ship, in variable weather, day and night, is arguably the ultimate test of pilot skill and judgment. This synergistic fusion of Boom Powell, Specialty Press, and a subject as fascinating as "Just how DO they bring those airplanes aboard?" had generated one of the finest books on naval aviation history ever published. Wave-Off is more than a collection of great tales and evocative photographs. Instead, Powell has drawn on his own extensive background as a naval pilot (A-4 Skyhawk and RA-5C Vigilante) and as a Landing Signal Officer (LSO) on the Intrepid and Kitty Hawk (the former one of the classic Essex class and the latter one of the formidable Forrestal brood) to examine the evolution of the LSO and deck-landing generally. As a Scooter and Vigi driver, Powell sees carrier aviation and the challenge of coming aboard with special insight. Even knowledgeable aviation enthusiasts will find much that is new and thought provoking in this impressive survey, and I recommend it heartily to anyone with even a passing interest in the marriage of ships and aircraft.

This book is perfect. Having been a Navy LSO for the last 6 years I found it incredible to learn the true nature of the roots, traditions, and character that goes into this job. I read it on the USS Ronald Reagan in the middle of my CAG Paddles tour so it had a very personal feel for me. However, this book will be interesting and intriguing to anyone out there regardless of whether or not they've heard of the landing signals officer job before. The LSO teams are always made up of characters and loud Type A personalities, and you get the impression as soon as you start reading. The history, descriptions and pictures made for a thoroughly enjoyable read, and I cannot thank CDR Powell enough for writing this!

Fascinating book.I never knew a C130 Hercules or a U2 spy plane had taken off from a carrier! Wow!Easy to read, great photos - amazing history of the role of Landing Signals Officers.

Volume sorprendente. Mi aspettavo un libro fotografico con buone didascalie, e invece è anche una storia completa ed entusiasmante dell'arte di fare appontare un aereo su una instabile piattaforma in mezzo all'oceano, non dimenticando l'evoluzione della tecnologia, dalle palette ai sistemi elettro-ottici automatici, e ancora fatti e personaggi di vicende al limite dell'incredibile. Il tutto corredato da foto di prim'ordine. Cinque stelle e lode!

ＬＳＯ(着艦信号士官)の、着陸する航空機への指示方法が、旗からパドル、そして現在の無線とフルネル・レンズとなるまでの経緯を、空母の歴史と共に写真入りで解説されている。但し、現在のＬＳＯに付いては、ページ数も全体の１割程度と物足りなさを感じる。文章の説明だけで無く、空母への着陸パターン、ＬＳＯが使用する機材などをイラストを取り入れ、読者に分かりやすく詳細に解説すればベストな書籍となるかも？

A very well researched book. The history was very interesting, right through to present day.Prompt delivery and well packed . Well done.