"Hobbs provides an incredible amount of detailed information in this well-written 456-paqge encyclopedic volume. A testament to this is that his essays mention 58 Naval Fleet Air Arm squadrons and 29 other squadrons (RAF, USN, and USAAF), 60 operations, 57 airfields, and 23 U-boats. Especially valuable are his clear and detailed after-action analyses which pull no punches, and that he situates the well-known actions at Taranto and Matapan in the context of a complete analysis of the war in the Mediterranean. It is certain that Hobbs's years of archival research together with his experience as a carrier pilot allow him to describe and analyze the operations of naval aircraft in the Mediterranean with unprecedented authority. This provides his book with novel insights into many familiar faces of the Mediterranean war while for the first time doing full justice to the Fleet Air Arm's lesser-known achievements." --Naval Historical Foundation.