James Charles Fahey (1903–1974) was an American writer best remembered as the original compiler and publisher of the popular American reference ''The Ships and Aircraft of the United States Fleet''.

''The Ships and Aircraft of the United States Fleet''

James Fahey lived in the

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

working as a cab driver and merchant marine sailor while he wrote for various publications on the subject of military ships and aircraft. His disappointment at editors "butchering" his manuscripts caused him to self-publish the first edition of ''Ships and Aircraft of the United States Fleet'' in 1939. He carefully compiled data from unclassified sources and had a unique talent for presenting a great deal of information in compact, tabular format. His softbound 48-page booklet sold for fifty cents, and gained public interest as

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

unfolded. An updated second edition (the '' Two Ocean Fleet Edition'') was published in the same 48-page format in 1941,Fahey, James C. ''The Ships and Aircraft of the United States Fleet'' Ships and Aircraft (1941) and sold for seventy-five cents.Fahey, James C. ''The Ships and Aircraft of the United States Fleet'' Ships and Aircraft (1945) p.96 His third edition (the first ''War Edition'') in 1942. The updated third edition had grown to 64 pages in the same softbound format, and sold for one dollar.Fahey, James C. ''The Ships and Aircraft of the United States Fleet'' Ships and Aircraft (1942) Significant quantities were ordered by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

to train the officers and sailors mobilized to man the new ships. An updated ''Second War Edition'' was published in 1944, and the 96-page updated 1945 ''Victory Edition'' enjoyed enormous popular interest from returning veterans. Fahey documented the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

fleet in the 1950 6th edition, the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

fleet in the 1958 7th edition, and the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

fleet in the 1965 8th edition. The 9th and 10th editions were compiled by John Rowe and Samuel Morison. Norman Polmar has authored subsequent editions.

Other publications

Fahey published a companion 64-page reference booklet for one dollar in 1946 entitled ''U. S. Army Aircraft (Heavier than Air) 1908-1946'' and subsequently documented early Cold War developments in ''USAF and United States Army Aircraft: 1947-1956''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fahey, James Charles 1903 births 1974 deaths Writers from New York City American military writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers