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 a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

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 maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

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 , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

fleet in the 1950 6th edition, the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

fleet in the 1958 7th edition, and the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

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