Using squadron insignia to trace naval-aviation identity

Michael Roberts's illustrated volumes trace the iconography of US Navy fighter, attack, and other aviation squadrons. Successive versions of a patch can reveal what a unit chose to preserve, revise, or abandon as its designation changed. The images also capture cultural assumptions that official organization charts cannot, including emblems that would be unlikely to receive modern approval. These visual sources offer a practical way to investigate the lineage problems caused by changing squadron designations.