Aren't we confusing personal taste with absolutes like "utter failures".
Yes graphs are nice, I've been lucky to get my share, but you don't need them for a good book. At one time I criticized Genda's Blade, by Henry Sakaida & Koji Tataki, for its lack of technical study, allthough that book is actually a unit history.
It is clear that some aircraft enthusiasts get their kicks from graphs and figures, because they can use those in their arguments (mainly why their plane of choice is better etc), but it more often than not blinds them from the operational aspect.
A technical background, need not dig deep to give you a better understanding of a weapon and its operational use. Yes, a speed and climb curve can replace a thousand words, but to call authors hacks because they have chosen not to include them is not right.
IMHO some authors actually seem to force themselves to include technical data while it doesn't really contribute much (or worse), like your Bergerud, but that doesn't negate the bulk of their work.
There are always people who know better, or so it seems, but the books available do reflect the market, that is a simple fact. Camouflage and markings seem to be popular, so are operational histories and pilot biographies, however since really technical aircraft books (dealing with WW2) are few it must reflect their market.
OTOH, there are books like The Spitfire History, or Classic's Me 262 series which must come near to your wishes, or indeed Le Bloch MB 152 by Avions-Jets and Le Dewoitine D.520, by Docavia or the numerous work by Dietmar Hermann. I would include Rodeike, but I know you would disagree, since his work fails to bring curves. A lot of curves can be found in America's Onehundred Thousand, but its focus is on performance, not a complete technical background.
However the operational side is still an important part in most of these works.
Now I will start assuming here, but perhaps this is in part due to the fact that most ships could not fill many pages with their operational background, barring a number of historically important vessels. Of course you could do so if you really wanted to, but it would not really deliver an interesting book, hence one can (or perhaps must) fill pages with technical detail, to fill it up.
Now what would bring the Bismarck closer to reality, a book on its technical aspects, or a book about its operations with a concise technical introduction?
OTOH, I have yet to find a performance curve for a WW2 ship
Personally I agree with John Vasco, if you speak in general terms the whole idea that aviation writers can learn a lot from their nautical collegues is based on your personal taste, not absolute fact. Especially if you consider the fact that you are comparing a couple of Nautical works and expanding their quality across the whole genre. You could easily reverse that if you choose to do so.
The irony is that I personally like the odd curve, but in my humble opinion it is not the essential part of a good technical background or a good
Aircraft History Book.
Just my 2c.