Aircraft Carriers

Follow the development of the most important innovation in naval warfare through this superbly illustrated volume.The ultimate version of the warship is the aircraft carrier. The typical twenty-first-century carrier is an immense, nuclear-powered war machine capable of launching dozens of aircraft t [...]
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Follow the development of the most important innovation in naval warfare through this superbly illustrated volume.The ultimate version of the warship is the aircraft carrier. The typical twenty-first-century carrier is an immense, nuclear-powered war machine capable of launching dozens of aircraft to perform a wide variety of missions including attack, escort, antisubmarine patrol, and deterrence.Only four nations have produced their own carriers and operated them effectively: the United States, Britain, Japan, and France. Other navies have acquired conventional "flattops" and deployed them, but not as widely or as efficiently.The story of the fighting flattop begins with the Royal Navy in WWI, culminating in both the Atlantic and Pacific in WWII. For the United States, carriers were vital to securing the sea lanes to Great Britain and in taking the war to the shores of Japan. During the forty-plus years of the Cold War, US carriers retained their primacy as weapons and as targets, and today they remain valuable while facing an uncertain future due to a changing world and escalating costs.Michael E. Haskew has been writing and researching military history subjects for over twenty-five years. He is the editor of "WWII History" magazine and "The World War II Desk Reference" with the Eisenhower Center for American Studies. He is the author of "West Point 1915: Eisenhower, Bradley, and the Class the Stars Fell On"; "Appomattox: The Last Days of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia"; and "Tank: 00 Years of the World's Most Important Armored Military Vehicle," among numerous other publications. He lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee.