Carriers in Combat: The Air War at Sea
Since World War II, there have been no engagements between carrier air groups, but flattops have been prominent and essential in every war, skirmish, or terrorist act that could be struck from planes at sea. Carriers have political boundaries. They range at will with planes that can be refueled in the air to strike targets thousands of miles inland. From the improvised wooden platforms of the early 20th century to today's nuclear-powered supercarriers, Hearn explores how combat experience of key individuals drove the development, technology, and tactics of carriers in the world's navies.

In the early 20th century, during the days of the dreadnaughts, innovators in Europe and North America began to fly contraptions made from wood, canvas, wire, and a small combustion engine. Naval officers soon wondered whether these rickety bi-planes could be launched from the deck of a surface vessel. Trials began from jury-rigged wooden platforms built upon the decks of colliers. The experiments stimulated enough interest for the navies of the world to begin building better aircraft and better aircraft carriers. The novelty of a ship that could carry its own airstrip anywhere on the world's oceans caught fire in the 1920s and helped induce a new arms race. While the rest of the world viewed carriers as defensive weapons, Japan focused on offensive capabilities and produced the finest carrier in the world by 1940. World War II would see the carrier emerge as the greatest surface ship afloat. Since then, no war has been fought without them.

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Carriers in Combat: The Air War at Sea
Since World War II, there have been no engagements between carrier air groups, but flattops have been prominent and essential in every war, skirmish, or terrorist act that could be struck from planes at sea. Carriers have political boundaries. They range at will with planes that can be refueled in the air to strike targets thousands of miles inland. From the improvised wooden platforms of the early 20th century to today's nuclear-powered supercarriers, Hearn explores how combat experience of key individuals drove the development, technology, and tactics of carriers in the world's navies.

In the early 20th century, during the days of the dreadnaughts, innovators in Europe and North America began to fly contraptions made from wood, canvas, wire, and a small combustion engine. Naval officers soon wondered whether these rickety bi-planes could be launched from the deck of a surface vessel. Trials began from jury-rigged wooden platforms built upon the decks of colliers. The experiments stimulated enough interest for the navies of the world to begin building better aircraft and better aircraft carriers. The novelty of a ship that could carry its own airstrip anywhere on the world's oceans caught fire in the 1920s and helped induce a new arms race. While the rest of the world viewed carriers as defensive weapons, Japan focused on offensive capabilities and produced the finest carrier in the world by 1940. World War II would see the carrier emerge as the greatest surface ship afloat. Since then, no war has been fought without them.

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Carriers in Combat: The Air War at Sea

Carriers in Combat: The Air War at Sea

by Chester G. Hearn
Carriers in Combat: The Air War at Sea

Carriers in Combat: The Air War at Sea

by Chester G. Hearn

Hardcover

$63.00 
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Overview

Since World War II, there have been no engagements between carrier air groups, but flattops have been prominent and essential in every war, skirmish, or terrorist act that could be struck from planes at sea. Carriers have political boundaries. They range at will with planes that can be refueled in the air to strike targets thousands of miles inland. From the improvised wooden platforms of the early 20th century to today's nuclear-powered supercarriers, Hearn explores how combat experience of key individuals drove the development, technology, and tactics of carriers in the world's navies.

In the early 20th century, during the days of the dreadnaughts, innovators in Europe and North America began to fly contraptions made from wood, canvas, wire, and a small combustion engine. Naval officers soon wondered whether these rickety bi-planes could be launched from the deck of a surface vessel. Trials began from jury-rigged wooden platforms built upon the decks of colliers. The experiments stimulated enough interest for the navies of the world to begin building better aircraft and better aircraft carriers. The novelty of a ship that could carry its own airstrip anywhere on the world's oceans caught fire in the 1920s and helped induce a new arms race. While the rest of the world viewed carriers as defensive weapons, Japan focused on offensive capabilities and produced the finest carrier in the world by 1940. World War II would see the carrier emerge as the greatest surface ship afloat. Since then, no war has been fought without them.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780275985578
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date: 09/30/2005
Series: Praeger Security International
Pages: 336
Sales rank: 897,347
Product dimensions: 6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.75(d)

About the Author

CHESTER G. HEARN is the author of eighteen books, including Sorties into Hell: The Hidden War on Chichi Jima (Praeger, 2003) and Circuits in the Sea: The Men, the Ships, and the Atlantic Cable (Praeger, 2004). He has studied naval and maritime history for much of his life, and his works include histories and biographies stretching from the Revolution to Desert Storm.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Illustrations and Maps
The Dawn of Naval Air Power
From Dreadnoughts to Flattops
Mobilizing for War
Flattops in the Atlantic
The Rising Sun
Carriers at War
Fighting for Time
Coral Sea
Midway—The Turbaning Point
Evolution of Combat Tactics
The Eastern Solomons
The Battle for Guadalcanal
Refining Career Tactics
Island-Hopping in the Pacific
The Marianas Turkey Shoot
Ascent of the Air Admirals
The New Air Navy
Prelude to the Philippines
Leyte Gulf
The Setting Sun
Command of the Seas
Korea—Carriers and Politics
Vietnam—President Johnson's War
Cold Wars and Brush Fires
The Desert Wars
Afterword
Notes
Bibliography

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