FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1955
1955 - 0417.PDF
FLIGHT, 1 April 1955 417 THIS year of "defence by deterrence" is an appropriate time to survey the roleof the aircraft carrier in a thermo-nuclear age, and also to review the carrierstrength of British and Commonwealth navies. Despite the pronouncements of certain critics who see in the large carrier a costly and vulnerable mistake, there are sound reasons not only for maintaining this country's present carrier force but also for increasing it markedly. While the rapid development of aircraft led to the decline of the battleship and the rise of the aircraft carrier (to replace it in significance though not in function), another set of special conditions has now been imposed by the development of thermo-nuclear weapons. In this introduction, the case for the carrier is summarized and interpreted in the light of present-day facts; on the following pages appears an illustrated review of those carriers in active and reserve service with the R.N., R.A.N. and R.C.N., and a description of some of the modern equipment which has kept carrier technique abreast of current aircraft development. If one accepts the unpleasant yet realistic task of forecasting the nature of possible future "hot wars," three main concepts appear. The first is that of all-out, global, thermo-nuclear warfare, defence against which is the first-priority "deterrence" "Flight" photograph
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
