文章基本信息

标题：Norman Polmar, Aircraft Carriers: A History of Carrier Aviation and its Influence on World Events, Vol. II 1946-2006, Potomac Books Inc., 2008. 560 pp. 350 B&W photographs, maps, glossary, appendixes, notes, index.
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作者：Andrew Lambert
期刊名称：International Journal of Naval History
电子版ISSN：1932-6556
出版年度：2008
卷号：7
期号：1
出版社：International Journal of Naval History
摘要：The first volume of this book rightly received a very favourable report across the naval community. The second sets off on the same lines, switching the focus from operations to innovation and policy, from the dominant American theme to smaller carrier navies. These currently include Great Britain, France, Russia, India, Italy, Brazil, Spain and Thailand, while Argentina, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands were carrier powers between 1945 and 1992, and others harbour ambitions to acquire a carrier capability, notably China. An appendix restores the missing German and Italian carriers of World War Two to the story. The upbeat tone of the volume reflects the current carrier resurgence, in stark contrast to the first edition of 1969. In that year no large deck carriers were under construction: it seemed the type was going to fade away. Where the first volume concentrated on carrier versus carrier combat, this volume has no such actions, and little serious planning for classic carrier warfare. In the 1982 Falklands War the British and Argentineans came very close to a carrier battle, only to find that Veinticino de Mayo could not launch her A4 Skyhawks when the wind fell! Instead the keys themes are carrier strike against the shore, in Korea, Suez, Vietnam, the Falklands, two Gulf Wars, Afghanistan, and Former Yugoslavia, and inter-service battles over the future of naval aviation. The American 'Revolt of the Admirals' of 1947 and the British decision to cancel the carrier programme in 1966 followed by political defeats were inflicted by skilfully handled Air Force polemic. Both have been reversed by the hard lessons of real war