Inthepost-1945era,theaircraftcarrierhasremainedavaluedweapondespitethedevelopmentofnuclearweapons,cruiseandballisticmissiles,andhighlycapablesubmarines.Attimes,asintheearlydaysoftheKoreanandVietnamWarsandintheFalklandsconflict,carriersalonecoulddeployhigh-performanceaircrafttothebattlefield.Inotheroperations,suchasenforcingtheno-flyzonesandtheU.S.invasionsofAfghanistanandIraq,onlycarrierscouldprovidethebasesneededforsustainedcombatandsupportoperations.ThissecondvolumeofNormanPolmar’slandmarkstudydetailstheroleofcarriersintheunificationoftheU.S.armedforcesandstrategicdeterrence,fiscallyconstrainedGreatBritain,thedevelopmentofBritishCommonwealthandex-colonialnavies,andtheeffortsofFranceandtheNetherlandstorebuildtheirfleets.Theroleofthemoderncarrier-ninenationscurrentlypossessthem-isdiscussed,asaretheissuesconfrontingnationsthatmightacquirethem.ChaptersontheSovietUnion’sefforttoproducecarriersareincludedforthefirsttime.Thedevelopmentofbothcarrierplanesandthemany“oddball“aircraftthathaveflownfromcarriers-suchastheU-2spyplane-arealsoexamined.Appendixesincludecomprehensivedataonallcarriersbuiltandconvertedthrough2006.ThisvolumeisavaluablecompaniontothecriticallyacclaimedVolumeI,whichcoversaircraftcarrierdevelopmentandoperationsfrom1909to1945.
