WORLD HISTORY OF AIRCRAFT CARRIERS, FROM ORIGINS TO THE PRESENT DAY

An auxiliary platform during the First World War, the aircraft carrier rose to the rank of Capital Ship during the Second, granting the air arm mobility and permanence in a theatre far from land bases. Its impact on international relations became considerable through its capacity for conventional or nuclear strikes against coastal fringes where the bulk of human activity is concentrated.

Along with the submarine, the aircraft carrier is the naval weapons system that, through its interference or mere presence, can influence decision-makers and events. A tool of diplomatic and military posturing, the aircraft carrier carries or suspends violence in order to impose, from the sea, a will upon the land. A symbol of power, it is, by its very nature, the embodiment of a nation, its technical capabilities, and its economic wealth.

Illustrated with numerous previously unpublished documents, this fully updated second edition is the only synthesis published in French on the technical, political, and operational history of aircraft carriers worldwide.

The Author: An analyst at the Ministry of Defence from 1987 to 1999, research and teaching officer at the Naval and then Defence historical service until 2020, Alexandre Sheldon-Duplaix has been co-author of Flottes de Combat since 2018. He lectures at the École de Guerre and the École Navale. He has written or co-written seven works, including Histoire des sous-marins, des origines à nos jours and a book on the Cold War and naval espionage.