History of the aircraft carrier
This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2018) |
Aircraft carriers are
Balloon carriers were the first ships to deploy manned aircraft, used during the 19th and early 20th century, mainly for observation purposes. The advent of fixed-wing aircraft in 1903 was followed in 1910 by the first flight from the deck of a US Navy cruiser. Seaplanes and seaplane tender support ships, such as HMS Engadine, followed. The development of flat top vessels produced the first large fleet ships. This evolution was well underway by the early to mid-1920s, resulting in the commissioning of ships such as Hōshō (1922), HMS Hermes (1924),[1] Béarn (1927), and the Lexington-class aircraft carriers (1927).
Most early aircraft carriers were conversions of ships that were laid down (or had even served) as different ship types: cargo ships, cruisers, battlecruisers, or battleships. During the 1920s, several navies started ordering and building aircraft carriers that were specifically designed as such. This allowed the design to be specialized to their future role, and resulted in superior ships. During the Second World War, these ships would become the backbone of the carrier forces of the US, British, and Japanese navies, known as fleet carriers.
World War II saw the first large-scale use of aircraft carriers and induced further refinement of their launch and recovery cycle leading to several design variants. The USA built small escort carriers, such as USS Bogue, as a stop-gap measure to provide air support for convoys and amphibious invasions. Subsequent light aircraft carriers, such as USS Independence, represented a larger, more "militarized" version of the escort carrier concept. Although the light carriers usually carried the same size air groups as escort carriers, they had the advantage of higher speed as they had been converted from cruisers under construction.
Early history - balloon and seaplane carriers
The earliest recorded instance of using a ship for airborne operations occurred in 1806, when
Balloon carriers
Just over 40 years later on 12 July 1849,[4] the Austrian Navy ship SMS Vulcano was used for launching incendiary balloons. A number of small Montgolfiere hot air ballons were launched with the intention of dropping bombs on Venice. Although the attempt largely failed due to contrary winds which drove the balloons back over the ship, one bomb did land on the city.[5]
Later, during the
Balloons launched from ships led to the development of balloon carriers, or balloon tenders, during World War I, by the navies of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, and Sweden. About ten such "balloon tenders" were built, their main objective being aerial observation posts. These ships were either decommissioned or converted to seaplane tenders after the war.
Seaplane carriers
The invention of the
HMS Hermes, temporarily converted as an experimental seaplane carrier in April–May 1913, was also one of the first seaplane carriers, and the first experimental seaplane carrier of the Royal Navy. She was originally laid down as a merchant ship, but was converted on the building stocks to be a seaplane carrier for a few trials in 1913, before being converted again to a cruiser, and back again to a seaplane carrier in 1914. She was sunk by a German submarine in October 1914. The first seaplane tender of the US Navy was the USS Mississippi, converted to that role in December 1913.[7]
In September 1914, during
On the Western front the first naval air raid occurred on 25 December 1914 when twelve seaplanes from
The Russians also were quite innovative in their use of seaplane carriers in the Black Sea theatre of World War I.[12]
Many
Genesis of the flat-deck carrier
"An airplane-carrying vessel is indispensable. These vessels will be constructed on a plan very different from what is currently used. First of all the deck will be cleared of all obstacles. It will be flat, as wide as possible without jeopardizing the nautical lines of the hull, and it will look like a landing field." |
Clément Ader, L'Aviation Militaire, 1909
(See note[14] for additional quotes.) |
As
A number of experimental flights were made to test the concept.
On 18 January 1911, he became the first pilot to land on a stationary ship. He took off from the Tanforan racetrack and landed on a similar temporary structure on the aft of USS Pennsylvania anchored at the San Francisco waterfront—the improvised braking system of sandbags and ropes led directly to the arrestor hook and wires described below. His aircraft was then turned around and he was able to take off again.
Flat-deck carriers in World War I
HMS Ark Royal was arguably the first active aircraft carrier, as it carried armed seaplanes for use in combat and military operations. She was originally laid down as a merchant ship, but was converted on the building stocks to be a hybrid airplane/seaplane carrier with a launch platform. Launched on 5 September 1914, she served in the Dardanelles campaign and throughout World War I. The ship proved to be too slow to work with the Grand Fleet and for operations in the North Sea in general, so Ark Royal was ordered to the Mediterranean in mid-January 1915 to support the Gallipoli campaign.[17]
HMS Furious was the first ship to be designed with the same basic features as modern aircraft carriers, as it was the first aircraft carrier to be equipped with a flight deck for airplanes although its initial flight decks were in two portions and therefore were not continuously full-length with the ship. This ship was rebuilt in 1925 with a full-length flight deck, and served in combat operations during World War II. Since HMS Ark Royal was a seaplane carrier, it had no actual flight deck; the planes that it carried would take off and land on the sea, and would then be hoisted aboard by shipboard cranes.
During World War I the Royal Navy used HMS Furious to experiment with the use of wheeled aircraft on ships. This ship was reconstructed three times between 1915 and 1925: first, while still under construction, it was modified to receive a flight deck on the fore-deck; in 1917 it was reconstructed with separate flight decks fore and aft of the superstructure; then finally, after the war, it was heavily reconstructed with a three-quarter length main flight deck, and a lower-level takeoff-only flight deck on the fore-deck.
On 2 August First attack using an air-launched
On 2 August 1917, Squadron Commander E.H. Dunning, Royal Navy, landed his Sopwith Pup aircraft on HMS Furious in Scapa Flow, Orkney, becoming the first man to land a plane on a moving ship.[20] He was killed 5 days later during another landing on Furious.[20]
Of carrier operations mounted during the war, one of the most successful took place on 19 July 1918 during the
Inter-war years
The Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 placed strict limits on the tonnages of battleships and battlecruisers for the major naval powers after World War I, as well as not only a limit on the total tonnage for carriers, but also an upper limit of 27000 tons for each ship. Although exceptions were made regarding the maximum ship tonnage, fleet units counted, experimental units did not, the total tonnage could not be exceeded. However, while all of the major navies were over-tonnage on battleships, they were all considerably under-tonnage on aircraft carriers. Consequently, many battleships and battlecruisers under construction (or in service) were converted into aircraft carriers.
HMS Argus: the first full-length flat deck
The first ship to have a full-length flat deck was HMS Argus, the conversion of which was completed in September 1918. The United States Navy did not follow suit until 1920, when the conversion of USS Langley, an experimental ship which did not count against America's carrier tonnage, was completed. The first American fleet carriers would not enter service until November 1927 when USS Saratoga of the Lexington-class was commissioned. The lead ship of the class, USS Lexington, was commissioned the following month.
Hōshō: the first purpose-built aircraft carrier commissioned
The first purpose-designed aircraft carrier to be laid down was HMS Hermes (1924) in 1918. Japan began work on Hōshō the following year. In December 1922, Hōshō became the first to be commissioned, while Hermes was commissioned in February 1924.[22][23]
HMS Hermes (1924): the first off-set control tower
The design of HMS Hermes (1924) preceded and influenced that of Hōshō, and its construction actually began earlier, but numerous tests, experiments and budget considerations delayed its commission. The long gestation of Hermes resulted finally in the first aircraft carrier to display the two most distinctive features of a modern aircraft carrier: the full-length flight deck and the starboard-side control tower island. With the exception of the squared-off flight deck prow and angled flight deck of later carriers, Hermes was the first to display the main features of the classic silhouette and plan layout of the great majority of aircraft carriers produced over the next century.
HMS Hermes (1924) was commissioned two days earlier than a sister aircraft carrier, HMS Eagle. Like Hermes, Eagle had a full-length flight deck and a starboard-side control tower island. Unlike Hermes, however, Eagle was a converted battleship and had a less integrated design and appearance than the purpose-designed Hermes.
Hurricane bow
A "hurricane bow" is a
Important innovations just before and during World War II
By the late 1930s, carriers around the world typically carried three types of aircraft:
Light aircraft carriers
Prior to the beginning of the war, President Franklin D. Roosevelt noticed that no new aircraft carriers were expected to enter the fleet before 1944, and proposed the conversion of several Cleveland-class cruiser hulls that had already been laid down. They were intended to serve as additional fast carriers, as escort carriers did not have the requisite speed to keep up with the fleet carriers and their escorts. The actual U.S. Navy classification was small aircraft carrier (CVL), not light. Prior to July 1943, they were just classified as aircraft carriers (CV).[24]
The Royal Navy made a similar design which served both Britain and the Commonwealth countries after World War II. One of these carriers, HMS Hermes (1959), was in use as India's INS Viraat, until it was decommissioned in 2017.
Escort carriers and merchant aircraft carriers
To protect Atlantic
These served as a stop-gap measure until dedicated
Catapult aircraft merchantmen
As an emergency stop-gap before sufficient merchant aircraft carriers became available, the British provided air cover for convoys using Catapult aircraft merchantman (CAM ships). CAM ships were merchant vessels equipped with an aircraft, usually a battle-weary Hawker Hurricane, launched by a catapult. Once launched, the aircraft could not land back on the deck and had to ditch in the sea if it was not within range of land. In over two years, fewer than 10 launches were ever made, yet these flights did have some success: 6 bombers for the loss of a single pilot.
World War II
Aircraft carriers played a significant role in World War II. With seven aircraft carriers afloat, the Royal Navy had a considerable numerical advantage at the start of the war as neither the Germans nor the Italians had carriers of their own.[25] However, the vulnerability of carriers compared to traditional battleships when forced into a gun-range encounter was quickly illustrated by the sinking of HMS Glorious by German battlecruisers during the Norwegian campaign in 1940. The first British warship lost in the war was HMS Courageous sunk by U-29 on 17 September 1939.
The versatility of the carrier was demonstrated in November 1940 when HMS Illustrious launched a long-range strike on the Italian fleet at
In the Atlantic, aircraft from HMS Ark Royal and HMS Victorious were responsible for slowing the German battleship Bismarck during May 1941. Later in the war, escort carriers proved their worth guarding convoys crossing the Atlantic and Arctic oceans.
Germany and Italy also started with the construction or conversion of several aircraft carriers, but with the exception of the nearly finished Graf Zeppelin, no ship was launched.
World War II in the Pacific Ocean involved clashes between aircraft carrier fleets. Japan started the war with ten aircraft carriers, the largest and most modern carrier fleet in the world at that time. There were seven American aircraft carriers at the beginning of the hostilities, although only three of them were operating in the Pacific.
Drawing on the 1939 Japanese development of shallow-water modifications for aerial torpedoes and the 1940 British aerial attack on the Italian fleet at Taranto, the 1941 Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor was a clear illustration of the power projection capability afforded by a large force of modern carriers. Concentrating six carriers in a single striking unit marked a turning point in naval history, as no other nation had fielded anything comparable.
Meanwhile, the Japanese began their advance through
Subsequently, the US were able to build up large numbers of aircraft aboard a mixture of
The reign of the battleship as the primary component of a fleet finally came to an end when U.S. carrier-borne aircraft sank the largest battleships ever built, the Japanese super battleships Musashi in 1944 and Yamato in 1945. Japan built the largest aircraft carrier of the war: Shinano, which was a Yamato-class ship converted before being halfway completed in order to counter the disastrous loss of four fleet carriers at Midway. She was sunk by the patrolling US submarine Archerfish while in transit shortly after commissioning, but before being fully outfitted or operational, in November 1944.
Wartime emergencies also spurred the creation or conversion of unconventional aircraft carriers.
Post-war developments
Three major post-war developments came from the need to improve operations of jet-powered aircraft, which had higher weights and landing speeds than their propeller-powered forebears.
The first jet landing on a carrier was made by Lt Cdr Eric 'Winkle' Brown who landed on HMS Ocean in the specially modified de Havilland Vampire registration LZ551/G on 3 December 1945.[27] Brown is also the all-time record holder for the number of carrier landings, at 2,407.[27]
After these successful tests, there were still many misgivings about the suitability of operating jet aircraft routinely from carriers, and LZ551/G was taken to
Angled decks
During World War II, aircraft would land on the flight deck parallel to the long axis of the ship's hull. Aircraft which had already landed would be parked on the deck at the bow end of the flight deck. A crash barrier was raised behind them to stop any landing aircraft which overshot the landing area because its landing hook missed the arrestor cables. If this happened, it would often cause serious damage or injury and even, if the crash barrier was not strong enough, destruction of parked aircraft.
An important development of the early 1950s was the introduction by the
The angled flight deck was first tested on HMS Triumph, by painting angled deck markings onto the centerline flight deck for touch and go landings.[28] This was also tested on USS Midway the same year.[29][30] In both tests, the arresting gear and barriers remained oriented to the original axis deck. During September through December 1952 USS Antietam had a rudimentary sponson installed for true angled deck tests, allowing for full arrested landings, which proved during trials to be superior.[29] In 1953 Antietam trained with both US and British naval units, proving the worth of the angled deck concept.[31] HMS Centaur was modified with an overhanging angled flight deck in 1954.[28] The US Navy installed the decks as part of the SCB-125 upgrade for the Essex-class and SCB-110/110A for the Midway-class. In February 1955, HMS Ark Royal became the first carrier to be constructed and launched with the deck, followed in the same year by the lead ships of the British Majestic-class (HMAS Melbourne) and the American Forrestal-class (USS Forrestal).[28]
Steam catapults
The modern steam-powered catapult, powered by steam from the ship's boilers, was invented by Commander C.C. Mitchell of the Royal Naval Reserve.[27] It was widely adopted following trials on HMS Perseus between 1950 and 1952 which showed it to be more powerful and reliable than the hydraulic catapults which had been introduced in the 1940s.[27]
Optical Landing Systems
The first of the
Nuclear age
The US Navy attempted to become a strategic nuclear force in parallel with the United States Air Force (USAF) long-range bombers with the project to build United States. This ship would have carried long range twin-engine bombers, each of which could carry an atomic bomb. The project was canceled under pressure from the newly created United States Air Force. This only delayed the growth of carriers. Nuclear weapons would be part of the carrier weapons load, despite Air Force objections, beginning in 1950 aboard USS Franklin D. Roosevelt and continuing in 1955 aboard USS Forrestal. By the end of the 1950s the Navy had a series of nuclear-armed attack aircraft.
The US Navy also built the first aircraft carrier to be powered by
Helicopters
The post-war years also saw the development of the helicopter, with a variety of useful roles and mission capability aboard aircraft carriers. Whereas fixed-wing aircraft are suited to air-to-air combat and air-to-surface attack, helicopters are used to transport equipment and personnel and can be used in an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) role, with dipping sonar, air-launched torpedoes, and depth charges; as well as for anti-surface vessel warfare, with air-launched anti-ship missiles.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the United Kingdom and the United States converted some older carriers into
The United States used some Essex-class carriers initially as pure anti-submarine warfare (ASW) carriers, embarking helicopters and fixed-wing ASW aircraft like the
Ski-jump ramp
Another British innovation was the ski-jump ramp as an alternative to contemporary catapult systems.[27] The ski-jump ramp at the end of a runway or flight deck allows an aircraft which makes a running start to convert part of its forward momentum into upward motion. The intent is that the additional altitude and upward-angled flight path from the jump provides extra time until the forward airspeed generated by engine thrust is high enough to maintain level flight. STOVL aircraft often also use their ability to direct some of their thrust downwards to give them additional lift until required airspeed is attained.
As the Royal Navy retired or sold the last of its World War II-era carriers, they were replaced with smaller ships designed to operate helicopters and the STOVL
.Post-World War II conflicts
UN carrier operations in the Korean War
The United Nations command began carrier operations against the
A second carrier unit, Task Force 95, served as a blockade force in the Yellow Sea off the west coast of North Korea. The task force consisted of a Commonwealth light carrier (HMS Triumph, Theseus, Glory, Ocean, and HMAS Sydney) and usually a U.S. escort carrier (USS Badoeng Strait, Bairoko, Point Cruz, Rendova, and Sicily).
Over 301,000 carrier sorties were flown during the Korean War: 255,545 by the aircraft of Task Force 77; 25,400 by the Commonwealth aircraft of Task Force 95, and 20,375 by the escort carriers of Task Force 95. United States Navy and Marine Corps carrier-based combat losses were 541 aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm lost 86 aircraft in combat, and the Australian Fleet Air Arm 15.
Post-colonial conflicts
In the period following World War II through the 1960s, the United Kingdom, France, and the Netherlands employed their carriers during decolonization conflicts of former colonies.
France employed the carriers
The United Kingdom used carrier-based aircraft from HMS Eagle, HMS Albion, and HMS Bulwark, and France from Arromanches and La Fayette, to attack Egyptian positions during the 1956 Suez Crisis. Royal Navy carriers HMS Ocean and Theseus acted as floating bases to ferry troops ashore by helicopter in the first ever large-scale helicopter-borne assault.[34]
The Royal Netherlands Navy deployed HNLMS Karel Doorman and an escorting battle group to Western New Guinea in 1962 to protect it from Indonesian invasion. This intervention nearly resulted in her being attacked by the Indonesian Air Force using Soviet supplied Tupolev Tu-16KS-1 Badger naval bombers carrying anti-ship missiles. The attack was called off by a last-minute cease fire.[35]
Between 1964 and 1967, the Royal Navy deployed the
Indo-Pakistan War of 1971
During
U.S. carrier operations in Southeast Asia
The United States Navy fought "the most protracted, bitter, and costly war"
Twenty-one aircraft carriers, all of the attack carriers operational during the era except
Falklands War
During the
Another lesson from the Falklands War resulted in the withdrawal of Argentina's aircraft carrier
Operations in the Persian Gulf
The U.S. has also made use of carriers in the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan and to protect its interests in the Pacific. During the 2003 invasion of Iraq U.S. aircraft carriers served as the primary base of American air power. Even without the ability to place significant numbers of aircraft in Middle Eastern airbases, the United States was capable of carrying out significant air attacks from carrier-based squadrons. Recently, U.S. aircraft carriers such as the Ronald Reagan provided air support for counter-insurgency operations in Iraq.
Key technologies
Feature | First seen | First demonstrated on/at | First commissioned carrier | Entry into service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Flight takeoff deck | 1910 | USS Birmingham (CL-2) | HMS Repulse (1916) | 1917 | |
Full length flight deck | 1918 | HMS Argus (I49) | HMS Argus (I49) | 1918 | |
Angled flight deck | 1948 | HMS Warrior (R31) | USS Antietam (CV-36) | 1952 | |
Aircraft elevators | 1918 | HMS Argus (I49) | HMS Argus (I49) | 1918 | |
Purpose-built carrier | 1918 | HMS Hermes (95) | IJN Hōshō | 1922 | |
Arresting gear | 1911 | USS Pennsylvania (ACR-4) | HMS Argus (I49) | 1918 | Argus was fitted with longitudinal gear, by W.A.D. Forbes |
Transverse arrestor gear | 1922 | USS Langley (CV-1) | Béarn | 1927 | |
Hydraulic Arrestor Gear | 1927 | Béarn | Béarn | 1927 | |
Starboard Island | 1924 | HMS Hermes (95) | HMS Hermes (95) | 1924 | |
Hurricane Bow | 1924 | HMS Hermes (95) | HMS Hermes (95) | 1924 | |
Aircraft catapult | 1915 | USS North Carolina (ACR-12) | USS Langley (CV 1) - compressed air USS Lexington (CV-2) - fly wheel HMS Courageous (50) - hydraulic |
1922 1927 1934 |
LCDR Henry Mustin made the first successful launch on 5 November 1915, |
Steam Catapult | 1950 | HMS Perseus (R51) | HMS Ark Royal (R09) USS Hancock (CV-19) USS Shangri-La (CVA-38) |
1955 | Added to Hancock and Shangri-La during their SCB-27C/125 refits. |
Jet Aviation | 1945 | HMS Ocean (R68) | USS Saipan (CVL-48) | 1948 | A Eric "Winkle" Brown made the first ever carrier landing on 4 December 1945
|
Optical landing system | 1953 | HMS Illustrious (87) | HMS Ark Royal (R09) | 1955 | Invented in 1951 by Nicholas Goodhart |
Nuclear marine propulsion | 1961 | USS Enterprise (CVN-65) | USS Enterprise CVN-65 | 1961 | |
Ski-jump | 1973 | RAE Bedford | HMS Invincible (R05) | 1977 | |
EMALS | 2010 | Lakehurst Maxfield Field | USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) | 2017 |
See also
- Modern United States Navy carrier air operations
- Project Habakkuk
- Seadrome
- Mobile offshore base (concept)
- Airborne aircraft carrier
- Floating airport (concept)
Types of ships that carry aircraft
- ASW carrier
- Escort carrier
- Helicopter carrier
- Light aircraft carrier
- Supercarrier
- Amphibious assault ship
- Seaplane tender
- Balloon carrier
- Submarine aircraft carrier
Related lists
- List of aircraft carriers
- List of aircraft carriers by country
- List of aircraft carriers by type
- List of aircraft carrier classes of the United States Navy
- List of aircraft carriers in service
- Timeline for aircraft carrier service
- List of amphibious warfare ships
References
Notes
- ^ Note: three generations of Royal Navy aircraft carriers named HMS Hermes are mentioned in this article: HMS Hermes (1898), HMS Hermes (1924), and HMS Hermes (1959),
- ISBN 0-8018-6442-9
- ISBN 0-554-87195-5
- ^ van Beverhoudt, Jr., Arnold E. (2003-01-01). "Carriers: Airpower at Sea - The Early Years / Part 1". sandcastlevi.com. Sandcastle VI. Retrieved 2007-08-03.
- ISBN 1-85109-488-1
- ^ Description and photograph of Foudre
- ^ "First US seaplane carrier, the USS Mississippi". Hazegray.org. Retrieved 2009-01-30.
- ^ Wakamiya is "credited with conducting the first successful carrier air raid in history"Source:GlobalSecurity.org
- ^ "Sabre et pinceau", Christian Polak, p. 92.
- ^ IJN Wakamiya Aircraft Carrier
- ISBN 0-521-63760-0.
- ISBN 978-1-61251-172-6.
- ^ Green, William (1962). War Planes of the Second World War: Volume Six: Floatplanes. London: Macdonald. pp. 90–91.
- ^ Clement Ader on the structure of the aircraft carrier:
"An airplane-carrying vessel is indispensable. These vessels will be constructed on a plan very different from what is currently used. First of all the deck will be cleared of all obstacles. It will be flat, as wide as possible without jeopardizing the nautical lines of the hull, and it will look like a landing field." Military Aviation, p35
On stowage:
"Of necessity, the airplanes will be stowed below decks; they would be solidly fixed anchored to their bases, each in its place, so they would not be affected with the pitching and rolling. Access to this lower decks would be by an elevator sufficiently long and wide to hold an airplane with its wings folded. A large, sliding trap would cover the hole in the deck, and it would have waterproof joints, so that neither rain nor seawater, from heavy seas could penetrate below." Military Aviation, p36
On the technique of landing:
"The ship will be headed straight into the wind, the stern clear, but a padded bulwark set up forward in case the airplane should run past the stop line" Military Aviation, p37. - ^ van Beverhoudt, Arnold E. Jr. (2003-01-01). "Carriers: Airpower at Sea - The Early Years / Part 2". sandcastlevi.com. Sandcastle VI. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
- ISBN 0-85177-819-4.
- ^ Friedman, p. 28
- ^ Sturtivant (1990), p.215
- ^ 269 Squadron History: 1914–1923
- ^ a b "HMS Furious 1917". Royal Navy. RN official web site. Archived from the original on 13 June 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2009.
- ^ Probert, p. 46
- ^ a b "Hōshō was a carrier from the keel, the first of its kind completed in any navy of the world" Scot MacDonald US Navy History: Evolution of Aircraft Carriers Archived 2009-02-26 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "The Imperial Japanese Navy was a pioneer in naval aviation, having commissioned the world's first built-from-the-keel-up carrier, the Hosho." GlobalSecurity: Carrier Hosho.
- Naval Historical Center, http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/shusn-no/cvl-no.htm. Retrieved 22 September 2006.
- ISBN 0-415-30534-9.
- ^ Francillon p.
- ^ a b c "The angled flight deck". Sea Power Centre Australia. Royal Australian Navy. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
- ^ a b Friedman 1983, p.264
- ^ "U.S. Navy - A Brief History of Aircraft Carriers - USS Midway (CVB 41)". Chinfo.navy.mil. Archived from the original on 2008-12-28. Retrieved 2009-01-30.
- ^ "Peoples Planes Places" (PDF). Naval Historical Center. Retrieved 2009-01-30.
- ^ "oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA378145". Archived from the original on January 25, 2009.
- ^ "World Aircraft Carriers List: France". Hazegray.org. Retrieved 2009-01-30.
- ^ "Suez Crisis, 1956". Acig.org. Retrieved 2009-01-30.
- ^ Tu-16 Badger: The stealth from the Southern Hemisphere - Rubrik HISTORY Archived October 22, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "British & Commonwealth units serving in Borneo, Brunei and supporting operations 1962 - 1966". Britains-smallwars.com. Archived from the original on 2009-01-25. Retrieved 2009-01-30.
- ^ René Francillon
Bibliography
- Francillon, René J, Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club US Carrier Operations off Vietnam, (1988) ISBN 0-87021-696-1
- Friedman, Norman (1988). British Carrier Aviation: The Evolution of the Ships and Their Aircraft. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-054-8.
- Nordeen, Lon, Air Warfare in the Missile Age, (1985) ISBN 1-58834-083-X
- Ader, Clement, "Military Aviation", 1909, Edited and translated by Lee Kennett, Air University Press, Maxwell Air Force Base Alabama, 2003, ISBN 1-58566-118-X
- Sheldon-Duplaix, Alexandre, Histoire mondiale des porte-avions: des origines à nos jours. (Boulogne-Billancourt: ETAI, DL, 2006).
- Friedman, Norman, U. S. Aircraft Carriers: an Illustrated Design History, Naval Institute Press, 1983 - ISBN 0-87021-739-9. Contains many detailed ship plans.
- Polak, Christian (2005). Sabre et Pinceau: Par d'autres Français au Japon. 1872-1960 (in French and Japanese). Hiroshi Ueki (植木 浩), Philippe Pons, foreword; 筆と刀・日本の中のもうひとつのフランス (1872-1960). éd. L'Harmattan.
- Williams, Alison J. "Aircraft carriers and the capacity to mobilise US power across the Pacific, 1919–1929," Journal of Historical Geography (2017) 15#1 71-81 Online free doi.org/10.1016/j.jhg.2017.07.008