Difference between revisions of "Aircraft carrier"
(Added link & category) |
(Further reading) |
||
| Line 6: | Line 6: | ||
*[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/carriers.htm World Wide Aircraft Carriers] at GlobalSecurity.org | *[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/carriers.htm World Wide Aircraft Carriers] at GlobalSecurity.org | ||
| + | ==Further Reading== | ||
| + | *''Carriers in Combat: The Air War at Sea'', by Chester G. Hearn, Stackpole Books, 2007 | ||
| + | *''Carrier: A Guided Tour of an Aircraft Carrier'', by Tom Clancy, Penguin Group, 1999 | ||
| + | |||
| + | [[Category:Aviation]] | ||
[[Category:Military]] | [[Category:Military]] | ||
[[Category:Warships]] | [[Category:Warships]] | ||
Revision as of 20:16, June 5, 2008
An aircraft carrier is a ship whose primary purpose is to transport and deploy aircraft. It also can be fitted with anti-air weapons to increase protection of aircraft being deployed. Since late 1942, aircraft carriers have been considered capital ships, taking over from battleships and cruisers, which are now mostly obsolete compared to aircraft carriers. The largest aircraft carriers in the world are the United States' Nimitz class carriers. The first aircraft carrier was the HMS Ark Royal, originally laid down as a merchant ship and converted to a carrier in 1914.
Aircraft carriers allow nations to launch air power from the sea, usually for bombing operations against land targets, defending fleets, hunting other ships and destroying enemy aircraft, or supporting ground forces.
Links
- World Wide Aircraft Carriers at GlobalSecurity.org
Further Reading
- Carriers in Combat: The Air War at Sea, by Chester G. Hearn, Stackpole Books, 2007
- Carrier: A Guided Tour of an Aircraft Carrier, by Tom Clancy, Penguin Group, 1999