Aircraft Carriers: 1917-Present (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781838866457)

First developed in the final years of World War I, aircraft carriers have been the dominant technology in naval warfare since World War II, following the devastatingly effective carrier-borne air raid on the Italian base of Taranto by the British in 1940, and the even more infamous air attack by hundreds of Japanese bombers on the US base at Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Today, the aircraft carrier is a key component of national navies around the world, offering a mobile aircraft platform that can be used to defend local waters as well as project power to every corner of the globe. Technical Guide: Aircraft Carriers features more than 50 of the most significant aircraft carriers from 1918 to the present, including the World War I-era converted battleship HMS Eagle, through the Japanese carriers Akagi and Kaga that were sunk at the famous Battle of Midway in 1942, to the great nuclear-powered supercarriers USS Enterprise and USS Nimitz of the Cold War era. The book comes up to date with the leading carriers of today, including the HMS Queen Elizabeth, Chinese Liaoning and Indian Vikrant. Illustrated with more than 80 vivid artworks and 40 photographs, Technical Guide: Aircraft Carriers is an essential reference guide for modellers and naval warfare enthusiasts.