Technology and Naval Combat in the Twentieth Century and Beyond

by O'Brien,Phillips Payson

• ISBN13: 9780714651255
• ISBN10: 0714651257
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-10-30
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

This work examines how the navies of Great Britain, the USA, Germany, Japan, the Soviet Union, France and Italy confronted the various technological changes posed during different periods in the 20th century. The 20th century was the technologically most dynamic period in naval history. Changes ranging from submarines and airpower to space platforms, dramatically altered assumptions about the future of naval warfare. The different sections in this volume, which cover the years before World War I, before World War II, during the Cold War, and even into the medium-term future, discuss how the great naval powers integrated these different changes into their warship building and war planning. It is without doubt one of the crucial issues that has confronted and will continue to confront naval planners. The proper integration of technological advances has been perhaps the most important element in determining the course of naval power over the past 100 years.

Table of Contents

Introduction	vii
Phillips Payson O'Brien
PART I: PREPARING FOR THE FIRST WORLD WAR
Italian Warship Construction and Maritime Strategy, 1873--1915	3	(19)
Brian R. Sullivan
Japanese Naval Construction, 1878--1918	22	(14)
David C. Evans
The French Navy, 1880--1914	36	(17)
Paul Halpern
Technology, Shipbuilding and Future Combat in Germany, 1880--1914	53	(16)
Michael Epkenhans
Admiral Sir John Fisher and the Concept of Flotilla Defence, 1904--9	69	(24)
Nicholas A. Lambert
PART II: PREPARING FOR THE SECOND WORLD WAR
Japanese Naval Construction, 1919--41	93	(16)
Mark R. Peattie
German Naval Strategy and Armament, 1919--39	109	(19)
Werner Rahn
British Naval Procurement and Technological Change, 1919--39	128	(20)
Jon T. Sumida
Politics, Arms Control and US Naval Development in the Interwar Period	148	(17)
Phillips Payson O'Brien
PART III: PREPARING FOR THE COLD WAR
The Russian Navy in the Gorshkov Era	165	(20)
Evan Mawdsley
The Royal Navy, 1945--90	185	(15)
Eric Grove
Purposes and Platforms in the US Navy, 1945--90	200	(19)
George W. Baer
PART IV: PREPARING FOR THE NEXT WAR
The Royal Navy in a New World, 1990--2020	219	(19)
Geoffrey Till
The Transformation of the US Navy	238	(10)
Norman Friedman
Technology, Shipbuilding and Future Combat beyond 2020	248	(15)
David Andrews
Notes on Contributors	263	(4)
Index	267