AIRCRAFT CARRIERS of the World, 1914 to the Present : An Illustrated Encyclopedia

Aircraft Carriers of the World is the first comprehensive reference work to detail in one volume - with data, line drawings and photographs - the 360 - plus carriers designed or projected by the world's navies.

Although only five ( and until recently only four ) nations have ever completed the building of aircraft carriers, such vessels have seen service in twelve of the world's navies.

Depending upon precisely how one defines the term " aircraft carrier ", some 329 ships of this type have been operated throughout the world, more than half by the U.S. Navy ; in addition, scores of carriers have been projected. All the vessels are catalogued in Aircraft Carriers of the World, arranged chronologically according to country.

( ... ) The catalogue section of the book is preceded by a detailed narrative tracing the origins and evolution of the aircraft carrier as a viable fighting unit, with particular emphasis on the conflicting design requirements of, on the one hand, the ship, and, on the other, her aircraft - a problem that has proved to be one of the most taxing ever to face naval constructors. ( ... ) ..., Aircraft Carriers of the World provides the reader with all the essential information he may wish to seek concerning what has become the largest and most complex fighting machine devised by man.