In 1945 the Soviet Navy was little more than a timid coastal defence force. During WW2 it had achieved precisely nothing on the high seas. The United States Navy emerged from global conflict as the world's largest naval power, with battle honours stretching back to the pivotal carrier-versus-carrier showdown off Midway Island in 1942. At the end of the war the US Navy was an unstoppable colossus, spearheaded by literally hundreds of carriers manned by battle-hardened crews and equipped with a galaxy of state-of-the-art naval airplanes. Forty years later the Soviet Navy is a roving world power with awesome offensive capabilities and, in terms of sheer numbers, is superior to every other navy in the world. But despite the numerical post-war decline of the US Navy and the introduction by the Soviets of 37,000-ton Kiev class air defence carriers (plus one larger nuclear-powered carrier in-build), America looks certain to maintain a clear lead in the building of large carriers, the design of specialized naval aircraft, and the operational procedures and doctrines associated with the use of organic naval air power. By the 1990s the US Navy will be capable of deploying 15 carrier battle groups, including six 93,405-ton Nimitz class nuclear-powered flat-tops.
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