pilotyip
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2001
- Posts
- 13,629
No one will argue that land based airplanes can lift more than carrier based airplanes. The message that Naval Aviation is irrelevant would probably echo a similar statement that could have been written in 1948. The newly minted USAF was the darling of the newly established Defense Department, with the B-36 and the "A" bomb there was no need for Naval Aviation or the USMC. The USAF with its ability to reach any part of the globe would insure U.S. superiority in any area. So effective was this message that in the spring of 1949 the new super carrier CV-58, to be named the United States was scrapped shortly after construction had begun. At this time the Navy had but one amphibious group left in the Pacific and one carrier in the Far East. Then in June of 1950 the North Koreans invaded South Korea. They pushed the UN forces back toward the Pusan perimeter. An amphibious landing in July of 1950 Pohang- dong area by the USMC and Army forces with tactical air support provided by carrier aircraft allowed the US to hold the line in Korea. The lack of joint tactical air doctrine, in addition to the limited range and payload of the tactical jets would not allow the USAF to provide the close air support needed for the landing. The Navy carrier based prop driven F4U’s and AD’s provided the support. An Amphibious Landing supported by Navy and USMC tactical air had preserved an allied foothold on the Korean peninsula. The next year congress approved the building the first four modern aircraft carriers of the Forrestal Class CVA-59 through CVA-62. In a world that would face conflict below the level of nuclear exchange, the need for Naval Aviation had been firmly established. "I don't but its been said Air Force wings are made of lead, I don't know but I've been told Navy wings are made of gold"
