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From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Coast Guard and Navy Information Wanted
Message-ID: <11366@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Date: 13 Nov 89 16:11:21 GMT
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From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer)
>From: terryr@ogccse.ogc.edu (Terry Rooker)
>... Aviation ships that carry more than about a dozen 
>aircraft are called carriers (of various types).  
>
>Politics enters into it for various reasons.  In the US it is usually 
>because there is some trend in Congress...

Or because there is some religious issue in the services.  As witness the
USMC's carriers, which are "amphibious assault ships" or something to that
effect, even though they are quite substantial aircraft carriers by the
standards of anyone but the USN.  No hint of competition for the USN's
supercarriers is allowed.

>... The Soviets call their large helicopter carriers ASW cruisers
> so they can pass through the Dardenelles.

The British called the Invincible class "through-deck cruisers" for some
time, because "aircraft carrier" was a dirty word after the great political
battle over retiring the RN's last conventional carriers.

                                     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
                                 uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu