US Navy had 6000 ships at the end of WW2

[ginscpy]

That's serious stuff.

Yet today - the "small" US Navy is probably as strong vs the other navies of the world - compared to back in 1945.

 

[oldfart]

That's serious stuff.

Yet today - the "small" US Navy is probably as strong vs the other navies of the world - compared to back in 1945.

Yeah, and 90% of them were landing craft. Two-thirds of the rest were support craft like fleet oilers, fleet resupply ships, submarine tenders, and so forth. We ended WWII with about 32 carriers, of which half had been launched in the last 18 months of the war. It's very possible if we went by carrier tonnage or number of planes in a carrier's air wing that today's fleet has a bit more tonnage and aircraft than the fleet of 1945. Anybody know the numbers for this?

 

[ginscpy]

Who has the second strongest navy today - my guess is China.

 

[Politico]

Yeah they may be number two. But that doesn't mean much.

 

[Grandma]

The landing craft were called LSTs. The soldiers said that stood for Long, Slow Targets.

 

[ginscpy]

Even if you strip away the landing crafts and all the other small boats - the US Navy at the end of WW2 was AWESOME.

 

[rightwinger]

Even if you strip away the landing crafts and all the other small boats - the US Navy at the end of WW2 was AWESOME.

We were one of the only Navies left standing

 

[whitehall]

That's serious stuff.

Yet today - the "small" US Navy is probably as strong vs the other navies of the world - compared to back in 1945.

The US Navy relied on "battleship" technology in 1941. How did that work out? Today Jet planes and cruise missiles can reach every part of the world. The point is that it's "serious stuff" to understand that the US is the only super power left in the world and a single boomer sub can take out most small countries. To paraphrase an overrated singer "the times they are a changin".

 

[there4eyeM]

That's serious stuff.

Yet today - the "small" US Navy is probably as strong vs the other navies of the world - compared to back in 1945.

The US Navy relied on "battleship" technology in 1941. How did that work out? Today Jet planes and cruise missiles can reach every part of the world. The point is that it's "serious stuff" to understand that the US is the only super power left in the world and a single boomer sub can take out most small countries. To paraphrase an overrated singer "the times they are a changin".

The Navy relies on carrier thinking today. Perhaps because that is what counted in the last war, just as the battleships were in their time.

And today, a single missile can take out a multi-billion dollar carrier and all its 'effectiveness'.
The times have changed. War like WWII is no longer a genuine option.
Of course, that has no effect on military thinking.