A recurring argument in naval history says land-based aircraft make carriers, or even navies, unnecessary. It is politically attractive in peacetime because defence cuts can fund visible domestic programmes or tax reductions. Governments make those savings before they know where or how the next war will be fought. The Korean War supplies the counterexample, placed about six months after the American decision in this account: conventional fighting still required mobile naval air power.
Notable Point · 0:02-1:39
Why land-based air repeatedly looks cheaper than carriers
Long-range land-based aircraft offer an attractive justification for peacetime defence cuts, until a war exposes the need for mobile naval air power.