British bombers world war ii
In a war with China, the Japanese fleet would aim to blockade the Chinese fleet from breaking out of the China Seas via a northern route and entering the wider Pacific Ocean.Ī chain of island outposts stretching from Japan to Taiwan would anchor the blockade. The two new flattops have an obvious place in Japan’s naval strategy. It was a small but politically significant step when, in 2018, Tokyo approved the Izumo and Kaga’s conversions into carriers of winged aircraft. The Japanese navy long has operated helicopter carriers. But generations of Japanese leaders in the post-war period considered carriers to be incompatible with the country’s new, strictly defensive, military posture.īut as China has expanded its fleet and extended its territorial claims farther across the western Pacific, Japanese leaders have rethought their stance. The Japanese navy was a leading carrier power during World War II. The resuscitation of Japan’s carrier fleet isn’t without controversy. This spring, Marine F-35Bs also briefly operated from the Italian navy carrier ITS Cavour off the Virginia coast in order to verify upgrades allowing that vessel to operate Italy’s own F-35Bs. Marine jets embarked on the new Royal Navy flattop HMS Queen Elizabeth for her ongoing inaugural cruise, which saw the 919-foot carrier sailing south of Taiwan around the same time Izumo was landing F-35Bs for the first time.