When Empires Strike Back

STRATEGY AND FIGHTING


Nelson would have marveled at the military possibilities represented by carrier technology -- cannons that fly, my Lord! -- but he would probably have regretted a key difference between his ship and ours. The supercarrier, too valuable to risk losing, and able to hurl its ordnance beyond the horizon, is made to stand away from battle, sometimes hundreds of miles away. Nelson took the British Empire's technology right into the thick of things. Engagement was often a ship-versus-ship slugfest. A big naval encounter involved what was called a "line of battle": a fleet of 30 or more ships lined up bow to stern so they could concentrate their firepower in thunderous cannonball broadsides at an enemy fleet -- preferably from ranges of 240 yards or less. The intent of these barrages of flying iron was to hole an enemy hull and sink the ship while sending showers of deadly wood splinters into the crew, or at least do enough damage to immobilize a ship for boarding, hand-to-hand fighting and capture.

Today, the primary modern fighting maneuver of the carrier is to position itself for the launch and recovery of its F-14s and F/A-18s. "The ultimate thing we do," says the Truman's Capt. Michael Groothousen, "is put fused bombs on the target." The dangerous, skilled, clockwork duty of hundreds of sailors is the maintenance, arming, launch and capture of the carrier's aircraft, a ferocious, beehive form of warfare in which the fighting is the one thing not directly seen except by a handful of pilots sent out to engage the enemy with their smart bombs and other devastating ordnance.




The actual maneuvering of the ship, pointing it into prevailing winds, may sound relatively simple, but there are complicating factors. U.S. carriers operate as the centerpiece of a complex battle group that typically includes Aegis guided-missile cruisers and destroyers, conventional destroyers, a guided-missile frigate and attack submarines -- "our ring of steel," Groothousen calls it -- plus a support vessel that carries ammunition, fuel and supplies. All these must be able to stay near the carrier, without interference or collision. Sea space may be limited, if there are islands or shoals in the way. Winds may shift, and currents and tides may impede the ship. A carrier may steam upwind launching its heavily armed jets, then turn and go downwind, then turn again upwind to receive its returning aircraft, which may be low on fuel and need to land promptly.