I’ve been reading about the “Revolt of the Admirals”, that occurred in 1949 (
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolt_of_the_Admirals).
In short, as part of the Truman administrations defence budget cuts, Secretary of Defence Johnson and Secretary of the Navy Matthews proposed drastic cuts in not only the Navy’s equipment, but in their role as a service. The prevailing thought was that the USAF, via the B-36 and atomic bombs, would be sufficient to defend the US (it was thought that the B-36 flew too high to be intercepted). When the Navy wanted to demonstrate that the F2H Banshee could intercept the B-36, they were strictly forbidden to do so by Johnson (who had been a member of the Convair board).
Not only was the super carrier “United States” cancelled, but the whole mission of the Navy was put into question (no aircraft for the Navy or Marines, no amphibious operations, etc). These views were widely held, even by military men like General Bradley. Many high ranking Naval officers strongly objected, and were “retired” or demoted for their views.
Then the Korean War started, and the Navy performed a significant role. As a result Johnson was dismissed, and things quickly turned around for the Navy.
So...... what if the Korean War didn’t happen, or happened a year or two later? Would the Navy have been gutted, and reduced to significantly lessened role (no carriers, no planes, no large Marine force, etc)? What would have been the political and military implications for the US and NATO?
Ric350