henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) (08/23/90)
From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) >From: terryr@ogicse.ogi.edu (Terry Rooker) >... the Soviets have their political battles also... >... I also think the large deck carriers are >not called carriers for similar political reasons. That particular case is more than just internal politics. The Black Sea is a convenient place for Soviet shipbuilding, but access to the ocean from there goes via the Dardanelles. Long-standing naval treaties limit use of the Dardanelles by capital ships, defined as "battleships" and "aircraft carriers". So it is very much in the Soviet Navy's best interests to have "antisubmarine cruisers" rather than "aircraft carriers". Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry