Q 01/05

Which type of warship did the aircraft carrier replace as a fleet's flagship after the Second World War?

A) The frigate

B) The battleship

C) The destroyer

D) The cruiser

Answer · why

B) The battleship

The battleship. In December 1941 Japanese aircraft sank the Royal Navy's Prince of Wales and Repulse at sea: without air cover, big guns had no answer...

Q 02/05

Which US Secretary of State is widely credited with calling an aircraft carrier '100,000 tons of diplomacy'?

A) Colin Powell

B) Dean Rusk

C) John Foster Dulles

D) Henry Kissinger

Answer · why

D) Henry Kissinger

Henry Kissinger is widely credited with the line. The number is near literal: a fully loaded Nimitz-class carrier displaces roughly 100,000 tons.

Q 03/05

What drives every aircraft carrier in the US Navy?

A) Nuclear reactors

B) Gas turbines

C) Diesel engines

D) Oil-fired boilers

Answer · why

A) Nuclear reactors

Nuclear reactors. Each ship can steam for over 20 years before refuelling, and federal law obliges the Navy to keep at least 11 carriers in service.

Q 04/05

Which Japanese tactic, begun in late 1944, put several American carriers out of action off Okinawa?

A) Midget submarines

B) Night torpedo raids

C) Kamikaze attacks

D) Floating mines

Answer · why

C) Kamikaze attacks

Kamikaze attacks. British carriers had armoured flight decks, and a US liaison officer aboard one said a hit there meant only 'Sweepers, man your broo...

Q 05/05

Swordfish torpedo bombers from which British carrier crippled the battleship Bismarck's rudder in May 1941?

A) HMS Furious

B) HMS Ark Royal

C) HMS Eagle

D) HMS Formidable

Answer · why

B) HMS Ark Royal

HMS Ark Royal. Her biplanes first attacked the British cruiser Sheffield by mistake; a second strike jammed Bismarck's rudder, and the fleet caught an...