A Study On The U.S. Navy Construction In Early Cold War (1945-1969)

During the Cold War, America and Soviet carried on resisting each other completely in terms of the politics, economy, military, ideology etc. What they most cared was the national security, and the military safety was in the chief place. The foundation that they fight was the military strategic advantage. Hence, two superpowers launched an unending arms race, extending the scope of the military activity continuously. As a result, the arms race pushed the army building of two countries. As a country between the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean, the U.S. navy occupied an extremely special strategic position in the armed services system. During the Cold War, American navy carried out a deep-sea strategy, launching fierce competition with the Soviet navy, fighting against the hegemony of mare liberum as the foundation stone that maintained a national security. Therefore, the United States valued navy construction very much. In the aspect of military thoughts, navy's military thought developed and changed continuously with the strategic influence of the"Containment","Massive Retaliation"and"Flexible Response", putting forward the main mission of the American navy, expliciting the thought of the Sea War, establishing the principle of the navy construction. In the construction of navy system, they established a scientific and efficient command system; optimized navy, improved operational efficiency;In the aspect military training, enhancing the naval fighting capacity through training.On naval weapons and equipment, qualified army through science and technology. Ship power had shifted from the conventional power to nuclear power, weapons from the"cannon"to the"missile"of change; paid attention to the construction of aircraft carrier battle group; strengthened the nuclear deterrent forces, and strategic missile nuclear submarine made up of the"Trinity"nuclear deterrent. The United States built the world's most powerful navy, and played an irreplaceable role in the Korean and Vietnam wars. It was the key factor to solve the Cuban missile crisis.During the Cold War, the naval construction has made the great achievement, and the United States Navy became a important tool to dominate the world. Development of the United States Navy had also a significant impact on the construction of the Soviet Navy. The Soviet Navy shifted from the"coastal defense"to"ocean offensive". The Soviet Navy became an important maritime rival of the United States, and began to challenge the American maritime hegemony status. Meanwhile China national security was also threatened by the United States Navy, which improved modernization of China navy. Now, Chinese economy develops rapidly, but in the interests of overseas elements, we are often invaded by outlaws. Building a modern off-sea navy has been on the agenda. With the development of military forces around China, the national security and marine interests in China are also threatened. Therefore, it is necessary to build a strong navy. Besides, a strong navy is an important guarantee for China's peaceful rise.