Whatever the benefits of Woodrow Wilson’s Navy, comparisons should be especially nuanced as the President attempted to illustrate by reference to aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines of which there are several types or missions. My own knowledge of the Navy is outdated but for this argument is adequate.
Several decades ago we undertook to MIRV the warheads on the missiles on our missile carrying nuclear submarines (“boomers”). MIRV stands for multiple independently targeted reentry vehicles. This meant that each missile would carry several warheads. At that time, the number of warheads was to be four, and the number of missiles carried by each submarine was 16. Thus, each submarine carried 64 nuclear warheads capable of being delivered independently of each other. Put more terrifyingly, each boomer could take out 64 targets.
Whatever the number of planes per aircraft carrier, they have both conventional firepower as well as nuclear. Many other ships have the capacity to conduct nuclear as well as conventional warfare.
In the context of today’s naval capacity, of what possible relevance is the number of ships?! Can anybody relate this capacity to any previous capacity? Should the size of naval response be considered without the size of other forces, the Air Force for example?
The second largest Air Force in the entire world is the mothballed U. S. Air Force in the dessert. The world’s largest by far is our active force. It can deliver nuclear (thermonuclear, actually) warheads anywhere in the world by plane and missile. This is more than enough to wipe out all life many times over. What’s left to count?
In early Reagan perhaps inspired by old John Wayne movies, we took ancient battleships out of mothballs. We also had to take 50 and 60 year old sailors out of retirement to drive them because there was not the knowledge and skill to operate those dinosaurs. Eventually all were again retired. Though it likely had nothing to do with it, a comparatively ancient Exocet missile sinking a British cruiser from many miles away during the Falklands pique demonstrated for all times the stupidity of employing battleships.
Thus the availablility of the battleship from which to launch Congressman Ryan’s Vice Presidential adventure.
5:01 PM PT: Thank you all for your comments. Seth, your clarification hardly is nit, and I appreciate your reminder that I'd intended to add the fact that the missile hadn't even detonated. I bow to your superior recollection as to the ship but relied on a single report at the time that it was a cruiser. According to the account, the missile while not exploding penetrated the magazine with such heat that it ignited it thereby sinking the ship. That the missile was outdated, didn't detonate and was fired from an aircraft out of sight of the ship reinforces your point about the carrier making obselete the battleship.