chapter three

The Aircraft Carrier Club

A German fleet is a luxury not a national necessity. — Winston Churchill^1

It is well known that there are societies in which prestige is gained by the acquisition of

some sort of good that is completely useless in fulfilling any need whatsoever. In spite of the

complete uselessness of things in general, their acquisition may be vital to the acquisition of

prestige or maintenance of self- esteem. A great deal of effort may be expended in acquiring

these useless items. (Duesenberry 1949 , 29 )

O

n the lightly windy afternoon of August 10 , 1628 , the Swedish flag-

ship Vasa prepared to embark on its maiden voyage. The newly con-

structed Vasa was a sight to behold. With two decks and sixty- four guns,

it was one of the largest and most expensive warships ever built. It was

covered with colorful carvings depicting the sovereign, the young king

Gustavus II Adolphus, the “Lion of the North,” and his regalia. The king,

deeply embroiled in seventeenth- century European power struggles, was

eager to acquire this new ship. Sweden suffered several naval setbacks,

and he was determined to reestablish Swedish maritime power. For three

years he put pressure on his shipbuilding team to construct a bigger,

greater ship, one so superior to other vessels that it would single- handedly

establish Swedish dominance over the Baltic Sea. The Vasa was the Swed-

ish key to regional hegemony. The builders complied. Under severe time

pressures, they exaggerated existing models and constructed a ship out

of proportion with anything they had assembled before. On the day of its

maiden voyage, an excited crowd gathered to watch the Vasa make sail,

and family members joined the jubilant crew on deck for the short trip.

Yet the voyage was shorter than planned. The Vasa— unstable, unruly, and

poorly designed — sank less than a kilometer from the Stockholm ship-

yards, taking more than thirty people with it (Arrison 1994 ; Konstam

2008 , 247 – 62 ).