The history of the Royal Navy's flags that led the fleet during the Cold War, ensured victory in the Falklands War, and participated in actions in Iraq and the Balkans.

In 1945, at the end of the Second World War, the naval power of the Royal Navy proved essential for the post-war world. The Royal Navy's carriers participated in the Korean War with the UN fleet, in the Suez fiasco, and in British operations in the last days of the Empire, in Malaysia, Borneo, and Yemen. However, more famously, they were key to the Royal Navy's victory in the Falklands campaign, while subsequently participating in the two Iraq wars.

Illustrated throughout with new profiles of the main carriers and their development, as well as a cutaway view of HMS Victorious and outstanding new illustrations of the carriers in action, this book explains how the Royal Navy's air power changed during the Cold War and beyond. Distinguished naval historian Angus Konstam explains how the World War II carriers were refurbished in a groundbreaking modernization that allowed them to operate a new generation of naval jets. As carriers became more expensive to operate, the Royal Navy was forced to scrap conventional fast jets and introduce a new generation of light carriers designed for the innovative Harrier 'jump jet' aircraft. When the Falklands War broke out, it was one of these new carriers and a veteran World War II carrier that provided the Task Force with the fighters needed to defend itself in hostile waters and reclaim the islands.

Covering a period of dramatic change for the Royal Navy, this book is a history of the most important ships of the Royal Navy during the Cold War, the retreat from Empire, and the Falklands and Iraq wars, up to the time when the Royal Navy's air power was temporarily canceled in 2010.