"1955 in 1947: Historical Conjecture and Strategic Planning in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations"

In late 1947, the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV) employed historical conjecture to determine U.S. Fleet requirements for the mid-1950s. Needing to be prepared for a war against the U.S.S.R. as well as for competition from its interservice rivals, the Navy's leadership attempted as much as possible to anticipate what a future war against the Soviet Union might be like so that the Naval Operating Forces that would be necessary for the U.S. could be procured Given the national security problems in our own time period, study of this 1947 historical exercise provides perspective on how naval policy was made and how it might still be made in the present and future.