Editing Aircraft carrier (section)

==History==
{{main|History of the aircraft carrier|Timeline for aircraft carrier service}}

===Origins===
[[File:Wakamiya.jpg|thumb|right|The {{ship|Japanese seaplane carrier|Wakamiya||2|up=yes}} conducted the world's first naval-launched air raids in 1914.]]

The 1903 advent of the heavier-than-air fixed-wing airplane with the [[Wright brothers]]' first flight at [[Kitty Hawk, North Carolina]], was followed on 14 November 1910, by [[Eugene Burton Ely]]'s first experimental take-off of a [[Curtiss Pusher]] airplane from the deck of a [[United States Navy]] ship, the cruiser {{USS|Birmingham|CL-2|6}} anchored off [[Norfolk Navy Base]] in [[Virginia]]. Two months later, on 18 January 1911, Ely landed his Curtiss Pusher airplane on a platform on the armored cruiser {{USS|Pennsylvania|ACR-4|6}} anchored in [[San Francisco Bay]]. On 9 May 1912, the first take off of an airplane from a ship while underway was made by Commander [[Charles Rumney Samson|Charles Samson]] flying a [[Short S.27|Short Improved S.27]] biplane "S.38" of the [[Royal Naval Air Service]] (RNAS) from the deck of the Royal Navy's pre-dreadnought battleship {{HMS|Hibernia|1905|6}}, thus providing the first practical demonstration of the aircraft carrier for naval operations at sea.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1912/1912%20-%200442.html|title=The Naval Review and the Aviators|issue=177|volume=IV|page=442|magazine=[[Flight International|Flight]]|date=18 May 1912|access-date=15 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117015037/https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1912/1912%20-%200442.html|archive-date=17 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=10 May 1912|title=Flight From the Hibernia|newspaper=The Times|issue=39895|page=8 (3)|location=London}}</ref> [[Seaplane tender]] support ships came next, with the French {{Ship|French seaplane carrier|Foudre||2}} of 1911.

Early in [[World War I]], the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] ship {{Ship|Japanese seaplane carrier|Wakamiya||2}} conducted the world's first carrier-launched air raid:{{sfn|Polak|2005|p=92}} on 6 September 1914, the Wakamiya used its crane to lower [[Farman Aviation Works|Farman]] seaplanes into the water.  The ''Wakamiya'' attacked the [[Austro-Hungarian Navy|Austro-Hungarian]] cruiser {{SMS|Kaiserin Elisabeth}} and the [[Imperial German Navy|Imperial German]] gunboat ''Jaguar'' in [[Jiaozhou Bay]] off [[Qingdao]]; neither was hit.<ref>{{cite book|last=Donko|first=Wilhelm M.|title=Österreichs Kriegsmarine in Fernost: Alle Fahrten von Schiffen der k.(u.)k. Kriegsmarine nach Ostasien, Australien und Ozeanien von 1820 bis 1914|publisher=Berlin Epubli|year=2013|pages=4, 156–162, 427}}</ref> The first attack using an air-launched [[torpedo]] occurred on 2 August, when a torpedo was fired by Flight Commander [[Charles Edmonds]] from a [[Short Type 184]] seaplane, launched from the seaplane carrier {{HMS|Ben-my-Chree||6}}.{{sfn|Sturtivant|1990|p=215}}<ref name="269hist">269 Squadron History: 1914–1923</ref>

The first carrier-launched airstrike was the [[Tondern raid]] in July 1918. Seven [[Sopwith Camels]] were launched from the battlecruiser {{HMS|Furious|47|6}} which had been completed as a carrier by replacing her planned forward turret with a flight deck and hangar prior to commissioning. The Camels attacked and damaged the German airbase at Tondern, Germany (modern day [[Tønder]], Denmark), and destroyed two [[Zeppelin|zeppelin airships]].<ref>Probert, p. 46.{{cnf|date=November 2024}}</ref>

The first landing of an airplane on a moving ship was by Squadron Commander [[Edwin Harris Dunning]], when he landed his [[Sopwith Pup]] on HMS ''Furious'' in [[Scapa Flow]], Orkney on 2 August 1917. Landing on the forward flight deck required the pilot to approach round the ship's superstructure, a difficult and dangerous manoeuver and Dunning was later killed when his airplane was thrown overboard while attempting another landing on ''Furious''.<ref>The First World War: A Complete History by Sir [[Martin Gilbert]] [https://books.google.com/books?id=Ob2k5aM15cEC&pg=RA2-PA355] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905151348/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ob2k5aM15cEC&pg=RA2-PA355|date=5 September 2021}}</ref> HMS ''Furious'' was modified again when her rear turret was removed and another flight deck added over a second hangar for landing aircraft over the stern.<ref>Parkes, p. 622.{{cnf|date=November 2024}}</ref> Her funnel and superstructure remained intact however and [[turbulence]] from the funnel and superstructure was severe enough that only three landing attempts were successful before further attempts were forbidden.<ref>Parkes, p. 624.{{cnf|date=November 2024}}</ref> This experience prompted the development of vessels with a flush deck and produced the first large fleet ships. In 1918, {{HMS|Argus|I49|6}} became the world's first carrier capable of launching and recovering naval aircraft.{{sfn|Till|1996|p=191}}

As a result of the [[Washington Naval Treaty]] of 1922, which limited the construction of new heavy surface combat ships, most early aircraft carriers were conversions of ships that were laid down (or had served) as different ship types: cargo ships, cruisers, battlecruisers, or battleships. These conversions gave rise to the {{USS|Langley|CV-1|6}} in 1922, the US {{sclass|Lexington|aircraft carrier|2}}s (1927), Japanese {{Ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Akagi||2}} and {{Ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Kaga||2}}, and British {{sclass|Courageous|aircraft carrier|4}} (of which ''Furious'' was one). Specialist carrier evolution was well underway, with several navies ordering and building warships that were purposefully designed to function as aircraft carriers by the mid-1920s. This resulted in the commissioning of ships such as the Japanese {{Ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Hōshō||2}} (1922),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/13/world/gallery/japanese-inventions-changed-how-we-live/index.html|title=Japanese inventions that changed the world|publisher=CNN|date=13 June 2017|access-date=20 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171103173202/http://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/13/world/gallery/japanese-inventions-changed-how-we-live/index.html|archive-date=3 November 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> {{HMS|Hermes|95|6}} (1924, although laid down in 1918 before ''Hōshō''), and {{Ship|French aircraft carrier|Béarn||2}} (1927). During [[World War II]], these ships would become known as [[fleet carrier]]s.{{citation needed|date=February 2016}}

===World War II===
{{See also|List of aircraft carriers of World War II}}
[[File:USS Enterprise (CV-6) in Puget Sound, September 1945.jpg|thumb|{{USS|Enterprise|CV-6|6}}, the [[Most decorated US ships of World War II|most decorated US warship of World War II]]]]
[[File:Japanese aircraft carrier Shinano.jpg|thumb|The Japanese carrier [[Japanese aircraft carrier Shinano|''Shinano'']] was built on a battleship hull to carry spare aircraft and ordnance in support of other carriers. En route to complete fitting out it was sunk by an American submarine.<ref>Enright & Ryan, p. xiv.{{cnf|date=November 2024}}</ref>]]

The aircraft carrier dramatically changed [[naval warfare]] in World War II, because air power was becoming a significant factor in warfare. The advent of aircraft as focal weapons was driven by the superior range, flexibility, and effectiveness of carrier-launched aircraft. They had greater range and precision than naval guns, making them highly effective. The versatility of the carrier was demonstrated in November 1940, when {{HMS|Illustrious|87|6}} launched a long-range [[Battle of Taranto|strike on the Italian fleet]] at their base in [[Taranto]], signalling the beginning of the effective and highly mobile aircraft strikes. This operation in the shallow water harbor incapacitated three of the six anchored battleships at a cost of two torpedo bombers.

[[Asiatic-Pacific Theater|World War II in the Pacific Ocean]] involved clashes between aircraft carrier fleets. The Japanese surprise attack on the American Pacific fleet at [[Naval Station Pearl Harbor|Pearl Harbor]] naval and air bases on Sunday, 7 December 1941, was a clear illustration of the power projection capability afforded by a large force of modern carriers. Concentrating six carriers in a single unit turned naval history about, as no other nation had fielded anything comparable. In the "[[Doolittle Raid]]", on 18 April 1942, the US Navy carrier {{USS|Hornet|CV-8|6}} sailed to within {{convert|650|nmi|km}} of Japan and launched 16 [[North American B-25 Mitchell|B-25 Mitchell]] medium bombers from her deck in a demonstrative retaliatory strike on the mainland, including the capital, Tokyo. However, the vulnerability of carriers compared to traditional capital ships was illustrated by the sinking of {{HMS|Glorious}} by German battleships during the [[Norwegian Campaign|Norwegian campaign in 1940]].

This new-found importance of [[naval aviation]] forced nations to create a number of carriers, in efforts to provide air superiority cover for every major fleet to ward off enemy aircraft. This extensive usage led to the development and construction of 'light' carriers. [[Escort aircraft carrier]]s, such as {{USS|Bogue|CVE-9|6}}, were sometimes purpose-built but most were converted from merchant ships as a stop-gap measure to provide anti-submarine air support for convoys and amphibious invasions. Following this concept, [[light aircraft carrier]]s built by the US, such as {{USS|Independence|CVL-22|6}} (commissioned in 1943), represented a larger, more "militarized" version of the escort carrier. Although with similar complement to escort carriers, they had the advantage of speed from their converted cruiser hulls. The UK [[1942 Design Light Fleet Carrier]] was designed for building quickly by civilian shipyards and with an expected service life of about 3 years.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Robbins|first=Guy|title=The Aircraft Carrier Story: 1908–1945|year=2001|location=London|publisher=Cassel|page=[https://archive.org/details/aircraftcarriers0000robb/page/91 91]|isbn=978-0-30435-308-8|url=https://archive.org/details/aircraftcarriers0000robb/page/91}}</ref> They served the Royal Navy during the war, and the hull design was chosen for nearly all aircraft carrier equipped navies after the war, until the 1980s. Emergencies also spurred the creation or conversion of highly unconventional aircraft carriers. [[CAM ship]]s were cargo-carrying merchant ships that could launch (but not retrieve) a single fighter aircraft from a catapult to defend the convoy from long range land-based German aircraft.

===Postwar era===
[[File:Arromanches (R95) with Hellcat landing c1953.jpg|alt=|thumb|An [[Grumman F6F Hellcat|F6F-5]] landing on the French ''[[French aircraft carrier Arromanches (R95)|Arromanches]]'' in the [[Tonkin Gulf]], 1953]]
[[File:USS Tripoli LPH10 a.jpg|thumb|USS ''Tripoli'', a [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] ''Iwo Jima''-class helicopter carrier]]
[[File:USS Enterprise (CVN-65) underway in the Atlantic Ocean on 14 June 2004 (040614-N-0119G-020).jpg|thumb|{{USS|Enterprise|CVN-65}}, the world's first nuclear-powered carrier, commissioned in 1961]]

Before World War II, international naval treaties of [[Washington Naval Treaty|1922]], [[London Naval Treaty|1930]], and [[Second London Naval Treaty|1936]] limited the size of capital ships, including carriers. Since World War II, aircraft carrier designs have increased in size to accommodate a steady increase in aircraft size. The large, modern {{sclass|Nimitz|aircraft carrier|4}} of US Navy carriers has a displacement nearly four times that of the World War II–era {{USS|Enterprise|CV-6|6}}, yet its complement of aircraft is roughly the same—a consequence of the steadily increasing size and weight of individual military aircraft over the years. Today's aircraft carriers are so expensive that some nations which operate them risk significant economic and military impact if a carrier is lost.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.japcc.org/will-the-aircraft-carrier-survive/|title=Will the Aircraft Carrier Survive?; Future Air Threats to the Carrier (and How to Defend It)|last=Cochran|first=Daniel|year=2018|publisher=Joint Air Power Competence Centre (japcc.org)|access-date=7 June 2020|archive-date=25 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725013658/https://www.japcc.org/will-the-aircraft-carrier-survive/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:USS Forrestal explosion 29 July 1967.jpg|thumb|Fighting the fire on board [[1967 USS Forrestal fire|USS ''Forrestal'']], 1967]]
Some changes were made after 1945 in carriers:
* The '''angled flight deck''' was invented by [[Royal Navy]] Captain (later Rear Admiral) [[Dennis Cambell]], as naval aviation jets' higher speeds required carriers be modified to fit their needs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.denniscambell.org.uk/4663/4690.html|title=The Angled Deck Story|work=denniscambell.org.uk|year=2012|access-date=9 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304070012/http://www.denniscambell.org.uk/4663/4690.html|archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fleetairarmoa.org/fleet-air-arm-oa-history|title=History of Fleet Air Arm Officers Association|work=FAAOA.org|year=2015|access-date=9 November 2015|archive-date=25 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225040019/https://www.fleetairarmoa.org/fleet-air-arm-oa-history|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Innovation in Carrier Aviation|author2-link=Norman Friedman|first1=Thomas C.|last1=Hone|first2=Norman|last2=Friedman|first3=Mark D.|last3=Mandeles|journal=Newport Paper 37|publisher=Naval War College Press|year=2011}}; abridged findings published as {{cite journal|title=The Development of the Angled-Deck Aircraft Carrier|journal=Naval War College Review |date=Spring 2011|volume=64|number=2|pages=63–78}}</ref> Additionally, the angled flight deck allows for simultaneous launch and recovery.
* [[Jet blast deflector]]s became necessary to protect aircraft and handlers from [[jet blast]]. The first US Navy carriers to be fitted with them were the wooden-decked {{sclass|Essex|aircraft carrier|1}}s which were adapted to operate jets in the late 1940s. Later versions had to be water-cooled because of increasing engine power.{{sfn|Hobbs|2009|loc=Chapter 14}}
* [[Optical landing system]]s were developed to facilitate the very precise landing angles required by jet aircraft, which have a faster landing speed giving the pilot little time to correct misalignments, or mistakes. The first system was fitted to {{HMS|Illustrious|87|6}} in 1952.{{sfn|Hobbs|2009|loc=Chapter 14}}
* Aircraft carrier designs have increased in size to accommodate continuous increase in aircraft size. The 1950s saw US Navy's commission of "supercarriers", designed to operate naval jets, which offered better performance at the expense of bigger size and demanded more ordnance to be carried on-board (fuel, spare parts, electronics, etc.).
* The combination of increased carrier size, speed requirements above {{convert|30|kn|mph kph}}, and a requirement to operate at sea for long periods mean that modern large aircraft carriers often use nuclear reactors to create power for propulsion, electricity, catapulting airplanes from aircraft carriers, and a few more minor uses.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/non-power-nuclear-applications/transport/nuclear-powered-ships.aspx|title=Nuclear-Powered Ships &#124; Nuclear Submarines|website=world-nuclear.org|access-date=11 September 2019|archive-date=25 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190925073832/https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/non-power-nuclear-applications/transport/nuclear-powered-ships.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>

Modern navies that operate such aircraft carriers treat them as [[capital ship]]s of fleets, a role previously held by the galleons, ships-of-the-line and [[battleship]]s. This change took place during World War II in response to air power becoming a significant factor in warfare, driven by the superior range, flexibility and effectiveness of carrier-launched aircraft. Following the war, carrier operations continued to increase in size and importance, and along with, carrier designs also increased in size and ability. Some of these larger carriers, dubbed by the media as "supercarriers", displacing 75,000&nbsp;tons or greater, have become the pinnacle of carrier development. Some are powered by [[nuclear reactor]]s and form the core of a fleet designed to operate far from home. Amphibious assault ships, such as the {{sclass|Wasp|amphibious assault ship|5}} and {{sclass|Mistral| amphibious assault ship|5}} classes, serve the purpose of carrying and landing Marines, and operate a large contingent of helicopters for that purpose. Also known as "commando carriers"<ref>A number of British conversions of light fleet carriers to helicopter operations were known as commando carriers, though they did not operate landing craft</ref> or "helicopter carriers", many have the capability to operate [[VSTOL]] aircraft.

The threatening role of aircraft carriers has a place in modern [[asymmetric warfare]], like the [[gunboat diplomacy]] of the past.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}} Carriers also facilitate quick and precise projections of overwhelming military power into such local and regional conflicts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.navytimes.com/article/20110508/NEWS/105080307/Navies-expanding-use-of-aircraft-carriers|title=Navies expanding use of aircraft carriers|first=Slobodan|last=Lekic|work=Navy Times|date=8 May 2011|access-date=15 November 2015|archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20151117114109/http://archive.navytimes.com/article/20110508/NEWS/105080307/Navies-expanding-use-of-aircraft-carriers|archive-date=17 November 2015}}</ref>

Lacking the firepower of other warships, carriers by themselves are considered vulnerable to attack by other ships, aircraft, submarines, or missiles. Therefore, an aircraft carrier is generally accompanied by a number of other ships to provide protection for the relatively unwieldy carrier, to carry supplies, re-supply (Many carriers are self-sufficient and will supply their escorts) and perform other support services, and to provide additional offensive capabilities. The resulting group of ships is often termed a [[carrier strike group]], battle group, carrier group, or [[carrier battle group]].

There is a view among some military pundits{{who|date=December 2020}} that modern anti-ship weapons systems, such as torpedoes and missiles, or even ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads have made aircraft carriers and carrier groups too vulnerable for modern combat.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2011-05/twilight-uperfluous-carrier|first1=Henry J.|last1=Hendrix|first2=J. Noel|last2=Williams|title=Twilight of the $UPERfluous Carrier|magazine=[[Proceedings (magazine)|Proceedings]]|date=May 2011|volume=137|publisher=U.S. Naval Institute|access-date=15 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117065242/http://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2011-05/twilight-uperfluous-carrier|archive-date=17 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

Carriers can also be vulnerable to diesel-electric submarines like the German ''U24'' of the conventional [[Type 206 submarine|206 class]] which in 2001 "fired" at the [[USS Enterprise (CVN-65)|''Enterprise'']] during the exercise ''JTFEX 01-2'' in the [[Caribbean Sea]] by firing [[flare]]s and taking a photograph through its [[periscope]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/militaer-special/id_61572852/militaer-deutsches-u-boot-fordert-us-marine-heraus-.html|publisher=t-online|title=Deutsches U-Boot fordert US-Marine heraus|date=6 January 2013|access-date=18 December 2020|language=de|archive-date=1 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101174945/https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/militaer-special/id_61572852/militaer-deutsches-u-boot-fordert-us-marine-heraus-.html|url-status=live}}</ref> or the Swedish [[HSwMS Gotland (Gtd)|Gotland]] which managed the same feat in 2006 during ''JTFEX 06-2'' by penetrating the defensive measures of [[Carrier Strike Group 7]] which was protecting {{USS|Ronald Reagan}}.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.knbc.com/news/10116514/detail.html?psp=news |publisher=KNBC|title=Pentagon: New Class of Silent Submarines Poses Threat|date=19 October 2006|access-date=21 July 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071116120858/http://www.knbc.com/news/10116514/detail.html|archive-date=16 November 2007}}</ref>