Aircraft carriers, large ships specially designed to carry, launch, and recover aircraft, revolutionized naval warfare during World War II and largely displaced battleships as the supreme naval weapon. With aircraft carriers, fleets could now fight each other "over the horizon," and the Battle of the Coral Sea was history's first naval engagement in which the opposing ships never sighted one another; all combat took place in or from the air. Moreover, aircraft carriers served as floating air bases, from which air attacks could be launched against targets far beyond the range of land-based aircraft. Traditionally, nations had projected military power with great ships. Now those ships, in turn, could project their power with aircraft.

The history of the aircraft carrier may be traced to November 1910, when an American civilian pilot, Eugene Ely, took off from a platform built on the deck of the U.S. cruiser Birmingham. Ely successfully landed an airplane early the following year, on January 18, 1911, on a platform built on the quarterdeck of the battleship Pennsylvania. He used wires extended across the platform and attached to sandbags to serve as arresting gear, an innovation that, with many improvements, continues to be a key feature of carriers to this day, making it possible for aircraft to land in the comparatively short space of an aircraft carrier deck. The British were the first to contemplate introducing a carrier into war, converting a merchant vessel into the HMS Argus during World War I. However, the armistice was signed before the ship could be deployed. The example of the Argus did inspire both the United States and Japan to experiment with carriers. The U.S. Navy built a flight deck on a converted collier and launched its first carrier, the USS Langley, in 1922. Later that same year, the Japanese Imperial Navy launched the Hosyo, the first vessel designed and purpose-built as an aircraft carrier.

World War II, which saw the apotheosis of the aircraft carrier, was also the vessel type's first exposure to combat. Japan's devastating attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, would have been impossible without aircraft carriers, and it dramatically demonstrated how a nation could project massive air power at great distances from its own land or bases. While the Japanese attack wreaked havoc on the U.S. Navy battleship fleet, the American carriers were out to sea and therefore escaped destruction. They would be vital in the Pacific war, and the combat theater that had been opened by means of the aircraft carrier would, in large measure, be concluded because of the aircraft carrier. . .

Free term papers are not written to satisfy your specific instructions. You can use our professional writing services to buy a custom written research paper, term paper, or essay on Military Topics at affordable price. CustomTermPapers is the best solution for those who seek help in writing term papers, essays, and research papers related to Military Topics and other relevant topics.