By Chris Marshall
The Origins of The Aircraft Carrier
Aircraft carriers contributed greatly to the United States' victory in the Pacific Theater during World War Two. Aircraft Carriers allowed for aerial bombardment of ships and land targets without the need of a nearby airstrip to deploy planes from. Aircraft carriers proved important to the United States Navy, and to navies from around the world, by allowing for planes to be used more often in battle. In the begining of World War II the ability to use fighter planes in battles was proving to be crucial in winning a battle, but fighter plane’s ranges were very limited. With aircraft carriers navies could deploy fighter, reconnaissance, or torpedo planes without ever needing friendly airstips nearby to deploy from. These planes could search for nearby enemy ships, attack them during a naval battle, or soften up beaches prior to ground forces landing. The maneuverability and diverse roles of planes made the aircraft carrier a crucial piece of technology to have in the battlefield, the Pacific especially.
The U.S. Navy acquired their first carrier in April of 1920 when the USS Jupiter, a collier ship, was installed with a flight deck. Following the commissioning of the ship, now called the USS Langley, the U.S. Navy continued to develop and improve their Carrier Capabilities. By the time World War Two had arrived the U.S. Navy had eight active carriers in their fleet, three of which belong to a new elite Yorktown Class.(1) The aircraft carrier allowed for numerous air raids during the war in the Pacific on targets that the U.S. would have been otherwise unable to reach. The battle of Coral Sea and The Battle of Midway featured aircraft carriers being used in ways that were revolutionary to the battlefield. "The Aircraft Carrier by 1945 had emerged as the backbone of a modern surface fleet"(2) (History in Dispute) The use of this new technology helped push the war in the United States favor and led to the Carrier being the most important component of navies around the world.
The Aircraft Carrier
The USS Langely June 1927
(4)
The USS Lexinton Deploying Torpedo Aircraft, 1931. (5)
USS Yorktown's Insignia(3)
1.The US Navy."The Carrier List"(Last modified June 15, 2009)
2.Astore, William J., and Duane C. Young. "Aircraft Carriers: What Role did the Aircraft Carrier
Play in World War II?" History in Dispute. Ed. Dennis Showalter. Vol. 4: World War II,
1939-1943. (Detroit: St. James Press, 2000.)
3.Ship's insignia of the United States Navy aircraft carrier USS "Yorktown." Illustration. (1940.)
4.The US Navy."The Early Years"
5.Ibid.