The large, modern Nimitz class of United States Navy carriers has a displacement nearly four times that of the World War II–era USS Enterprise, yet its complement of aircraft is roughly the same-a consequence of the steadily increasing size and weight of military aircraft over the years. Aircraft carrier designs since World War II have been effectively unlimited by any consideration save budgetary, and the ships have increased in size to handle the larger aircraft. This is often termed a battle group or carrier group, sometimes a carrier battle group.īefore World War II international naval treaties of 1922, 19 limited the size of capital ships including carriers. Therefore, aircraft carriers are generally accompanied by a number of other ships to provide protection for the relatively unwieldy carrier, to carry supplies, and to provide additional offensive capabilities. Lacking the firepower of other warships, carriers by themselves are considered vulnerable to be attacked by other ships, aircraft, submarines, or missiles. Also known as "commando carriers" or "helicopter carriers", many have a secondary capability to operate VSTOL aircraft. Amphibious assault ships, such as USS Tarawa and HMS Ocean, serve the purpose of carrying and landing Marines, and operate a large contingent of helicopters for that purpose. Some are powered by nuclear reactors and form the core of a fleet designed to operate far from home. Supercarriers, displacing 75,000 tonnes or greater, have become the pinnacle of carrier development. Following the war, carrier operations continued to increase in size and importance. This change was driven by the superior range, flexibility and effectiveness of carrier-launched aircraft. The change took place during World War II in response to air power becoming a significant factor in warfare. Modern navies that operate such ships treat aircraft carriers as the capital ship of the fleet, a role previously played by the battleship. The Tripoli, a US Navy Iwo Jima-class helicopter carrier Although the light carriers usually carried the same size air groups as escort carriers, they had the advantage of higher speed since they had been converted from cruisers under construction. Light aircraft carriers, such as USS Independence, represented a larger, more "militarized" version of the escort carrier concept. Although some were purpose-built, most were converted from merchant ships as a stop-gap measure to provide air support for convoys and amphibious invasions. Escort aircraft carriers, such as USS Bogue, were built only during World War II. The aircraft carrier was used extensively in World War II, and several types were created as a result. During World War II, these ships became the backbone of the carrier forces of the United States, British, and Japanese navies, known as fleet carriers. This allowed the design to be specialized to their future role and resulted in superior ships. The casualties totaled 724 killed.ĭuring the 1920s, several navies started ordering and building aircraft carriers that were specifically designed as such. and UK were permitted up to 135,000 tons of carriers each, while specific exemptions on the upper tonnage of individual ships permitted conversion of capital ship hulls to carriers such as the Lexington-class aircraft carriers.Īttack on carrier USS Franklin, 19 March 1945. The Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 affected aircraft carrier plans. 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. Carrier evolution was well underway in the mid-1920s, resulting in ships such as HMS Hermes and Hōshō. In 1918, HMS Argus became the world's first carrier capable of launching and landing naval aircraft. The development of flat top vessels produced the first large fleet ships. It lowered four Maurice Farman seaplanes into the water using its crane, which were taking off to bombard German forces and could be retrieved back from surface afterwards. Seaplane tender support ships came next in September 1914, the Imperial Japanese Navy Wakamiya conducted the world's first successful naval-launched air raids. The 1903 advent of heavier-than-air, fixed-wing aircraft was closely followed in 1910 by the first experimental take-off of such an airplane from the deck of a United States Navy vessel (cruiser USS Birmingham), and the first experimental landings were conducted in 1911. The Japanese seaplane carrier Wakamiya conducted the world's first naval-launched air raids in 1914.