Aircraft Carrier

Modern warship that launches and recovers aircraft. Carrier-based aircraft can attack targets well beyond their normal flying ranges or the range of a ship's guns. This ability to project military power makes aircraft carriers a central element in the military and national security strategy of developed nation-states. Aircraft carriers are also significant political symbols in today's world.

The first recorded launching of an aircraft from the deck of a ship occurred in 1910. During World War I, the British successfully launched a squadron of aircraft from a ship to attack a German zeppelin base. However, these early efforts were made using conventional ships that had been modified to accommodate airplanes. Ships designed specifically to launch aircraft were not developed until after World War I.

Aircraft carriers first came into real prominence during World War II. The Japanese fleet that attacked Pearl Harbor was composed of six aircraft carriers that launched more than 400 planes. Shortly after the Pearl Harbor attack, the United States responded with a carrier-based attack on Japan led by Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle. In the so-called Doolittle's Raid, the U.S. carrier Hornet launched a squadron of medium bombers that flew 800 miles to attack targets in and around Tokyo. Although the raid was militarily insignificant, it inflicted a psychological defeat on the Japanese and provided a major morale boost to the Americans. A few months later, the United States and Japan fought perhaps the single greatest confrontation between carrier-based fleets at the Battle of Midway. Despite being badly outnumbered by Japanese forces, U.S. carrier-based aircraft sank four Japanese carriers against the loss of just one American carrier. The Battle of Midway devastated Japanese naval capabilities and shifted the balance of power in the Pacific.

As a result of their performance in World War II, aircraft carriers replaced battleships as the centerpiece of modern navies. Since that time, they have played crucial roles in virtually every major war and many minor ones. For example, the aircraft carriers HMS Hermes and HMS Invincible helped lead the British military forces to victory in the Falklands War. Carriers were also used in recent conflicts in the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan. During the Iraq War of 2003, aircraft carriers provided platforms for air strikes when neighboring countries refused to allow basing rights for U.S. aircraft.

Modern aircraft carriers come in two basic configurations. The first is a flat-top configuration that launches planes from a steam-powered catapult and recovers them using a hook-and-cable system. The other configuration has a ski jump on the front of the carrier, from which vertically launched aircraft such as the Harrier take off and then land on the remainder of the carrier. Aircraft carriers come in various types, including assault carriers, which are capable of carrying and deploying troops; antisubmarine (ASW) carriers, which manage helicopter squadrons; fleet carriers, which serve in traditional roles; and supercarriers, which perform multiple roles. Earlier aircraft carriers were driven by steam turbines, but modern carriers are powered by nuclear reactors. Today's largest carriers are more than 300 meters long and can cost more than $5 billion.

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