History of Aircraft Carriers

Aircraft carriers are mobile naval air bases on the sea, which allow takeoff and landing of military aircraft on their flat decks. The aircraft are stored under the deck, and are brought up or taken down with the help of elevators. Their landings are made safe with the help of arresting cables, that attach a hook on the aircraft, and advanced techniques such as mirror landing systems. These naval vessels are accompanied by various supporting vessels like destroyers, and carry missiles and modern weapons of warfare. They provide air cover to other warships, and can operate in international waters freely. They are, therefore, very crucial and deadly warships, operated by the naval forces of various countries around the world.

Early History

Aircraft carriers actually evolved from the balloon-carrying vessels of the early 19th century, when the British Royal Navy launched kites from HMS Pallas. They were used mainly to drop propaganda leaflets and proclamations against Napoleon Bonaparte. During World War I, the British, French, German, Italian, Russian and Swedish navies launched hot air balloons for observation purposes. In March 1910, the French ship Le Canard, was the first that led to the development of plane-carrying ships. However, the French ship La Foudre, is known as the first seaplane carrier. In 1913, a British merchant ship was converted to a seaplane carrier for experimental trials. The ship was called HMS Hermes. It was converted to a cruiser again, and later back to a seaplane carrier, before it was sunk by a German submarine in October 1914. In 1913, the USS Mississippi became the first seaplane carrier for the US Navy.

During the time, many ships catapult-launched seaplanes for collecting information. They were launched by catapults and collected by cranes. The actual changes that were necessary to make such vessels capable of aircraft takeoff and landing, came in around early 1920s.

During World War I

The Imperial Japanese Navy conducted the first strike from a carrier during World War I. It also had the distinction of being the first strike from a carrier against a land target. HMS Ark Royal was the first modern aircraft carrier, as it had a launch platform. A squadron commander from the British Royal Navy became the first man to land on a moving ship, HMS Furious. Many more operations were conducted during the World War I, but World War II was the turning point in their advancement that witnessed great amelioration.

During World War II

During World War II, the British Royal Navy had seven aircraft carriers, and had an upper hand over the Germans and Italians, who did not have such carriers. However, their weakness was showcased, when German battle cruisers sunk HMS Glorious. This weakness was, however, overshadowed by the HMS Illustrious, when it successfully launched a long-range strikes on the Italian fleet, at Taranto. The use of aircraft carriers by the British prevented the Italian Navy and German aircraft from dominating the Mediterranean region. Japan had 10 of them in its fleet, when they attacked the United States in 1942 at Pearl Harbor, which was a clear indication of their prowess in sea warfare. Their supremacy, however, diminished when a US carrier-borne aircraft sank the Japanese battleship Musashi, the largest ever built, in 1945.

Post-war Developments

As technology advanced, jet-powered aircraft came into the picture, which had higher speed and weight, requiring a much larger effort in helping them land safely. If they did not land properly, it could cause a lot of damage to the carrier and other aircraft on board. Hence, some innovations like angled deck, optical landing, etc. were developed.

• A British invention, the angled deck helps the aircraft land and take off on a carrier. This is helpful because, while landing, if it misses the arrestor cables, the pilot just needs to power the engine to maximum, in order to get airborne again. In this way, major accidents are avoided. Angled decks were first tested on HMS Triumph.
• Another British invention, the optical landing system, is a gyroscopically-controlled concave mirror on the port side of the deck. In this system, a bright, orange light directed to the mirror, creates an orange ball on it, and is seen by the aviator. This position of the ball indicates the glide path. The glide path can be controlled by following the ball.
• The US Navy built the first Forrestal-type, nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise. Nuclear powered carriers increased the endurance of warships, which could now stay at sea longer than before.

Countries like China, India, and Spain are building their own, which would be ready soon. At present, the US Navy has the highest number of in-service aircraft carriers, making it the most feared navy in the world. Recently, these proved their prowess, when the USS Enterprise was sent to the Persian Gulf, in an effort to dismantle the terrorist camps in Afghanistan.