U.S. Aircraft Carrier History
The United States’ aircraft carriers are perhaps some of the most prominent sea vessels in history. Being a huge player in the Second World War, the US housed some of the most dominant aircraft carriers in the whole world.
The first ever heavier-than-air, fixed-wing aircraft came into existence in the year 1903 and was run for its first experimental take off in 1910. This took place on the deck of USS Birmingham, a United States Navy Vessel. The first-ever naval experimental landing took place in the succeeding year.
The development of United States naval forces was further strengthened in the early 1900s. The early aircraft carriers came from various types of naval ships such as battle cruisers and battle ships. These ships were altered in order to serve as the United States aircraft carriers. Doing so has increased the strength of US in terms of naval warfare.
During the 1920s, the Navy initiated their campaign of strengthening their naval power by ordering and building aircraft carriers. They were specially designed to serve the only purpose of carrying airplanes for battle.
Extensively used in the Second World War, the aircraft carrier has seen several revisions since then. One of the most notable aircraft carriers built in the early days of the Second World War was the USS Bogue, an escort aircraft carrier. Although these ships were built for a specific purpose, most of these ships were converted from merchant ships as a stop-gap measure to render air support for amphibious invasions and convoys.
Since then, modern navies view aircraft carriers as the king of the sea, a title previously held by battleships. Super carriers that could displace more than 70,000 tons have become the object of carrier development. Some of these carriers were powered by nuclear reactors. There were also amphibious assault ships that served a variety of purposes like landing and carrying Marines and operating a massive contingent of helicopters.
Generally, aircraft carriers lack the firepower that other warships have. They are vulnerable to foreign attacks, especially the ones coming from submarines, aircraft and ships. This is the reason why most aircraft carriers are accompanied by a number of other ships for protection and are provided with offensive capabilities. To watch a documentation of several US aircraft carriers in history, check out this video: