Hello everyone, today I’m gonna take you to see how the american aircraft
carrier became the king of the sea. Before watching this video. Don’t forget to leave
your comment below If you have any suggestions or certain topic to discuss for the next vidoes.
In just a century, aircraft carriers have evolved from launching canvas-winged biplanes
to formidable fighter jets capable of striking targets from hundreds of miles away. Although
the ships themselves have changed a lot over the past 100 years, aircraft carriers remain
the answer to one of the toughest questions for any navy: how do you project power by sea?
In 1942, Admiral William 'Bull' Halsey, one of America's greatest aircraft carrier commanders,
briefly summed up the role of the carrier in enabling the US Navy to "approach each other with
everything you have as quickly as possible and hand it over to him. "The US was not the thinker
behind the first aircraft carriers. Developed during the early 20th century, aircraft carriers
or seaplane tenders were deployed across the Atlantic during World War I. Like tank
development, the US Navy initially followed in the footsteps of Britain and other European nations.
The US Navy's first aircraft carrier, USS Mississippi, was converted from a warship in 1913.
The new Mississippi seaplane saw action during the American occupation of Veracruz, Mexico,
launching a reconnaissance mission. Instead of launching the planes from its deck,
Mississippi lowered the planes into the water and collected them after they landed.
Although it had the advantage of the moment, it also prevented planes from flying when
the seas were rough. The first big steps toward modern aircraft carriers came when
ships began launching aircraft from their decks rather than from the sea.
December 7, 1941 the day that aircraft carriers proved their worth. The Imperial Japanese Navy
launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor with more 400 aircraft attacking from six carriers.
Four American battleships were sunk, four more damaged, and over 2,000 people were killed. The
U.S. Navy’s three Pacific carriers Enterprise, Lexington, and Saratoga were all at sea during
the attack. In retaliation, the U.S. executed one of the most ambitious missions ever launched from
an aircraft carrier. Led by the U.S. Army Air Force, the Doolittle Raid launched on April 18,
1942, saw 16 B-25 medium bombers launch an audacious bombing raid against Tokyo,
Nagoya, Kobe, and Osaka on the Japanese mainland all launched from the carrier USS Hornet. After
the mission General James Doolittle explained the aims of his raid: "It was hoped that the damage
done would be both material and psychological. Material damage was to be the destruction of
specific targets. The psychological results, it was hoped, would be the recalling of combat
equipment from other theaters for home defense the development of a fear complex in Japan."
The continuing war in the Pacific saw a series of clashes between the fleet carriers of the rival
navies. One of the first major carrier battles took place in June 1942 at The Battle of Midway
where aircraft from three American carriers engaged four Japanese carriers. The two-day
battle saw the sinking of four Japanese carriers and a heavy cruiser. In June 1944, at the Battle
of the Philippine Sea the single largest carrier battle in history the U.S.'s 5th Fleet decimated
the Japanese 1st Mobile Fleet. Sinking three Japanese fleet carriers and destroying over
500 enemy aircraft, the battle severely limited Japan’s ability to fight at sea. Japan lost four
carriers and the Yamato-class Musashi, the largest and most powerful battleship ever launched.
She was sunk by torpedoes and bombs from planes launches from four U.S. carriers. But due to
their huge size, carriers remained vulnerable targets for Kamikazes throughout the war.
In the last months of the war, the dominance of carrier-borne airpower over the traditional
surface battleship was decisively proven for the last time. The Japanese battleship Yamato,
the Mushashi’s sister ship, was attacked by torpedo and dive bombers from American carriers.
Japan’s last mighty battleship was quickly overwhelmed and during the two hour battle,
11 torpedoes and six bombs struck the ship before rolling over and exploding. With
Japan's fleet decimated, soon the war would be over. The U.S. aircraft carrier had won the day.
After proving their worth during the war, the U.S. Navy continued to develop its carrier force with
vessels growing ever larger, more powerful, and able to carry modern jet aircraft. Nuclear power
revolutionized carrier design, allowing even bigger ships to be built that could carry more
aircraft, fuel, and weapons, and the carrier’s endurance was only limited by its crew no longer
needing to refuel at ports or by support ships. Learning lessons from the first generation of
super carriers, the Navy perfected its next class of carriers. A former carrier captain, Rear
Admiral Yank Rutherford sucinctly describes the vast city-like scale of the Nimitz-class carriers:
“The Navy’s modern, 95,000 ton displacement aircraft carrier includes about 75 aircraft,
a 4.5-acre airfield, catapults and arresting gear to launch and recover aircraft,
large magazines and storage facilities for ammunition, fuel and aircraft parts
as well as high-tech maintenance activities that provide all the services and supplies necessary
to keep well-maintained aircraft ready for mission assignment.
For the crew the carrier provides galleys, berthing areas, laundry services, medical,
surgical and dental facilities and myriad activities necessary to ensure the health
and well-being of the assigned personnel. Like a city, the ship has a fire and emergency response
capability and its own security organization, including security forces, legal services, brig
and a process by which the captain enforces good order and discipline.” With more efficient nuclear
reactors, the Nimitz could carry more fuel, ammunition, food, and aircraft and could stay at
sea for longer. The 10 ships of the Nimitz-class have a projected lifespan of 50 years, designed to
be bigger and better than anything Soviet Russia could build. While the Cold War had seen carriers
play an important role in proxy wars like Vietnam, their main job was to counter Russia by projecting
superior American airpower against the Soviet Navy and land targets within the Communist Bloc.
With the end of the Cold War in the 1990s, the Navy’s massive carriers found themselves
patrolling the world’s oceans without an enemy but their ability to project power
was needed more than ever. The carrier has come a long way since its humble, ad hoc beginnings.
Evolving from a hastily erected wooden deck to a floating airfield worth tens of billions of
dollars and manned by thousands of sailors and airmen. But no matter how much the technology
changes, the carrier’s mission remains the same project power anytime and anywhere.