The Imperial Japanese Navy was a pioneer in naval aviation, having commissioned the world's first built-from-the-keel-up carrier, the Hosho. Throughout the 1920

With war against Germany looming, Britain pushed forward its carrier program in the late 1930s. In 1938, the Royal Navy launched the HMS Ark Royal, its first-ev

While not as famous as their larger and faster sister ships such as the Essex- and Yorktown-class carriers, escort carriers made an enormous contribution toward

Aircraft carriers were the US Navy's principal weapon against Japan during the Pacific War. Development of the Essex class began in 1939, becoming the largest c

Dominating the seas during World War II, the US aircraft carrier played a crucial role in every major naval combat of the war. Development of the Essex class be