Aircraft Carriers

Victory in Japan

   On september 2, 1945 Japan formally surrendered to the United States, ending the Second World War. Over the course of the World War the aircraft carrier began to emerge and evolve into a very important part of naval warfare. The initial 8 aircraft carriers in the United States fleet at the beginning of the war were only a precursor of what was to come. As The American Navy integrated the carriers into naval warfare and began using them commonly in battle they began to realize the potential of the carriers. Japan, also heavily invested in carriers, fought fought America with the carriers leading the battles. Coral Sea gave both navies an idea of what was possible with carriers. Following midway and Japan’s loss of 4 carriers, congress began to invest in the production of additional carriers, creating the Essex class. The carrier continued to support the American effort up until the end of the war. 

    Carriers proved to navies around the world that they were just as good, if not superior to battleships. In Coral Sea and Midway island they provided the United States with two important victories that halted Japanese expansion. In both instances that war was fought entirley over water, neither side's ships making visual contact the whole battle. Following those two battle carriers helped soften beaches for amphibious assaults from the marines on islands such as Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and Guadalcanal. The Aircraft Carrier finished the war with an impressive resueme of victories, for both the Japanese and the Americans. The aircraft carrier had led the Americans to a victory in the Pacific and proved that is was a force to not be reckoned with. The Aircraft Carrier would continue to be the backbone of navies around the world for decades to come.