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C Aircraft carrier

History

Dated history of Aircraft carrier (1918-present (as a type; decisive 1940-45)) in From the North Sea experiments to the Pacific and later US forward presence.

Educational history. Casualty figures are documented ranges. This is not operational advice, a ranking of nations, or a how-to for weapons or coups.

At a glance
Timeline

Milestones in order. This is history, not a weekly activity grid.

1918-22 Argus, Hosho, Langley1922 Washington Treaty1940-11 Taranto1941-12 Pearl Harbor1942-06 Midway1944-45 Philippine Sea / kamikaze1950-09 Inchon air1961 Enterprise nuclear1966-70s UK CVA-01 death2012- Liaoning and after
  1. Argus, Hosho, Langley
  2. Washington Treaty
  3. Taranto
  4. Pearl Harbor
  5. Midway
  6. Philippine Sea / kamikaze
  7. Inchon air
  8. Enterprise nuclear
  9. UK CVA-01 death
  10. Liaoning and after
Score intensity

Darker cells mean a higher score for this topic on that metric.

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Quick answers

Are the scores a ranking of nations or armies?

No. Scores are browsing aids inside an era-bounded atlas — not live league tables of countries.

What happened at Midway?

Carrier air groups destroyed four Japanese fleet carriers. See the Midway page. This page is the type's longer story.

Why do few states operate large carriers?

Cost, bases, escorts, and air wings -- a political-industrial threshold. History names who crossed it; this is not advice to cross it.

How did Korea meet the type?

UN carrier air in 1950-53, including Inchon's preparation. Later US decks in regional crises are alliance history -- not a current tracker.

What is a supercarrier?

A post-1955 US term for the Forrestal-and-after large CATOBAR decks, later nuclear-powered. A political size as much as a tonnage.

Did Britain abandon carriers?

It abandoned CVA-01 and large CATOBAR for a period, used VTOL Invincible-class decks, then built Queen Elizabeth-class large decks -- a political arc, not a simple funeral.

Start with this section - History

Start with Argus and Hosho, not with Midway. The type had a childhood.

Treaty law (1922) is part of the childhood.

Timeline

  1. Argus, Hosho, Langley

    The experiment decade.

  2. Washington Treaty

    Carrier clauses as law.

  3. Taranto

    A harbour raid from a deck.

  4. Pearl Harbor

    The type's political shock in the US.

  5. Midway

    Carrier vs carrier decision.

  6. Philippine Sea / kamikaze

    Mass decks and a late reply.

  7. Inchon air

    UN decks over Korea.

  8. Enterprise nuclear

    A propulsion politics.

  9. UK CVA-01 death

    A fiscal-political retreat.

  10. Liaoning and after

    Chinese public carrier era -- open-source history, not a threat table.

Eras

Experiment / treaty

First decks.

Proof

Taranto to Tokyo Bay.

Supercarrier / Korea / Vietnam

US type as diplomacy.

Nuclear norm (US)

Nimitz-class political object.

More flags on decks

China, India, UK return -- dated openly.

Milestones

Midway

Type-battle.

Inchon air

Korean meeting.

Nuclear supercarrier

US political-industrial fact.

Headlines will sink the type again. States still fund decks.

ROK aviation-ship talk is politics in the press -- not a line item on this page's ORBAT (there is none).

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