Aircraft carriers role in WWII thesis statement?

The Aircraft Carrier served an important role in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters of the naval war in WWII. Your theses are, however, technically flawed, either through a poor word choice or over generalization.

Aircraft Carriers didn't carry the strike forces, in the sense of carrying the Marines that would land on the various islands America assaulted, and in the sense of Naval Task Forces, there were more then just carriers involved. Generally the Marines were carried aboard LSTs (Landing Ship Tanks) or converted merchant ships which would have more passenger space available. And in the Pacific theater, a standard Naval Task Force, particularly by 1944 would include two or more aircraft carriers, a few battleships, several cruisers, and a large number of destroyers. Task Forces directly assaulting an island would also add LSTs and other small craft.

What made the Aircraft Carrier important to every waring nation in WW2 was that they allowed those nations to project air power over greater distances then could be done using only land based planes with little risk to the fleet as a whole. This represented an advantage over the more traditional battleship lead forces which had to wait until an enemy fleet came within gun range, and often bringing themselves into the gun range of the enemy fleet. A carrier could launch planes from many miles away, strike at a target that is well beyond the range of their ship's guns and return with little direct risk to the fleet itself.

Carrier's also presented an advantage that one could not assume that the planes would always take the most direct route. Planes flown by people could make navagiational errors or change course to suit a moving enemy. Battleships, by comparison, would give away their general position when they fired if they were beyond visual range by looking at the way in which their shells either hit the water or the targeted ships. A fired artillery shell can only be fired by the most direct route, giving the enemy the opportunity to triangulate the locaton of the force attacking it. And if a naval force moves, unless the battleship has good radar and/or scout planes over the enemy, a battleship is likely to expend ammunition on an empty spot of ocean more then once in the course of a sea battle. A plane, piloted by a human looking at his target can more easily follow his enemy and is more assured of making a hit.

This is why every nation in WW2 either had aircraft carriers or attempted to build them. To use the carrier's advantages in battle against other navies. In Europe, because the fighting was largely locked around western Europe, they contributed very little, largely as the USAAC (United States Army Air Corps) and the RAF (Royal Air Force) flew out of bases in Britain.

But, aircraft carriers were invaluable in the Battle of the Atlantic against the German Kriegsmarine. In the battle, carriers, cruisers, and battleships were not the target, but submarines. The German U-boats. These small, but deadly, warships functioned best on the surface. At the time, diving was only a means of escape. German U-boats were built and designed to be most effective on the surface. Now, because Britain was threatened with invasion for much of the war, the Royal Navy couldn't cover the entire Atlantic to escort the convoys keeping Britain in the war. This meant that the only weapon the allies could use against the U-boat were aircraft. By 1942, land based bombers, like the B-24 Liberator, were able to over vast stretches of the Atlantic, with the exception of on gap in the center of the ocean. And it was in this gap that the Germans kept most of their U-boats.

To counter this threat, the US built many small aircraft carriers, termed Escort Carriers. These ships were built to provide the convoys with air protection across the Atlantic. Their aircraft would force German U-boats to remain submerged, shortening their range and reducing their speed. And the use of the Escort Carriers quickly helped to turn the tide of the battle. So successful were they, that shortly after the D-Day invasion, a US Escort Carrier with destroyer escort captured the German U-505. The first time a US warship had captured an enemy ship of war since the War of 1812.

But it was in the Pacific theater where carriers were used the most. Here, they were used to provide localized air superiority, attack enemy fleets, and support Marine Corps operations. And it is here where your list of what must be included comes into play. Carriers, with the exception of the night battles of of Guadalcannal the engagement at Surigao Strait in the Battle for Leyte Gulf, were the most important warships in every battle fought in the Pacific, for both the US and for Japan.

Ww1 Aircraft Carrier

Aircraft carriers were invented by Britain in WW1, so are hardly an American innovation.

British carrier based torpedo bombers destroyed the Italian fleet at Taranto, 11 November 1940, more than a year before Pearl Harbour (the success of the Taranto attack gave the Japanese the idea for the attack on Pearl Harbour), so using carrier based aircraft to strike at enemy warships was over a year old before Pearl Harbour.

You'll need to think of another topic if the theme is "innovations in America"

I would say that if your going for the carrier, how Americans developed and refined the strategies to use carriers.

Carrier task forces, development of combat air patrol, the use of IFF (Identity friend or foe). How to operate large numbers of large carriers together, how the task forces were arranged, air strikes.

How the carrier deck had been organized. How the flight deck crew operated.

One other thing you might consider is design, the Essex class carriers were the first to have a side elevator and not down the center.

You will find that many innovations were improvements of other theories. Navies were constantly updating and many improvements were actually developed by many countries at the same time.

Actually the carrier was developed by many countries over the course of several years. For example the Japanese completed the first carrier built from the keel up, not the British. The US and Japanese developed large carriers with large air groups, the British went for smaller air groups.

One thing the Americans did, developed large carrier tactics.

Sorry to rain on your parade, but whilst there are many fine examples of American Innovation, this doesn't happen to be one of them.

a) aircraft carriers were a British invention. The British designed and started building HMS Hermes in 1918, although she was beaten into service by a Japanese carrier (a direct copy of Hermes) which although not started until later actually launched some 6 months before.

and

b) It's also well known that the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was inspired by the sinking of the Italian fleet at Toranto a year before by torpedo bombers of the Royal Navy. At Toranto, the Royal Navy launched the first all-aircraft naval attack in history, flying aircraft from HMS Illustrious (a carrier in the Mediterranean Sea) and attacking the Italian fleet at harbour. The effect of the British carrier-launched aircraft on the Italian warships foreshadowed the end of the "big gun" ship and the rise of naval air-power.

Therefore one has to ask, how does your thesis qualify as "innovations in America" ?

You're talking about the use of a British invention to pursue British tactics !!

Other British 'innovations' (firsts and inventions) relating to aircraft carriers were:

- Hydraulic arrestor cables (HMS Courageous)

- tricycle (i.e. modern) undercarriage fighters on a carrier (HMS Pretoria Castle)

- jet aircraft on a carrier (HMS Ocean)

- Optical landing systems (HMS Illustrious)

- steam powered catapult (HMS Perseus)

- angled flight deck (HMS Triumph)

- Helicopter assault carrier (HMS Bulwark)

- STVOL aircraft (Sea Harrier)

- "Ski ramps" (HMS Invincible)

By the way the record holder for most number of carrier landings is still Royal Navy Captain Eric Melrose "Winkle" Brown, CBE, DSC, AFC who also holds the record for the most number of different aircraft flown (487). A fascinating man.

Sorry to be negative about your choice, but it's rather poor show pretending aircraft carriers are American innovations, when clearly they are predominately British.

Whatever you decide, the best of luck to you.

There's not much more to say. The innovation of aircraft carriers (for both the US and Japanese) was decisive in the Pacific theatre.The US exploited it better. The Japanese had misplaced confidence in their large and powerful traditional navy.

To Ammianus but especially Pie Mash and Liquor.

BUGGER BUGGER BUGGER. You beat me to the question.

Great Answer PM&L.

You speak for me sir!!

I do wonder what the young man in question is going to do? Willhe choose another subject or will he brazen it out?

Ray.