The Effect Of Carriers On World War 2

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Aircraft Carriers and World War Two World War One had resulted in more innovations in naval technology, including the invention of the aircraft carrier. At the time, its inventors, the British, did not see the aircraft carrier as anything more than a scout for the queen of the seas at the time, the battleship. However, they did not foresee that within 30 years, the aircraft carrier would have helped win the greatest conflict in human history, World War Two. During the short period of peace between the two world wars, three nations, Japan, Great Britain, and the United States, would continue to experiment with the aircraft carriers. The future Allied nations, Great Britain and the United States, made the most progress in aircraft carrier innovation. These innovations led to their victory in World War Two, and for the United States, the status of “superpower” in the world for the next 65 years. The Allies’ advantage with aircraft carriers in World War II helped turn the tide against the Axis and lead to the development of the aircraft carrier as a strategic weapon and the ultimate symbol of power projection in our world today. The formations for United States carrier power came at the Washington Naval Conference of 1922. This was the first arms limitation conference in history, with the United States, Britain, France, Italy, and Japan participating. The main goal of this conference was to set limitations on battleships, with carriers being just a minor discussion. However, it was carriers that would determine the course of the next war, not battleships. The current naval doctrine before World War Two was to get the battleships in close enough to strike the death blow to the enemy’s battleships. Aircraft carriers were seen as scouts to direct the fire of the battleships. Innovations were made to improve the carrier so that it could be a lethal weapon.

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