Airfields at Sea
sea, but those further inland did not. That changed with the aircraft carrier. Since the aircraft carries its own spotter, it can be effectively used at whatever range it can reach. This is what makes it so effective today when stationed in one of the world's hot spots. The battleships in the Gulf war were feared by those enemy unfortunate enough to be within their gun range, but that was a relatively narrow strip of land along the coast. Naval aircraft, on the other hand, could go all the way to Baghdad, and beyond.
The armor of the battleship also exists in aircraft carriers. This can be even more important in them, due to the need for having large amounts of combustibles and explosives available in relatively unprotected areas while aircraft are arming or being launched. Many of the catastrophic losses or damage of carriers occurred because of this, not because of initial damage to the hull. The Japanese carriers at Midway were hit while large amounts of ordnance were being changed on the strike aircraft on the hangar and flight decks. USS LEXINGTON was lost during the battle of the Coral Sea due to gasoline vapors igniting after initial damage control measures were successful. The solid construction of aircraft carriers has frequently kept them afloat in the worst of circumstances. USS Franklin, hit at Okinawa and disabled by flame and explosion, and suffering nearly 1000 killed and wounded, was nevertheless able to make steam and reach Pearl Harbor under her own power. During the Viet Nam war, several U.S. carriers suffered casualties when fire broke out among the armed aircraft on deck, but were not permanently disabled.
Aircraft carrier defense consists mostly of distance and the anti aircraft and anti submarine vessels operating in its screen, rather than physical armor. The vastness of the oceans make it difficult to find an opposing fleet, even with the technology available today. A ship the size of a carrier, observed from an aircraft 20 miles away, may be completely missed because of sun glare, disturbed seas or the simple vastness of the seascape.
Speed is important to all combat vessels, and the carrier is no exception. Although they are now the largest warships ever built, they are among the fastest. This helps them to arrive on station in the shortest possible time or to maneuver during combat, should enemy break through the air and sea screen
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