This video is sponsored by ESET Digital
Security. Progress. Protected. With ESET 1,092 feet (333 meters) displacing
over 100,000 tons- it's the American Ford Class supercarrier and the most powerful
warship in the world. But aircraft carriers weren't always the kings of the seas, and in
fact, they were almost canceled altogether. In 1903 Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright achieved the first controlled and sustained flight
of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft. Man's dream of soaring through the heavens
was finally a reality thanks to the invention of the internal combustion engine. But no
technology has ever been as widely as quickly adopted as the airplane, and just seven years
after the Wright brother's historic flight, naval officers around the world were already dreaming of
what this new machine could do for their fleets. In 1910, American aviator Eugene Burton Ely would
undertake the first successful take-off from a ship, launching his small plane off the deck
of the US Navy's USS Birmingham. But taking off was one thing, landing was something altogether
different- and if airplanes and ships were going to be married for combat operations then they
would have to land on a ship as well as take off from one. Two months after his historic flight,
Ely once more made history by landing his Curtiss Pusher onto the deck of the USS Pennsylvania while
anchored in San Francisco bay. He had proven that airplanes could not just take off from a ship,
but return to it upon completing a mission. But the way forward for naval aviation required
airplanes to be able to land on a ship while the ship moved, an altogether different proposition
than setting down on calm waters inside a harbor. On May 9th, 1912, Commander Charles
Samson of the British Royal navy proved that the airplane could operate from
the deck of a warship deployed in harm's way by landing his Short Improved S.27 biplane on
the deck of the HMS Hibernia. Airplanes had been quickly identified as invaluable tools for
a seaborne naval force, but the problem was that deploying and recovering aircraft was difficult.
Now, with Samson's successful at-sea landing, the dawn of naval aviation had come.
The idea of the aircraft carrier had just made a gigantic leap forward,
a real moment of progress that would eventually lead to something that
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ESET of the high seas - the aircraft carrier - and how they evolved into
the floating behemoths we know today. The new machines allowed for far better scouting
capabilities than was ever before possible, and could also be used for far more accurate spotting
of friendly fire with the aid of a simple radio. Wireless telegraphy was used to send messages
in morse code, and once the potential for the airplane was fully realized by military leaders,
the marriage of these two technologies was inevitable. In 1911 the technology was put to the
test successfully during the Italo-Turkish War, and in 1912 the Royal Flying Corps was
experimenting with wireless telegraphy in aircraft. The technology was slow to be adapted,
as early radios were very bulky and difficult to operate. Plus they were easy for the enemy
to intercept and target with artillery fire, destroying listeners on the ground.
Nonetheless, in April of 1915 the first true radio message was relayed
from a ground station to a flying airplane, and the potential of the airplane as a weapon
of war both over land and sea exploded. Early naval aircraft however were mostly seaplanes
which would be carried and recovered by seaplane tenders, ships specifically designed to support
naval aircraft and widely considered to be the first aircraft carriers. The French were the first
to field a seaplane tender, the La Foudre which carried float-equipped planes inside hangars on
the main deck. A crane would be used to lower them down to the sea from where they could take
off and fly. Recovery was equally simple- the sea plane would simply land on the ocean near the
tender and then get picked up by the ship's crane. With World War I naval aviation was quickly
put to the test. On the 5th of September 1914, the Imperial Japanese Navy launched the
world's first naval-launched air raid. Four seaplanes were launched to attack
German communication and command centers in the Tsingtao Peninsula with moderate success-
the total amount of munitions a plane could carry into combat was still very limited due to
the low horsepower of early engines. However, the raid caught the Germans by surprise and
helped sow discord. The Japanese would also have the honor of launching the first night
time raid by aircraft during the same campaign. On Christmas day of 1914 though the sea plane
would prove to the world that naval aviation was an increasingly potent
and critical weapon of war. The Germans had been harassing the British
with bombing raids executed via zeppelins, and in response the British sought to destroy
German zeppelins and their mooring stations on the ground- or at least damage them
enough to force their retreat. The targets were the zeppelin sheds at
the Nordholz Airbase near Cuxhaven, and the British deployed seaplane tenders
HMS Engadine, Riviera, and Empress, supported by a group of cruisers, destroyers,
and submarines to try to deal with this problem. The goal was to get a good fix on the location
of the zeppelin sheds, and if possible to bomb them from the air- if not, their coordinates could
be relayed to warships who could engage them with long-range fire. Nine planes were lowered into the
freezing water, but only seven of them managed to fire up their engines and take to the sky, the
other two were recovered and winched back on board. Each plane was carrying three 20 lb (9.1
kg) bombs, and after flying through thick fog and low cloud cover, finally reached the German
zeppelin base. Heavy anti-aircraft fire fended off the bulk of the attack, but the early bombers
managed to cause some damage to the zeppelins and their ground station, with zero losses on their
side. Largely symbolic, the raid was a huge boost to the British and proved that the aircraft
carrier could be an invaluable tool of war. Seaplanes however had multiple disadvantages
that severely limited their effectiveness. First, they needed extremely calm seas to
launch and land on, which made them useful only when the weather was cooperative. If
weather worsened while on a mission, the sea plane might be a total loss upon return. Second,
the big floats the planes relied on to operate from the surface of the ocean were very heavy,
and thus limited their range, endurance, and payload. The floats also created a great deal of
drag which slowed the planes down significantly. It was obvious that seaplanes were not the future,
and yet launching off the decks of converted cruisers and battleships was still very dangerous.
Often these ships would have one or more turrets removed and replaced with flat decking for
a plane to land and launch from. However, the ship's superstructure would cause turbulence
that could spell disaster for a pilot taking off or landing. It was obvious that naval aviation
required a ship specifically dedicated to it, but many of the traditionalists in navies
around the world fought the concept- after all, cruisers, destroyers, and battleships were
all proven concepts that could deliver large amounts of steel on target, while these flimsy
airplanes could hardly carry themselves aloft. Nonetheless, ships with flush decks were
eventually constructed, leading to the first truly recognizable aircraft carriers. In 1918 the
HMS Argus became the first carrier in the world capable of launching and recovering aircraft
from its own deck, a massive step forward in naval aviation. Now the big heavy floats could
be ditched, improving performance and payload. Additionally, airplanes could operate in more
difficult sea states than before- though early carriers were still very limited in when they
could safely launch and recover aircraft. Aircraft carriers got a massive boost after
World War I thanks to the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. In the post-war era, it was
feared that a new naval arms race would ensue and the treaty sought to negotiate
acceptable limits to how many and what types of ships each nation could build.
To meet the strict requirements of the treaty, many heavy cruisers and battleships already in
construction were converted instead to aircraft carriers, setting the stage for the aircraft
carrier's prominent role during World War II. By the time the Second World War rolled around,
naval aviation had taken significant technological leaps. Engines were much more powerful allowing
for much faster, and heavier armed aircraft. Finally, the airplane was not just a serious
threat to traditional naval firepower- but completely trumped it even if most
nations still hadn't yet realized the fact. Two famous raids would change that
perception forever, and make the aircraft carrier the dominant warfighting vessel
of any navy, ending the reign of the battleship. The first was the British raid on the Italian
fleet while moored at their base in Taranto. Launching from the HMS Illustrious, 21 Fairey
Swordfish biplanes armed with torpedoes flew under the cover of darkness on the night of
the 11th of November, 1940. Several Italian ships were moored in shallow water, making an attack by
submarine impossible. The British planes however managed to brave withering anti-aircraft fire and
disabled 3 battleships and damaged 1 heavy cruiser and 2 destroyers- all at the cost of two aircraft
and four crew. 21 airplanes had just inflicted a devastating blow on the Italian fleet, and naval
planners around the world sat up and took notice. Perhaps none more so than the Japanese, which
planned their own surprise attack against the United States. At the start of the war, the
Japanese had a serious problem- their ambitions for a western Pacific empire were under threat
by the United States, which provided it with much of its oil and materials needed for both its
military and industry. With US forces positioned in strategically important chokepoints across
the Southern Pacific, if Japan was ever going to stand on its own two feet it needed to force
the US out of the Pacific. But the US absolutely dwarfed Japan in terms of industrial might- though
thanks to the Washington naval treaty of 1922, the US had not been allowed to expand its already
large lead over the Japanese in fighting ships. Thus Japan set out to deliver a crippling body
blow to the US Navy that it couldn't recover from, and on Sunday December 7th 1941, the Japanese
launched the largest naval raid in history, dealing significant damage to the US ships
stationed at Pearl Harbor. However, the surprise attack came while the US's carriers were out at
sea, and not a single American carrier was lost- a fact that would ensure that the plan to knock
the US out of the Pacific in one move would fail. The aircraft carrier was officially the top dog of
the sea, and the Pacific theater would be defined largely by the clash of aircraft carriers and
their onboard fleets of planes. For the first time in history, ships launched attacks against
each other without ever being in visual range of one another, and protecting large formations of
ships from enemy air attack was of vital concern. This led to the creation of light escort carriers,
typically holding a much smaller complement of aircraft and designed to provide air cover for
groups of friendly ships. The escort carrier was also tasked with providing convoy security
against enemy submarine attack. Subs had to spend the majority of their time on the surface because
their batteries had to be constantly recharged with diesel engines, and they could only run those
engines on the surface where they could vent the poisonous exhaust. This left submarines very
vulnerable to attack from enemy scout planes on the lookout for submarines, making most crews
practice emergency crash dives extensively. After World War II naval aviation
underwent another major revolution with the adoption of the jet engine and thus jet
aircraft. These new extremely high performance aircraft required special modifications to
existing carriers, and new innovations allowed for faster recovery and launch of aircraft
to increase the tempo of air operations. During World War II hydraulics were used to help
catapult aircraft off the decks of carriers. With the increased weight of high
performance jet aircraft, this was no longer sufficient and catapults were now
powered by steam generated inside massive boilers. The steam builds up incredible pressure which
is released mechanically, driving the aircraft forward on the deck and getting it up to flight
speed by the time it leaves the end of the deck. In some navies, like the current Chinese navy, a ski-ramp like extension on the flight deck
was added to give a plane extra boost and help it get aloft. However, this requires a
trade off in weight for a launched airplane, thus forcing aircraft to choose
between less fuel or less munitions. Steam powered catapults have proven to be
extremely reliable, with US Nimitz carriers reporting that they have been able to use at least
one of their four catapults 99.5% of the time. That's an incredible upkeep time for any system,
and ensures that carriers are always ready for air operations. However, steam catapults are also
extremely inefficient, and can't be finely tuned for different aircraft. This means that a steam
catapult can put extreme wear and tear on an airframe and significantly lower its service life.
It also makes the launching of light unmanned aerial vehicles impossible, as they would be torn
apart by the sheer power of the steam catapult. Electromagnetic launch systems however generate
magnetic fields to push a carriage along a track and launch an aircraft. EMALS as it's
known in the US, can be finely tuned for each specific aircraft, decreasing the stresses
on each individual air frame and extending the service life of a plane. It also allows for
the launching of light unmanned aerial vehicles such as reconnaissance drones. Perhaps the biggest
improvement though is the 45 second recharge time- traditional steam catapults can take around
2 minutes to launch an aircraft. This greatly reduces the amount of time it takes to get an
air wing in the air, lowering fuel consumption for loitering aircraft waiting for their buddies,
and helping get aircraft airborne in an emergency. However, the technology is still technically in
testing and experiencing a dramatically greater rate of failure than traditional steam
catapults. As of right now, EMALS simply cannot meet Navy requirements of 1 failure for
every 4,166 launches- during testing in 2021 the USS Gerald R. Ford experienced
failure after only 181 launches. With the EMALS system being integral to the
development of the new Ford Class carriers, which are already being built, if these issues
aren't corrected the US Navy could find itself unable to reliably prosecute an air war against
its greatest potential adversary: China. New technology also allowed for the
construction of new types of carriers. Landing Helicopter Dock ships took on the
task of providing air mobility and support for ground forces during amphibious
operations. These ships, such as the American Wasp-class are capable of ferrying an
entire expeditionary unit onto a hostile beach either via landing crafts or by air. They are
equipped with attack and transport helicopters, as well as Short Take-off vertical-landing- or
STOVL- or vertical take-off and landing- or VTOL aircraft. These include the famous
Harrier and the new F-35 Lighting II which is capable of operating off extremely
short flight decks thanks to its STOVL abilities. Smaller and lighter than traditional
aircraft carriers, LHD and LHA- Landing Helicopter Assault- ships are not meant to be
the tip of the spear, but rather are meant to operate alongside with traditional carriers. In
an emergency however they are capable of providing much needed air cover for friendly forces thanks
to their unique aircraft which can take off and land from extremely short runways. However,
inevitably this comes at a trade-off of fuel and armament, making LHD and LHA aircraft less well
armed than their carrier and supercarrier cousins. VTOL aircraft however don't need another
major adaptation of aircraft carriers- the arresting wires designed to safely catch
an incoming aircraft. As a pilot approaches his home carrier, he must somehow bring his
jet from a speed of well over a hundred knots to a complete standstill on an extremely short
runway. Normally this would be impossible, which is why carrier planes come equipped with tailhooks
that are dropped on approach to the carrier. These tailhooks are built right into the core
structure of the plane itself, and is one reason why carrier planes are far sturdier than their
non-carrier counterparts. As the pilot comes down for landing, he's guided in by a series of
signals from a landing signal officer who directs him via radio. The LSO is responsible for gauging
glideslope, altitude, and airspeed and helping the pilot come down successfully on a deck which
could be getting tossed around in turbulent seas. On touchdown, the landing hook scrapes along the
ground where it runs across several arresting wires. These wires will 'catch' the aircraft and
bring it to a safe, not so gentle stop. However, both the arresting hook and the wires have to be
powerful enough to resist the incredible power of a modern jet fighter running at nearly full
throttle, because unlike a conventional landing, a carrier landing requires the pilot to immediately
throttle up the engine! This is done so that if the tail hook manages to miss all of the arresting
wires, the plane doesn't simply run off the edge of the deck and plunge into the sea. Instead,
by giving the engines more power the plane should continue to have the required speed to
achieve lift and get safely back up into the air. Each carrier has its superstructure
concentrated in an area known as the island. This feature first appeared in 1923 on the
HMS Hermes and was a dramatic improvement to previous designs. Carriers with flush decks
may have been a smaller target for enemy guns, but suffered from a host of problems
that made operations difficult. Exhaust from both the aircraft and the ship itself
would often roll across the deck and into the command section of the carrier, and without the
ability to sit 'above' the flight deck, managing traffic on the deck was very difficult. It also
left nowhere to put radar and made navigation of the ship itself difficult. Eventually
flush-deck designs were completely eliminated in favor of the more iconic island-design
aircraft carriers you think of today. The most revolutionary change in aircraft carriers
however came with the adoption of nuclear power. In 1961 the new USS Enterprise became the first
nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in the world. The advantages of a nuclear aircraft carrier are
overwhelming in comparison with a conventionally powered carrier. With no need to refuel for
decades, nuclear carriers can operate non-stop during times of conflict, and need only
replenishment of fuel and armaments for its aircraft and food for its crew. Nuclear carriers
also generate more power than traditional ships, which allows them to power more current and
future technologies. They also move faster, with the American Ford-class capable of moving
at a classified speed in excess of 30 knots, or 35 mph (56 km/h). This is important for getting
firepower to conflict zones around the world, but also for evading enemy
attack aircraft and missiles. Currently only the United States
and France operate nuclear carriers, with the US operating ten Nimitz-class
carriers and one Gerald R. Ford-class carrier, and France operating the Charles de Gaulle.
Nuclear power aboard naval ships has proven to be an extremely safe and reliable
technology, with the US Navy operating over 80 nuclear-powered ships during a period of
5,400 “reactor years” without a single accident. Today though the future of the aircraft carrier
is in serious question. Ever advancing missile technologies have begun to seriously threaten
the survivability of a modern carrier, and with China operating hundreds of 'carrier
killer' ballistic missiles, it's not known if the US Navy could protect its big carriers during
a possible confrontation in the South Pacific. This growing threat has prompted the development
of numerous anti-ballistic missile technologies, but the best defense seems to be staying out of
the way altogether, with the US Navy adopting unmanned tanker aircraft that can ferry their
fighters and strike aircraft hundreds of miles to a fight while keeping the carrier outside of
the threat envelope of enemy ballistic missiles. Detractors of modern carriers claim that
the US Navy would be better served with a fleet of smaller, more agile carriers that
would be individually harder to target and destroy. Concentrating so much firepower into
one ship makes it a formidable weapon of war, but it also means that the loss of just
one carrier means the loss of approximately 75 aircraft and up to 5,000 sailors- a
horrific loss of hardware and lives both. But more widely dispersing naval aviation forces
would also make the operating costs increase dramatically, Thus the idea has so far been canned
by the US Navy, even if many fear that the United States has failed to identify a shift in naval
doctrine as dramatic as the one that made the carrier the premier weapon of naval war in World
War II. This could potentially leave US forces in an extremely compromising situation should war
break out against a foe like China or even Russia. For now, the US Navy aims to maintain a fleet
of 11 aircraft carriers supported by 9 Landing Helicopter Assault carriers. As the Nimitz class
of carriers ages out of service, they will be replaced by the new, bigger Ford-class which
boasts multiple technological improvements. Its twin AB1 nuclear reactors put out three
times the power of the Nimitz class reactors’- 600 megawatts vs 200. That's enough juice to
power a small city, and it'll be needed for many of the existing and future technological
add-ons being brought onto the ship. One of those projected additions are laser weapons
for close-in defense against enemy missiles, aircraft, and most importantly: small waterborne
craft. During wargames in the early 2010s it was discovered that a big supercarrier could be
destroyed by a far less capable opponent such as Iran by using a swarm of small suicide boats.
The results were so shocking, that the Ford is now equipped with four Phalanx Close-in Weapon
systems and four M2 .50 caliber machine guns, all of which are more than capable of
destroying small enemy vessels before they have a chance to swamp the big carrier.
Laser weapons already in testing by the US Navy promise to add even greater capabilities by
acquiring and firing on targets in milliseconds, allowing a single battery of lasers to service
large amounts of targets at incredible speed. However, the biggest firepower upgrade will be
the two squadrons of F-35 C Joint Strike Fighters, making up between 20 to 24 aircraft. These are the
only carrier-based stealth fighters in the world, and can operate in conjunction with the additional
two squadrons of F-18 Super Hornets by directly feeding them targeting data and guiding their
weapons to ther target in environments too dangerous for the non-stealthy Super Hornets to
operate in. As the F-35 proves itself over the coming years, it'll eventually completely phase
out the F-18, but for now the Navy retains a large number of its F-18s so as to remain mission
ready should the F-35s prove to be ineffective in modern combat. That is until the sixth-generation
carrier fighter program, even now in development, delivers the next generation of carrier
fighter and new revolution in naval warfare. Despite misgivings about the future of big
carriers, the firepower they bring to a fight is undeniable- the US Navy by itself is the world's
third largest air force. However, only time will tell if these floating superweapons can remain
viable in the face of ever-evolving threats. The loss of a $12 billion super carrier to a
$10 million ballistic missile is not something the United States could easily absorb, and even
one carrier loss would be a significant blow to the capabilities of the US Navy. Despite this,
American planners remain confident that their carriers can meet both current and future
threats, though one only hopes they aren't making the mistake of once more fighting the
last war instead of preparing for the next. Now go check out why living on an aircraft
carrier sucks, or click this other video instead!
