In fiscal year (FY) 1920, Congress approved a conversion of collier Jupiter into a ship designed for launching and recovering of airplanes at sea—the first aircraft carrier of the United States Navy.
The two nations revolutionized naval warfare in the course of the next four years; several of the most important sea battles were fought without either fleet coming within sight of the other.
The first "supercarrier" was commissioned in 1955 (although an earlier plan had been canceled by the Secretary of Defense), and the first nuclear-powered carrier in 1961, all during the Cold War.
[2] The Naval Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 1920 provided funds for the conversion of Jupiter into a ship designed for the launching and recovery of airplanes at sea—the United States Navy's first aircraft carrier.
[2] In 1922, Congress also authorized the conversion of the unfinished battlecruisers Lexington and the Saratoga as permitted under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty, signed in February 1922.
[8] Because a large fraction of the navy's battleship fleet was put out of commission by the attack, the undamaged aircraft carriers were forced to become the load-bearers of the early part of the war.
On September 2, 1945, Japan signed the surrender agreement aboard USS Missouri, ending World War II.
[10] During World War II, the United States Navy purchased two Great Lakes side-wheel paddle steamers and converted them into freshwater aircraft carrier training ships.
Both vessels were designated with the hull classification symbol IX and lacked hangar decks, elevators or armaments.
[15] A larger ship was planned, and in 1948, President Harry Truman approved the construction of a "supercarrier", a 65,000-ton aircraft carrier to be named USS United States; however, the project was canceled in April 1949 by the Secretary of Defense.
[17] As the Mercury-Redstone 3 mission ended, USS Lake Champlain recovered Commander Alan B. Shepard, the first American in space, on May 5, 1961.
[20] Apollo 11 was the first human landing mission to the moon, and was composed of astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins.
[35] The new carriers will be stealthier, and feature A1B reactors, electromagnetic catapults, advanced arresting gear, reduced crew requirements, and a hull design based upon that of the Nimitz class.
[39] The worst losses occurred far at sea—out of the reach of land-based air forces—leading the Royal Navy to experiment with catapult-launching fighter aircraft from merchant ships, a somewhat successful approach.