Epic of Flight: The Carrier War

The Carrier War is a Time-Life aviation book included in the Epic of Flight series.

The realization that the airplane could play a part in naval warfare struck three naval officers at the same time and the same place (one each from England, the U.S. and France). In August 1909 the three were official observers at an international air show where they saw aircraft perform previously-unheard-of feats. These feats included flying 112 nonstop miles, attaining altitudes of 500 feet and flying at 47 miles per hour.

The first successful attempt to get an airplane aloft at sea from a ship was accomplished by Eugene Ely, later landing on land. Two months later, Ely made a successful attempt to land on the deck of another naval vessel. Only after WWI did England, the U.S. and Japan produce true aircraft carriers.

These were the prototypes of the hulking flattops that revolutionized naval warfare in WWII.