Aircraft carriers during the Second World War

   Germany had almost finished aircraft carrier "Graf Zeppelin", but in the fighting, he did not participate. Italy did not have aircraft carriers in the composition of the existing fleet and during the war had not completed the construction of any one project.

   With regard to the Soviet Union, the Navy of the USSR was not a single aircraft carrier based on the ship, but there were fully five aircraft carrier air draft "Link" - assigned to the Navy, not Air Force and is a heavy bomber TB-3, instead of carrying bombs I-16 fighters. All five aircraft carriers, able to take part in the battles of 1941, but because of the superiority of Messerschmidt on I-16 in air combat, the use of aircraft carriers to the end of the year, equal opportunities for all '. Nevertheless, first success avinostsev in the battles of August 1941, inspired by Admiral Kuznetsov to the request to build new aircraft carriers (in the request was denied in favor of the Air Force, is also in dire need of bombers and fighters). In the future, until the end of the war in the Soviet Union was not built any sea, air or aircraft carrier.

   In addition to surface dive to build aircraft carriers, the most active in this area proyavilya Japan, had three types of aircraft submarines, the biggest of which is I-400 carrying three seaplanes Aichi M6A1 Seiran, for suicide attacks. Japanese submarine aircraft carriers conducted edinstennuyu in the history of aviation bombarded teriitorii United States, dropping a few incendiary bombs in the hope to cause forest fires on the Pacific coast.

   The initial period of the Second World War was an important milestone in the practical application of aircraft carriers. Already 17 September 1939 sent a submarine to the bottom of the British "Koreydzhes". Another died the same type "Glories", shot along with two destroyer escorts German cruisers "Scharnhorst" and "Gneyzenau". These incidents clearly showed that the carrier is vulnerable without a combat outposts.

   At the beginning of the Second World War, due to a shortage of full-fledged aircraft carriers, the Navy of Great Britain and the Netherlands Navy began using ordinary merchant ships, converted into commercial aircraft carriers and aircraft katapultnye transport. However, after going to war in the United States of American shipyards for their own needs and the needs of the allied fleets had been built a large number of escort aircraft carriers. Japan also has been changes, such as Battleship "Shinano", similar to the "Yamato" and "Musashi", was still on the stocks transformed into "aircraft carrier", having obtained the flight deck, but without a sufficiently large hangars, and other systems necessary for support comparable to other aircraft carriers aircraft group. The old battleship "Jesus" and "Hiuga" received fodder instead of artillery towers at 22 seaplane hangars, which were launched with catapults. These ships also be used for air defense, which on the roofs of hangars were installed launchers controlled anti-aircraft missiles.

   In the Second World War, Japanese and American aircraft carriers had already played a leading role in the Pacific battles. For example, the famous attack on Pearl Harbor was made with the help of dive-bombers stationed in the six Japanese aircraft carrier. Against the backdrop of such an impressive use of aircraft carriers, happened six months (8 May 1942) the first aircraft carrier duel (no other type of ships), happened in Koralovom Sea, passed almost unnoticed.