Military Innovation Carrier Aviation The Relevant History

Major differences between the United States and Great Britain in both the development and employment of aircraft carriers and carrier aviation in the interwar years suggest how innovation was highly successful in the American case and much less so in the British. The only country with carriers at the end of World War I was Britain. It had used carrier-based aircraft to carry out the sort of missions that characterized mature operations during World War II. Royal Navy leaders supported aviation in the fleet. Yet by 1939 Britain was outclassed by America and Japan because of its obsolete carrier aircraft. How was such a reversal possible? The early 1920s found the United States with huge capital ship construction underway and approaching Britain in Mahanian splendor. A decade later, the battleship remained dominant while the battle force was far smaller than anticipated. Two carriers entered service and promised to alter naval warfare, and six months after America entered World War II carriers decisively changed the nature of the Pacific War. The most important development leading to this capability took place in an era of disarmament and severe budgetary constraints. Revolutions in military affairs are driven by the interplay of technological, operational, and organizational factors. This article describes the historical evolution of British and American carrier aviation, with emphasis on those factors. An article in the next issue of JFQ will analyze how this revolution succeeded in America, why it was less successful in Britain, and the subject of military innovation in general.