Aircraft Carriers versus Battleships in War and Myth: Demythologizing Carrier Air Dominance at Sea

Since the end of World War II, the aircraft carrier has been commonly portrayed as the ultimate element of sea power. This notion of carrier supremacy is based largely on the prevalent belief that carrier-based aircraft were so lethal during the Second World War that they rendered surface combatants, most notably battleships, powerless against air strikes. Yet a close reading of the history of combat at sea during World War II fails to support this contention. The battleship proved the most resilient surface ship and remained the ultimate determinant of sea control. The idea that the aircraft carrier supplanted the battleship as the dominant naval platform is a myth.