US Navy Aircraft Carriers 1942 45

Aircraft carriers were the US Navy''s principal weapon against Japan during the Pacific War. Development of the Essex class began in 1939, becoming the largest class of carrier ever to be built. Early in the Pacific War it became renowned for its ''Sunday Punch'' of 36 fighter planes, 36 dive bombers, and 18 torpedo planes. Alongside the lighter Independence class, these carriers formed the formid...