![]() ![]() During the Second World War, carriers were grouped into huge task forces often comprising eight or more large carriers. Carrier Battle Group Development in the Cold WarĪlthough World War Two saw the aircraft carrier eclipse the battleship as the primary instrument of naval power, aircraft carrier battle groups were not defined as such until the lessons of the war were fully assessed. Though only the Enterprise and Saratoga survived the war, lessons learned from their use led to the construction of 24 Essex class fleet carriers that carried the carrier battle group into the Cold War. ![]() The Lexington, Saratoga, Enterprise, Yorktown, Hornet, and Wasp led the US Navy in the first year of the Pacific War, and they fought the first naval battles conducted solely through the medium of carrier based aircraft. The dearth of battleships caused by this disaster led to the United States itselfĪdopting the carrier battle group as its primary strike force. The striking power of this carrier battle group was incredible, and led to the complete destruction of two American battleships with five more put out of action for varying lengths of time. Alongside these six carriers were only two fast battleships and a small cluster of escorts. ![]() To strike the American fleet in Hawaii, it sent six aircraft carriers - the Akagi, Kaga, Shokaku, Zuikaku, Hiryu, and Soryu - with over three hundred aircraft to deal a mortal blow to the US Pacific Fleet. The Japanese attack on Pear Harbor began the role of the carrier battle group as the dominant force in naval combat. Though aircraft carriers were in service by the early 1930’s in the navies of Britain, Japan, and the United States, the Second World War saw the development of the modern conception of a carrier battle group - one or more aircraft carriers escorted by (at least) cruisers and destroyers for anti-aircraft and anti-submarine protection. ![]()
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