The First World War was the first major conflict to feature aircraft launching from ships at sea. The Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 limited the size of navies and construction efforts. A consequence of this is that most aircraft carriers were in fact repurposed combat ships. The aircraft carrier as it is recognised today came into its own in the Second World War, especially in the Pacific, where the conduct of operations was decisively shaped by the combatants’ ability to conduct air strikes from the sea and at sea.
The Royal Australian Navy aircraft carrier, HMAS Melbourne, in formation with (left) a Royal New Zealand Navy Leander class frigate and (right) HMAS Brisbane.
The aircraft carrier embodies the paradoxes of modern naval combat. It is no doubt the most powerful weapons system in any military, but given its size, cost, and exposure, also the most vulnerable.
In its history the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has had three aircraft carriers, HMA Ships Sydney (III) and Melbourne (II), each of the Majestic class, and a Colossus-class HMAS Vengeance. All three were acquired from the Royal Navy, the latter as a loan. In 1955, the ship was decommissioned and sold to the Brazilian Navy in 1956. Plans were in place for the RAN to acquire HMS Invincible from the RN to replace HMAS Melbourne, but Britain cancelled the sale after the Falklands War. The decommissioning of the HMAS Melbourne in 1982 marked the end of RAN aircraft carrier operations.