Japanese Carrier (Civ3)/Civilopedia

Prior to WWII, Japan was the first nation to commission and build an aircraft carrier 'from the
keel up' -- this was the Hosho, or "Flying Phoenix". Prior to the Hosho, carriers had been
conversions of other ships. Like many Japanese carriers (and unlike Allied carriers), the Hosho
had no "island" -- she was all flight deck. The curious omission of an "island" on the flight
decks of some Japanese carriers was due mainly to the narrowness of their decks. Like U.S. carriers
of the time, most Japanese carriers had wooden (non-armored) flight decks, thus making them extremely
vulnerable to attacks by dive-bombers. Aircraft carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy were
frequently named after Japanese mountains, provinces or legendary birds.
The aircraft carrier first came into widespread use during World War II. Carriers act as floating
airfields, carrying fighters and bombers far from friendly territory to be launched against enemy
targets. This allows an air strike against targets on both land and sea that would otherwise be far
out of range. The range of the aircraft launched from carriers forever changed the methodology of
naval battles. Opposing fleets could now engage in battle without either fleet ever entering the
other's visual range, ending the dominance of the battleship as the strongest vessel on the sea.