Allied Carrier (Civ3)/Civilopedia

Allied Carriers of WWII that saw action in the Pacific Theatre were of a wide and varied lot.
Prior to hostilities, the Allied carriers were, for the most part, poor step-sisters to the
big-gunned battleships, as both the Commonwealth and American navies were dominated by the
"Big Gun" school. When the war in the Pacific erupted in December 1941, the two American
carriers based at Pearl Harbor (Enterprise and Lexington) were fortunate to be out on maneuvers,
thus escaping the fury of the Japanese surprise attack. During WWII, carriers of the United
States were commonly named after famous battles, stinging insects, or famous people. By the
time the war was over in 1945 few could dispute the importance of large "fleet carriers".
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.