Front view of USS Intrepid aircraft carrier docked in New York City.

The battleship lost its throne.

Taranto, Pearl Harbor, and the Coral Sea crowned the aircraft carrier the dominant capital ship.

World War II: Carriers Take the Crown

US Navy SBD-5 scout plane flying patrol over USS Washington and USS Lexington during the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign, 1943

Why carriers ruled.

They projected airpower far beyond gun range and were more economical—aircraft were cheaper and carriers didn’t need such heavy armor.

World War II: Carriers Take the Crown

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