Although fierce resistance from "big gun" battleship admirals initially limited carrier assets and development, it was in World War II - amply illustrated by the battles of Taranto, Pearl Harbor, Coral Sea, Midway and Operation Ten-Go - that the aircraft carrier clearly demonstrated its overwhelmingly superior ability to project naval power and took over the reins as the flagship of a navy from battleships, a trend that continues today.
In addition, carrier-launched aircraft (or rather, air power in general) began to have longer ranges, superior flexibility and greater precision than naval guns of any size and make. During the interwar years, ongoing research resulted in the development of several converted and purpose-built ships that could not only launch aircraft, but eventually recover them as well. While the first ship-launched takeoffs, and subsequently airborne attacks, were made in the early 20th century, the then-immature development of heavier-than-air aircraft prevented them from having any major influence in World War I. While they can project power virtually anywhere on the battlefield, carriers are incredibly vulnerable when enemies have penetrated or circled your team's defenses, with no player-controlled guns and only AI-controlled secondaries to defend themselves. Aircraft carriers are basically floating airbases, transporting, servicing, launching planes into combat and recovering them, providing readily available air support to the naval fleets under their charge.
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