The first shipboard takeoff was made in 1910 by Eugene Ely, a civilian, in a Curtiss plane from the cruiser USS Birmingham. The same year British and American pilots began experimenting with take-offs and landings from ships. In 1911 Ely made a landing on an improvised flight deck on the battleship USS Pennsylvania. A catapult using compressed air for thrust successfully launched a seaplane from a barge in a 1913 test.

In 1913 the British navy built a launching platform for seaplanes on the cruiser Hermes. The Hermes was torpedoed and sunk in the early months of World War I. The British packet Engadine, equipped with a seaplane hangar, sent up an observation plane that spotted early German actions in the Battle of Jutland, 1916.

The Furious, a British Royal navy Cruiser was prepared with a flight deck in 1917. The Argus, converted by Britain from an Italian liner in 1918, is considered the first true aircraft carrier—previous British carriers could handle only seaplanes. A second Hermes, completed in 1924, was the first ship designed from the keel up as a carrier.

The U.S. Navy's first carrier was the flush-deck Langley, converted from a collier (coal supply ship) in 1922. Two battle cruisers laid down during World War I were completed in 1928 as the carriers Saratoga and Lexington. The Ranger, completed in 1934, was the first U.S. Navy ship originally planned as a carrier.

Japan was another pioneer in the use of carriers. Its first, the Hosho, was completed in 1922. At the beginning of World War II Japan had nine aircraft carriers—two more than the United States.

Six carriers formed the Japanese main striking force in the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. With its battleship fleet badly crippled by this attack, the U.S. Navy had to depend on carriers and submarines to fight the Japanese. The first carrier battle was the Battle of the Coral Sea, May 4–8, 1942, in which each side lost one carrier. In the decisive Battle of Midway, June 4–6, 1942, the Japanese lost four carriers, the U.S. Navy one.

U.S. Navy carriers spearheaded drives in the Central and South Pacific. The first United States air attack on Japan was made by bombers from Hornet. Japanese losses of planes and pilots were so severe that Japan withdrew its remaining carriers from the area. Early in 1943 new attack carriers began joining the American fleet; they were soon supplemented by large numbers of escort carriers.

Japan committed its naval air power again in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, June 19–21, 1944. Almost all of the Japanese carrier planes were shot down. In the Battle of Leyte Gulf, October 23–26, 1944, the Japanese fleet was eliminated as an effective fighting force. Four of its carriers were destroyed in this encounter. During the World War II (1939-1945) the nations involved in the war built more than 150 aircraft carriers. These were particularly important ships of the war. British aircraft carriers accompanied supply convoys in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, while taking part in fleet actions like sinking of the German battleship Bismarck. Post World War II many carriers were scrapped. By the mid 20th century the U.S. was the only country having a large fleet of carriers. Some of these ships included the ships of the Forrestal class namely, the Forrestal, the Saratoga, the Ranger, and the Independence. Commissioned in 1955, the Forrestal was the first U.S. carrier to have angled flight deck and to carry jet fighters. The Forrestal ships carried more aircraft and were sometimes called supercarriers.

In the Korean War (1950–53) British and American attack carriers were used, and escort carriers took part in many actions. Carrier strikes supported the Inchon landing and the evacuation of Hungnam.

During the Vietnamese War, the United States used carriers as bases for air strikes against the North Vietnamese, 1964–73.