From the seaplane carriers of 1914 to the success of the Falklands Taskforce the record of the Royal Navy carriers and naval aircraft for innovation and operational achievement has been unequalled among the world navies. 

Norman Friedman, Ph.D., is an American author and naval analyst. He has written over 30 books on naval matters and appeared on television programs on PBS and the Discovery Networks. From 1973 to 1984, he was at the Hudson Institute, becoming Deputy Director for National Security Affairs. He worked for the United States Navy as in-house consultant. From 2002 to 2004, he served as a futurologist for the United States Marine Corps. The Royal Navy invented the aircraft carrier before and during World War I. Between the wars, it introduced the armored flight deck carrier, which radically changed the capability of the carrier in combat. After World War II the Royal Navy introduced three crucial devices - the steam catapult, the angled flight deck, and the mirror landing aid- which made it possible for carriers to operate high performance jet aircraft and thus to remain competitive with land-based air forces. The Royal Navy also first demonstrated vertical take-off jet fighters at sea.