Britain may have led the way in aircraft carrier technology with the first flat deck ship HMS Argus (I49) and the first purpose-built carrier HMS Hermes (95), but the United States Navy has become the dominant carrier operator, with its number and capability of carriers greater than those of any other nation, thanks to its economic might. From the end of World War II into the 1960s the US Navy developed carriers, from the 47,300-ton Midway class to the larger Enterprise class and John F. Kennedy supercarriers.
In the later years of World War II, the US Navy’s core carrier strength was provided by the Essex class, of which 24 were built. Most were decommissioned by the 1970s, but USS Lexington (CV-16) survived until 1991, having been used as a training ship at Pensacola, Florida for nearly 30 years.
Wartime experience had shown the importance of an armoured flight deck, something incorporated into Royal Navy carriers. To include this and carry more aircraft than the Essex class, a new Midway class of larger carriers was designed. Named after the Battle of Midwaythe Pacific, six ships of the class were planned, but only three were built.
