Does anybody still need aircraft carriers?

They are floating airfields that can deploy a nation's military might across the world's oceans. In May 1912, the first plane took off from a moving warship, the HMS Hibernia, temporarily adapted for the purpose. The idea of dedicated floating platforms had been mooted in 1909, but it wasn't until 1918 that the HMS Argus became the first proper carrier.

See the full article at BBC News