INS Viraat was India’s flagship aircraft carrier before INS Vikramaditya was commissioned in 2013. It was completed and commissioned in 1959 by the British Royal Navy (as HMS Hermes) and was the last of Centaur-class aircraft carriers. It served the Royal Navy for 25 years before being sold to the Indian Navy in 1987. The carrier was decommissioned in 2017 and is currently on its way to be scrapped at the port of Alang, Gujarat.Largest Aircraft CarrierUSS Gerald R FordLength: 337 metresDisplacement: 100,000 tonsSpeed: In excess of 30 knots (56 km/h)Range: Unlimited (20-25 years)Cost: $12.8 billion + $4.7 billion R&DSmallest Aircraft CarrierHTMS Chakri NaruebetLength: 182.65 metresDisplacement: 11,486 tonsSpeed: 25.5 knots (47.2 km/h)Range: 10,000 nautical miles (19,000 kilometres)Cost: $285 million in 1993History of Aircraft CarriersIn 1806, the Royal Navy used a ship to launch kites with propaganda leaflets. These leaflets with propaganda against Napoleon in French were dropped in France.Ballon CarriersOn 12 July 1849, Austrian ship SMS Vulcano tried to drop incendiary balloons in Venice. But the wind blew most of the balloon incendiary back to the city.Gas-filled balloons were used during the American Civil war for the reconnaissance of Confederate positions.Ballon carriers were used during World War I by the navies of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, and Sweden mostly as observation posts. Their ships were mostly decommissioned or turned into seaplane carriers.Seaplane CarriersIn 1910, seaplanes were invented. These led to the development of ships which could carry these seaplanes. It was the first form of aircraft carriers.The first seaplane carrier, Foudre, was developed by the French in December 1911. A 10-metre flat deck was developed in 1913 for launching the seaplanes.HMS Hermes was temporarily converted to a seaplane carrier by the Royal Navy in April-May 1913, making it the first British seaplane carrier.The first seaplane carrier of the US was USS Mississippi, which was converted in December 1913.The first naval launched air raids that happened in 1914 during World War I. The Imperial Japanese Navy seaplane Wakamiya lowered four Maurice Farman seaplanes using a crane, which went on to bombard German forces.The naval raid on the Zeppelin base at Cuxhaven on 25 December 1914 demonstrated the ability of seaborne air raids to the Europeans.Many ships used catapults to launch seaplanes for reconnaissance and later retrieve it using cranes. This method was popular even during World War II.Flat-Deck CarriersThe first successful launch of a plane from a stationary ship took place in November 1910. The pilot was Eugene Ely. A structure was fixed over the armoured cruiser USS Birmingham.The first landing took place on 18 January 1911 on the structure fixed on USS Pennsylvania. It used an improvised braking system of sandbags and ropes.On 9 May 1912, Commander Charles Rumney Samson became the first pilot to take off from a moving plane. He took off from the battleship HMS Hibernia.World War IHMS Ark Royal was the first aircraft carrier. It was launched on 5 September 1914. It was part of the Gallipoli campaign. It was a merchant ship modified to be a carrier.The first ship to be designed as an aircraft carrier was HMS Furious in 1916. At first, it had separate flight decks but was rebuilt in 1925 with a full-length flight deck. It took part in combat during World War II.Squadron Commander EH Dunning landed his plane on a moving HMS Furious on 2 August 1917, becoming the first person to land on a moving ship. But he tragically died five days later while trying to land another plane on the same carrier.The first-ever carrier-launched airstrike took place on 19 July 1918 during the Tondern Raid. Seven planes were launched from HMS Furious with two 23-kilogram bombs to attack the German Zeppelin base in Tondern. As the carrier had no recovery system

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