WW2 Aircraft Carriers

It is common to read about US industrial production in World War 2 as being instrumental to the allies winning the war. This is an attempt to provide a visualization of exactly how that industrial production advantage played out by looking at fleet/light aircraft carriers for the US and Japan..

On December 7, 1941 the United States entered World War 2 with eight 'Fleet' or 'Light' aircraft carriers and Japan entered the war with ten aircraft carriers total, one of which was functionally an 'Escort' aircraft carrier. On December 7, 1941 Japan had two more aircraft carriers in service than the United States (10 vs 8) and one more 'fleet' aircraft carrier.

1942 saw many carrier losses for both countries and by October, 1942 the US Navy was down to three fleet aircraft carriers — Saratoga, Ranger and Enterprise — while Japan was down to five. Starting in late 1942, however, American shipyards began delivering new fleet and light carriers in staggering numbers. By the end of 1943 the United States had 19 operational fleet and light aircraft carriers to Japan's five. By the end of 1944 the United States had 26 operational fleet and light aircraft carriers to Japan's zero. The US finished the war with 28.

Aircraft Carrier Classes

Aircraft carrier classes (sizes, basically) can be a bit tricky to compare because there are no standard sizes with clear distinctions between them. For my purposes I'm using the following rough designations (which are mostly how the US navy thought of these ships during WW2):

Fleet aircraft carriers are large aircraft carriers around which a fleet if often centered. Thus the name. They are large and fast and carried many aircraft. The US Essex class carriers are a good example of this: 30,000 tons displacement, 33 knots speed and could carry 90 aircraft. The US finished the war with 17 Essex class carriers in service.
Light carriers are smaller than fleet aircraft carriers and often a bit slower. Examples of US light carriers include the USS Princeton and USS Belleau Wood of the Independence class. These ships displaced about 11,000 tons (vs 30,000 for the Essex class fleet carriers) and carried about 30 aircraft. Japan's Ryujo is another example of a light carrier. It displaced about 8,000 tons and carried 48 aircraft.
Escort carriers are usually both slower and smaller than fleet and light carriers. The first Japanese carrier, the Honsho, is an example of what would be classed as an escort carrier. It displaced 7,500 tons and carried only 12 aircraft. The USS Langley might also be considered a large escort carrier because it was slow, but it also held 30 aircraft and I'm scoring it as a fleet carrier because of its CV designation and the 30 aircraft. If it is to be treated as an escort carrier then the US numbers need to be adjusted down by one.

Escort carriers matter, too, and the US finished the war with over 100 of them, but I think it misleading to mix escort carriers with fleet/light carriers and just

US Fleet//Light Aircraft Carriers Through the End of WW2

Total	Date	Ship	Event
1	1922-Mar-10	CV-1 USS Langley	commissioned as carrier
2	1927-Nov-18	CV-3 USS Saratoga	commissioned
3	1927-Dec-14	CV-2 USS Lexington	commissioned
4	1934-Jun-4	CV-4 USS Ranger	commissioned
5	1937-Sep-30	CV-5 USS Yorktown	commissioned
6	1938-May-12	CV-6 USS Enterprise	commissioned
7	1940-Apr-25	CV-7 USS Wasp	commissioned
8	1941-Oct-20	CV-8 USS Hornet	commissioned
7	1942-Feb-27	CV-1 USS Langley	scuttled after attack near Java
6	1942-May-8	CV-2 USS Lexington	sunk at Battle of Coral Sea
5	1942-Jun-7	CV-5 USS Yorktown	sunk at Battle of Midway
4	1942-Sep-15	CV-7 USS Wasp	sunk during Guadalcanal Campaign
3	1942-Oct-27	CV-8 USS Hornet	sunk at Battle of Santa Cruz Islands
4	1942-Dec-31	CV-9 USS Essex	commissioned
5	1943-Jan-14	CV-22 USS Independence	commissioned
6	1943-Feb-17	CV-16 USS Lexington	commissioned
7	1943-Feb-25	CV-23 USS Princeton	commissioned
8	1943-Mar-31	CV-24 USS Belleau Wood	commissioned
9	1943-Apr-15	CV-10 USS Yorktown	commissioned
10	1943-May-25	CV-17 USS Bunker Hill	commissioned
11	1943-May-28	CV-25 USS Cowpens	commissioned
12	1943-Jun-17	CV-26 USS Monterey	commissioned
13	1943-Jul-24	CV-28 USS Cabot	commissioned
14	1943-Aug-16	CV-11 USS Intrepid	commissioned
15	1943-Aug-31	CV-27 USS Langley	commissioned
16	1943-Nov-17	CV-29 USS Bataan	commissioned
17	1943-Nov-24	CV-18 USS Wasp	commissioned
18	1943-Nov-29	CV-12 USS Hornet	commissioned
19	1943-Dec-15	CV-30 USS San Jacinto	commissioned
20	1944-Jan-31	CV-13 USS Franklin	commissioned
21	1944-Apr-15	CV-19 USS Hancock	commissioned
22	1944-Apr-16	CV-21 USS Boxer	commissioned
23	1944-May-8	CV-14 USS Ticonderoga	commissioned
24	1944-Aug-6	CV-20 USS Bennington	commissioned
25	1944-Sep-15	CV-38 USS Shangri-La	commissioned
26	1944-Oct-9	CV-15 USS Randolph	commissioned
25	1944-Oct-24	CV-23 USS Princeton	scuttled at Battle of Leyte Gulf
26	1944-Nov-26	CV-31 USS Bon Homme Richard	commissioned
27	1945-Jan-28	CV-36 USS Antietam	commissioned
28	1945-Jul-3	CV-39 USS Lake Champlain	commissioned

Japanese Fleet//Light Aircraft Carriers Through the End of WW2

Total	Date	Ship	Event
0	1922-Dec-10	Honsho	commissioned; escort carrier
1	1927-Mar-25	Akagi	commissioned
2	1929-Nov-30	Kaga	commissioned
3	1933-May-9	Ryujo	commissioned
4	1937-Dec-29	Soryu	commissioned
5	1939-Jul-5	Hiryu	commissioned
6	1940-Dec-27	Zuiho	commissioned
7	1941-Aug-8	Shokaku	commissioned
8	1941-Sep-25	Zuikaku	commissioned
9	1941-Nov-30	Shoho	commissioned
10	1942-May-3	Jun'yo	commissioned
9	1942-May-7	Shoho	sunk at Battle of the Coral Sea
8	1942-Jun-5	Akagi	sunk at Battle of Midway
7	1942-Jun-5	Soryu	sunk at Battle of Midway
6	1942-Jun-5	Kaga	sunk at Battle of Midway
5	1942-Jun-5	Hiryu	sunk at Battle of Midway
6	1942-Jul-31	Hiyo	commissioned
5	1942-Aug-24	Ryujo	sunk at Battle of the Eastern Solomons
6	1944-Mar-7	Taiho	commissioned
5	1944-Jun-19	Shokaku	sunk at Battle of Philippean Sea
4	1944-Jun-19	Taiho	sunk at Battle of Philippean Sea
3	1944-Jun-20	Hiyo	sunk at Battle of Philippean Sea
2	1944-Oct-25	Zuikaku	sunk at Battle of Leyte Gulf
1	1944-Oct-25	Zuiho	sunk at Battle off Cape Engano
1	1944-Nov-29	Shinano	sunk before being commissioned
0	1944-Dec-9	Jun'yo	torpedoed and out of commission until end of war