A simple aircraft-by-aircraft chronology cannot explain why carrier air groups evolved. Carrier aircraft changed because their roles, threats, and operating expectations changed over more than a century of naval warfare. Each replacement type needs to be connected to the operational pressure that changed the group's composition. Those pressures include mission range, reconnaissance, strike, and the finite space available aboard carriers.
Chapter · 9:56-12:20
Carrier air group evolution follows changing jobs
Operational pressures pushed aircraft carriers and their embarked aircraft to change, shaping the evolution of carrier air groups.