Naval aviation entered combat during World War I. Japanese seaplanes attacked German ships at Tsingtao after British and other aircraft had already been used for reconnaissance. Those Japanese attacks caused no damage, but they established the offensive use of naval aircraft. The Cuxhaven raid on 25 December 1914 then brought several British seaplane carriers together for a much larger operation.
Chapter · 0:23-1:53
Tsingtao and Cuxhaven bring naval aviation into combat
Japanese attacks at Tsingtao and Britain's Christmas 1914 Cuxhaven raid show naval aviation moving from reconnaissance into offensive operations.