The interwar years were a period of carrier construction, not aviation neglect. Carrier tonnage received major treaty protection before navies knew exactly what the mature ship would become, while exercises and operations steadily developed its use. The scale of treaty allowances itself shows that governments expected the new type to matter. Pearl Harbor demonstrated carrier power dramatically, but it did not create the concept or erase earlier strikes such as Furious's 1918 attack and Taranto.
Notable Point · 3:14:18-3:20:08
Carrier investment was established before Pearl Harbor
The conclusion argues that treaties, construction totals, exercises, Taranto, and the 1918 Tondern raid all show carrier warfare developing well before 1941.