Japanese naval aviation at Tsingtao before Cuxhaven

Cuxhaven was the first major multi-ship air strike from the sea in this account, but it was not the first offensive naval aviation of the war. Japanese forces had already used a seaplane carrier and seaplanes around Tsingtao. That earlier operation prevents the Royal Navy raid from being treated as the invention of naval air attack. Cuxhaven's distinction lies in its scale and the coordinated use of several carrier vessels against a land target.