Aircraft Carriers, as the name implies, exist primarily to ferry aircraft around. And to launch strikes with those aircraft, or cover the fleet.

In the early days, however, it wasn't so apparent. This is why you see carriers with eight-inch guns cropping up. There was, after all, a belief they'd be getting in gunfights with cruisers or destroyers.

This didn't actually happen...for the most part. This video will look at three cases where it did. Well, two involving surface actions, and one involving shore bombardment.

Further Reading:
https://www.amazon.com/British-Aircra...
https://www.amazon.com/British-Carrie...
https://www.amazon.com/Struggle-Middl...
https://www.amazon.com/Last-Stand-Tin...
https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/art...