The carriers are bigger, true, but the missiles are more powerful as well. A single cruise missile carries the effective payload of 3 or 4 kamikaze aircraft. T

The carriers are bigger, true, but the missiles are more powerful as well. A single cruise missile carries the effective payload of 3 or 4 kamikaze aircraft. There's also the fact that you don't have to kill the carrier to render it ineffective. A single missile hit to something like landing deck or the aircraft hangar can result in damage that takes months or years to repair, effectively removing the carrier from the battlefield.