In 1848, the Austrian navy began launching balloons from ships, using them to drop bombs on Venice. This evolved early in the 20th century when the French, American and British Navies began launching fixed wing aircraft from stationary ships. It wasn't until 1918 that aircraft operated from moving ships. The first aircraft carrier built for this purpose was HMS Hermes, entering service in 1923.
Fixed wing aircraft that do not possess short take off and landing capabilities (STOL) use a high-power steam catapult to accelerate them down the runway. The flight deck is normally angled to help the aircraft climb, with a ski-jump-type ramp at the end.
The angled flight deck helps to slow aircraft down on landing, but the jets also use an arresting gear to stop them as quickly as possible. This is a set of cables strung across the flight deck that connect to a tail hook on the landing aircraft.
