I agree with Simon about the use of US transports in the Pacific. You wipe out the Japanese navy and take back the islands and the mainland. Shuck your troops to Europe and take out Germany and Italy. Japan will be forced to surrender. You know, just like WW2. Unless the Japanese player has been smoking crack you will spend all day assaulting Tokyo while Germany makes mincemeat out of Russia and the UK.
The carrier is simply something to help give your fleet a backbone and protects everything in 112 and means you don’t have to land a t bomber in Holland (from Germany). It protects your transports if you are threatening sea lion and can be used to protect sea units at Gibraltar or 127 (Archangel). If you can get it to the Mediterranean Sea it can really help Italy too. The only con is that it does virtually nothing against Russia.
So basically, do you think being in 112 is useful? Do you like to threaten (not take) Sea Lion to help Itake? Do you like hoping Italy in the Med? Do you like taking Gibraltar? Maybe getting South Africa every ten games? Do you like feigning Sea Lion then hitting Leningrad? If you answered yes to any of these, a carrier can be useful.
I believe all the replies apply to Alpha 3 and 2nd ed which is what most here play. In 1st ed OOB Germany itself starts with a minor factory that can be upgraded. Actually, I think in 1st ed OOB that you can build a major in ANY 3 ipc+ territory.
