A little aircraft carrier history
"The era of steam on aircraft carriers began in 1950, with the British Royal Navy trialing the technology on the HMS Perseus (R51). The ship’s boilers generated steam from desalinated seawater, pumped the resulting vapor into dry receivers or wet accumulators and then released it through a set of valves to drive steam pistons. The piston stroke functions as the catapult, as it flings an aircraft loaded into a deck shuttle off the ship."
Just in case you wanted to know.
Any other interesting carrier history tidbits?