This is something that I've been wondering about for quite a long time. In the Second World War the aircraft carrier changed naval warfare. Strike planes could attack targets far over the horizon, but how would they find their way back? The ocean is a big place after all with no landmarks. Was the best bet of the pilot a map, compass, and a watch for navigating to and from a ship?
Naval aviator received a much longer training period than Army Air corps flyers and much of it was focused on navigation and for many carrier operations. Plotting boards in combination with compass, time and speed were used. Celestial navigation was taught. Pre flight briefings included probable position of ship at projected landing times. Most aircraft were able to pick up radio homing signals from carriers within line of sight range (110 miles at 8,000 ft.). Depending on operational conditions carriers would display lights and sometimes fire parachute flairs. Still a significant percentage of planes were lost at sea when unable to find their carrier. PBY crews are credited with recovering most of the downed pilots. As for night operations the US Navy made its first successful night landing in 1925 and made it a requirement for carrier pilots staring in 1929. Night landings were considered much more dangerous and in WW2 day light operations were much preferred. Source: US Naval Aviation 1910-1995 by Roy Grosnick.
Follow up Question: Did WW2 aviators do night landings as frequently as modern times? If so, how often did they either lose their way in the dark or crash in any various way (i.e. hitting the water or coming too low on the carrier)?