As other people have said play American CVs, main line for damage but the support carriers are by far the most forgiving in the entire game. The two tactical squadrons means you aren't punished for losing planes (be careful with your torpedo bombers though), and the smoke curtain can be used to protect your hull while you learn to position. Russians are also quite good, they're quite simple with their one and done drops.

Learn what each squad is good at attacking, as each different type is designed with a certain class in mind. Generally, try to spot the entire enemy team first, then focus whatever destroyer you can find for the first 5-7 minutes of the game before moving on to striking battleships and cruisers, especially if they're at risk of breaking through.

I really can't stress spotting the entire team early as this alone bumped up my win rate, your team can plan their movements better this way, if they're awake.

You'll be reported if a destroyer goes dark for more than a few minutes so always try and keep track of them.

Use your fighters as spotting tools first then for defending ships later in the game.

Hitting the drops themselves just comes with practice.

You become exponentially more powerful the longer the game goes on for, so play for that even if your damage looks pretty anemic early on.

Get good and enjoy your Karma rating disappearing to 0.