Stuart, I agree. I have been experiencing the same problems you have, not just on capture the carrier, but on destroy the airport as well. I dropped my bomb on the hangers, and it didn't do anything. Then after a minute or so, the bomb had an effect, and the system said I'd bombed something. This might just be lag, or a big glitch.

The bar moves faster if there are several players of the same team on deck. 2 or 3 guys land and the bar goes lightening fast. Sometimes it does seem to run slow if you are all alone. I never timed it my self.