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Willy,
I remembered last night as I was drifting off, that yes, there were floatplanes assigned to warships during WWI. Some Pennsylvania and Tennesee class armoured cruisers carried Curtiss "F" type flying boats at some point during the war. There is also a photograph of what appears to be a "R" type floatplane. These were used with stern mounted catapaults.
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Yes, and I think one of the best descriptions of these ops were contained in a book published by US Naval Institute Press entitled "U.S. Armored Cruisers" by Ivan Musicant. It gives a brief overview of seaplane and captive balloon operations. It is brief, but is nevertheless the greatest amount of print I have ever seen devoted to the subject. They have a very nice picture of USS North Carolina with a load of Curtis N-9 seaplanes, Henry Mustin flying off Tennessee in an F-boat, ca 1915, and a view of North Carolina's catapult and a/c handling tracks from above.