Ian R
Posts: 3420
Joined: 8/1/2000
From: Cammeraygal Country
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Q-Ball
quote:
ORIGINAL: Ian R
His video on the armoured carrier v open hanger carrier debate was informative, and amusing. The point about needing to strike all aircraft below deck in Atlantic weather is often lost in less detailed appreciations.
Yes, he made excellent points on the Armored Deck vs. Larger Hanger debate. Everyone tries to declare a victor, that one is clearly better than the other.
The reality is that an Armored Deck is a better fit in Europe, where the RN's opponent was going to be land-based air. Survivability was key, and in fact on a couple occasions RN CVs took damage from LBA that likely would've sunk a USN CV.
The enclosed, armored hanger box on RN CVs also makes sense in the rough weather of the North Sea and other climates. The RN also did not incorporate deck parks into it's doctrine because in the North Sea planes parked on deck might end up overboard. All of these factors meant smaller airgroups.
In the calmer waters of the Pacific, though, deck parks make sense, and because the opponent was likely to be another CV, it makes sense to pack maximum strike power on the ship.
In the end, both the the USN and RN adopted a hybrid; armoerd flight decks, but with open hangers that USN favored, so that burning stuff could be pushed overboard easily.
He did universally praise USN damage control training and doctrine, which was the gold standard
I'm trying to remember if it was Drach, or the Clarke/Armoured carriers co-production (probably both) that pointed out that the Ark Royal was intended for the Pacific, but then Germany re-armed. The Illustrious design was completed before radar was invented, at at time when it wouldn't matter how many fighters you had, they were unlikely to climb to altitude and see off a determined dive bombing attack that appeared overhead with little warning (think Midway). So the RN intended to rely on armour, and armoured the design against the standard bomb of the time...
By the time the war came, radar was available, the RN developed the CIC, aircraft technology had jumped two generations, and the standard bomb had doubled in size. At that point the RN's problem was poorly performing aircraft in too few numbers - but the reliable old Swordfish showed what could be done. Once the USN worked out how to enlarge the flight deck on the "USS Robin" to take a deck park aboard, the armoured carriers working in a group became a useful asset in the Pacific as well.
As you say, convergent evolution eventually results in the Midways, and the unbuilt Malta design.
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