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Aviation History
1939
1939 - 0745.PDF
MARCH I6, 1939 FLIGHT. 263 Some Data on— FOREIGN AIRCRAFT CARRIERS The Equipment of Other Countries : Japan's Bid for Parity with America By H. J. C. HARPER, A.M.Inst.C.E., A.F.R.Ae.S. BRITAIN'S AIRCRAFT CARRIERS Tonnage Length : Courageous ... 22,500 786ft. 3in. ; Glorious 22,500 786ft. 3in. ; Furious 22,450 786ft. 6in. : Eagle 22,600 667ft. «in. : Hermes 10,850 599ft. 8in. I Ark Royal 22,000 800ft. (approx.) : Illustrious* 22,000 j Victorious* 22,000 — ; Formidable* ... 22,600 — [ Indomitable* ... 22,600 — : * Building (a further carrier, un-named, is : also on order). i H.M.S. Argus is now used as a " parent j ship " for Queen Bee target aircraft, i The seaplane carrier Albatross (4,800 tons) | has been taken over from the Royal Australian | Navy. Two vast aircraft carriers of the U.S. Navy, the Saratoga and the Lexington (each of 33,000 tons displacement) seen from the deck of the equally famous Ranger AN increasing amount of attention is being paid by the navies of the world to aircraft carriers. Many new i ships of this type are coming into commission or are building. The earlier carriers were practically all conversions from battleships, battle-cruisers or cruisers which were surplus under the tonnage restrictions laid down in the Washington Treaty. As the new carriers have been designed from the outset as such they do not suffer from the same handicaps as did the conversions, and it has been possible to incorporate in their design the results of the experience gained in operating the earlier carriers. The London Treaty defines an aircraft carrier as any surface vessel of war, whatever its displacement, designed for the specific and exclusive purpose of carrying aircraft, and so constructed that aircraft can be launched therefrom and landed thereon. By this definition those vessels which are fitted out so that aircraft can be flown-off but not landed-on are now termed "seaplane carriers," since the aircraft used must be of that description. By the terms of the Washington Treaty, Great Britain and the United States may each have a total tonnage of carriers of 135,000, Japan 81,000, and France and Italy 60,000 each. The calibre of guns mounted must not exceed o.iin., and the displacement of each individual ship must not exceed 27,000 tons except in the case of certain agreed conversions. In the same treaty it is laid down that all carrier tonnage in existence or building on November 12, 1921, is considered experimental, and can be replaced within the total tonnage limit without regard to age. The Argus, Hermes, Eagle and Furious, of Great Britain; the Langley, of the United States; and the Hosho. of Japan, fall within this category. Carriers commenced after that date cannot be replaced until twenty years after their completion. The United States.—It appears strange in many ways that the United States did not turn their attention to air craft carriers until after the war, when it is recalled that 't was the navy of that country which carried out the first deck flying experiments. In November, 1910, Eugene Ely flew off a temporary platform erected over the forecastle °f the U.S.S. Birmingham. In the following Tamiary the same pilot made a successful landing on a platform 120ft. long, constructed on the after end of the U.S. cruiser Pennsylvania. After a short stay on board, Ely flew off and landed ashore. These experiments convinced the naval authorities that aircraft were likely to be of service to the fleet, but there was difference of opinion as to methods. One school of thought was of the opinion that each battleship should be equipped with a platform and aero plane. The other maintained that it would be preferable to provide a special ship devoted exclusively to aviation purposes. Nothing was done with regard to the provision of such a ship; and, owing to the obstruction to the ships' main armament caused by a bulky platform, attention was turned to the power-operated catapult which would elimi nate the long launching platform. The entry of the United States into the war led to the discontinuation, for the time being, of these experiments, her naval resources being de voted mainly to anti-submarine patrol work. The end of the war found Great Britain far ahead of other nations in the development of the aircraft carrier. The United States naval officers, having seen the progress made, returned home eager for similar developments to be made in their own navy. The representations of these officers were such that in 1919 Congress authorised the conversion of the collier Jupiter into an aircraft carrier. The work was completed in 1922, and the ship was renamed Langley. Her flight deck is of the flush type, i.e., there is no superstructure of any kind. Its length is 625ft. and its width 65ft. Her queer appearance and her resemblance to a " prairie schooner '' led to her becoming known throughout the U.S. Navy as "The Covered Wagon." The original arrester gear fitted consisted of athwartship wires with weights on the ends, similar to the system employed by Ely in 1911. A long hook suspended beneath the fuselage of the aeroplane engaged these wires and brought the machine to rest. In addition, there were fore-and-aft wires which were engaged by hooks fixed to the axle of the aeroplane with the object of keeping it on a straight course after it had landed-on. A barrier, consisting of two heavy steel cables stretched at a height of four feet at the forward end of the deck, was
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