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Aviation History
1941
1941 - 0077.PDF
Dimensions, Performance and Aircraft Capacity of the World's Floating Aerodromes V IN presenting the NavyEstimates on March 15,1938, Admiral Cavag- nari, Under-Secretary for the Italian Navy, stated that Signor Mussolini had decided not to build aircraft carriers with landing decks, and, he added, II Duce was right, once more. Maybe he was right for a country situarted in a narrow sea and having only a parochial outlook, but to a nation like ourselves whose naval actions are fought in all parts of the wide oceans, aircraft carriers are essential. Their high cost is the main reason why only the Great Powers can afford to build them. Although we have lost the Courageous and Glorious—both of which losses are about the only bad naval errors of this war—we have had a very good eturn for the enormous cost of our carriers. Ark Royal ost three and a half million pounds to build, and the running costs are so high that each flying hour per machine works out somewhere in the region of £IOQ. The all-in cost of flying land-operated types of the R.A.F. is about one-third of this. The recent night attack on the Italian capital ships in Toranto harbour by air- craft of the Illustrious and Eagle was foreshadowed in the Far East exercises carried out in February, 1939. Machines from the Eagle made a dawn attack on the Singapore base, while the ship was still some 200 miles distant. The point is that night flying from decks was already in being when the war broke out. Although this attack at Toranto has 1938 VINTAGE: The Ark Royal, oneof our latest carriers and certainly the most frequently sunk ship, atanchor. When flying off is in progress, the wireless masts are horizontal. NAVAL strategists hove held for many years that aircraft carriers cannot be used in the narrow seas. The Toronto affair proved that there are exceptions to the general rule ; it also revived interest in carriers. The Flight copyright drawings by " J.P." are all to a uniform scale of I in. = l 16 ft. been the most successful action yet carried out by carrier-borne aircraft, it should be remembered that previous torpedo attacks by air have been made against Italian ships at sea and in harbour. At Tobruk, for instance, Eagle's machines destroyed the cruiser San Giorgio, three destroyers, and a number of supply ships and transports. Ark Royal, Glorious and Furious all gave wonderful service during the Norwegian campaign. In the long summer days of the northern latitudes, flying off was practically continuous for the whole twenty-four hours of each day. They operated some hundred miles from the Norwegian coast and came in for a considerable amount of bombing by the Luftwaffe, but, although extravagant claims were made by the Germans, none was sunk or bady damaged by thjpge attacks. The Glorious was sunk by surface cps^t in a naval action. Furious and Glgpious trajjap^rfed' three fighter squa<J- t
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