Very sloppy ship handling by RN in the South Pacific. [YOUTUBE]FznCgOLdMok[/YOUTUBE] Great cast and funny script. Dave
For the most part, except I think he actually meant to add armored flight decks. US carriers had metal flight decks. They were covered by wood decking. The ship's deck armor was carried one deck down at the hangar deck. I'm not adding this to spark another debate on the values of one over the other; there are several threads already dedicated to that. I was just pointing out a misnomer in the poster's comment. I know you're right, but these people here are talking of armoured flight decks, which are much better entirely
I don't think the RN had the aircraft to have been able to fight the Japanese in 1942-43 in the way that the Pacific battles were fought. I don't think the aircraft available to the RN would have survived the aerial combats (Grummans were nothing if not tough) and the ships would have been put at great risk. The RN would not have been able to get replacments into the theater soon enough to make up the losses. It may have been a more even contest than historicaly into 1944-45 without the United States' ability to get war production rolling and outstripping the Japanese. Could be wrong but I just don't think that a RN task force could have protected itself the way that a USN task force could in 1942-43.
This appears to be the bet place to add this; the website somehow appeared on my Twitter feed. Armoured Aircraft Carriers in World War II is devoted to: 'The untold story of the Royal Navy's struggle to invent carrier warfare' Great Britain was breaking new ground with the first fleet to deploy carrier air power in a high-intensity war in 1939. Captains, crews, pilots and admirals were making things up as they went along. And the world was watching. Anti-submarine hunter-killer groups? Costly failure. Surprise strikes against major harbours? Resounding success. Close escorts for convoys running the gauntlet to Malta? It was the ultimate test of doctrines determined during the disruptive 1920s and 30s. So why have the experiments, endeavours and endurance of the Royal Navy’s carrier operations seemingly been lost to history? This website seeks to give you a detailed account of the actions in which Britain's radical armoured carriers sustained damage, what that damage was, and how well these ships met both design requirements and unexpected adaptations.'
Many many thanks for highlighting this site. This is a website I have not come across before. So much detailed info on carrier actions and aircraft complete with extracts of reports from ADM files. Very interesting reading for some time to come. Tim Edit: Mods may consider it deserves a thread of it's own.
