A variety of new weapons were born in World War II, and escort aircraft carriers are a representative one. The British Navy had discussed using such ships to escort the fleet before World War II. However, because it did not fully realize its effectiveness, it prioritized the cons

A variety of new weapons were born in World War II, and the escort aircraft carrier is a representative one. The British Navy had discussed using such ships to escort the fleet before " World War II ". However, because it did not fully realize its effectiveness, it prioritized the construction of other ship types in the early stages of the war, and the construction of escort aircraft carriers was Shelved. However, in 1940, in the face of attacks by German long-range bombers over the fleet, the Catapult Aircraft Merchantman (CAM), which only had the ability to fly Sea Hurricane fighter jets, was urgently deployed. When the captured German cargo ship was converted into its earliest escort aircraft carrier "Audacity" in 1941 and used for fleet escort operations, it was discovered that not only air defense, but also unexpected achievements were made in anti-submarine Effect. Taking this as an opportunity, the pace of its construction began to be accelerated.

The picture shows the "Courage"

But no matter what, the 38 ships that eventually became the main escort aircraft carriers of the British Navy were still leased from the United States, and the UK itself built only 6 ships including the "Courage". The role of lease-lease ships in increasing military strength is evident. These motherships have been gradually put into the front line since 1942, and have shown their talents in suppressing German submarines and seizing local air supremacy in offensive operations.

When escort aircraft carriers were put into operation on a large scale, as a auxiliary function, the United Kingdom also urgently put flight decks on merchant ship hulls from 1943 to 1944, transforming 19 Merchant Aircraft Carriers (Merchant Aircraft Carriers), which were extremely simple to the extreme. According to the acronym, also known as

MAC ship), this can also give a glimpse of the urgency and necessity of using aircraft carrier in the fleet escort battle in the late "World War II".

When comparing British and American escort aircraft carriers again, we will find that in addition to differences in hull structure and the length and width of the main engine and flight deck, all leased ships obtained from the United States are equipped with catapults . In contrast, British domestic ships Except for the "Pretoria Castle" number lPretoria

Castle), none of them are carried, which can be said to be distinct. As a result, the actions of British domestic ships can only be limited to the "Convoy Carrier" which mainly uses light "Swordfish" type carrier-borne torpedo aircraft. US-built ships can use catapults and therefore be able to carry heavier aircraft. In addition to escorting the fleet, the U.S.-built ships can also use the air superiority capabilities of the carrier-based fighter as a "fighter carrier" during landing operations as needed. The operation process of a large number of escort aircraft carriers provides a good place for direct comparison of the design and operation ideas of aircraft carriers built by the United Kingdom and the United States.

The Americanization of British Aircraft Carriers

During World War II, because Britain received large-scale assistance from American aircraft carriers, the result was of course unavoidable from the substantial Americanization of its equipment. In particular, the carrier-based aircraft has to rely on extensive supplies from the United States due to its backward technology. At the end of the war, the proportion of American aircraft among the carrier-based aircraft of its fleet aircraft carriers was as high as 64%, which can be said to have reached an astonishing level. Once American aircraft are used, aviation facilities and operations must naturally match them. Therefore, the height of the hangar, the size and function of the elevators on the carriers designed from the middle of the "World War II" are the same as those of the American aircraft carriers. standards. For this reason, the pre-war principle of storing fully loaded aircraft in hangars had to be adjusted and converted to a method of mooring on the flight deck. At the end of World War II, although Britain had a huge force of 74 aircraft carriers, half of them were leased by the United States, and the remaining ones also had a strong American flavor.