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Accordingly, carriers were designed to carry more aircraft and aircraft components at the expense of more anti-aircraft guns and flight deck armor. To further increase the number of aircraft carried, large numbers of them were kept on the flight deck in addition to those kept below in hangars.
Aircraft carriers of World War II by country Aircraft carriers serve as a seagoing airbases, equipped with a flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying and recovering aircraft. [ 1 ] Typically, they are the capital ships of a fleet, as they project air power worldwide without depending on local bases for operational support.
The development of armoured flight deck carriers proceeded during World War II, and before the end of World War II both the USN, with USS Midway, and the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), with TaihÅ and Shinano would also commission armoured flight deck carriers, while all USN fleet aircraft carriers built since 1945 feature armoured flight decks.
It became apparent early in the war that control of the air was prerequisite for successful surface action both on land and at sea. [b] [9] For much of the war, Britain and America fought mainly on the seas, [10] [clarification needed] where successful Allied naval operations permitted effective support and reinforcement of troops in North Africa, the Soviet Union, western Europe and the Pacific.
Four types of ships are included in the list: fleet carriers, light carriers, escort carriers, and merchant aircraft carriers. Fleet and Light Carriers. The number of each combatant's operational fleet and light carriers provides an indication of that country's offensive naval capability at any point in time.
Some carrier aircraft served in dual roles, such as fighter-bomber and bomber-reconnaissance aircraft. Carrier aircraft functions. Torpedo and dive bombers attacked enemy warships, transports, merchant ships, and land installations. Fighters accompanied bombers on attack missions, protecting them during interceptions by enemy fighters.
The Illustrious class was designed within the restrictions of the Second London Naval Treaty, which limited carrier size to an upper limit of 23,000 tons.They were different in conception to the Royal Navy's only modern carrier at the time, their predecessor HMS Ark Royal, and what may be described as their nearest American contemporaries, the Yorktown and Essex class carriers.
A single BH3 hydraulic catapult was fitted on the forward part of the flight deck to launch 20,000-pound aircraft at 56 knots (104 km/h; 64 mph); lighter aircraft could be launched at a maximum speed of 66 knots (122 km/h; 76 mph). The ships were equipped with two lifts on the centreline, the forward of which measured 45 by 33 feet (13.7 by 10. ...