A Chronological Study of American Fleet Aircraft Carrier Technological Advancements
by
Nolan
Part One: Aircraft Carrier Development from 1922-45
The British launched their first aircraft carrier capable of deck-launching planes in 1918, the HMS Argus[1]. The American and British aircraft carrier engineers did not confer on designs until 1940 -1941[2]. This, however, does not mean that the U.S. did not take inspiration from the British. The USS Langley, which was a converted slow collier, which had a similar towerless silhouette to the HMS Argus (Figure 1(A/B))[3].
[Image pending permission for use]
Figure 1 (A): The HMS Argus with no tower[4].
[Image pending permission for use]
Figure 1 (B): The USS Langley also with no tower[5].
The USS Langley was the first aircraft carrier that the U.S. acquired for their fleet. It was converted from a slow collier, the USS Jupiter, a type of cargo ship, and conversion started in March 1920[6]. The conversion was completed in 1922. The Langley was designed to be a test platform for future aircraft carriers. Its top speed was 14 knots and was too slow to operate effectively in any part of the fleet without severely hindering other US vessels[7]. The aircraft holding area on the USS Langley was completely different than any other carrier that would come after her. The aircraft were held disassembled in the hull and were then re-assembled on deck before flight[8]. The armament on the Langley was four 5in guns offering some protection from surface attack. During her role as an aircraft carrier test bed, her armament was never changed[9]. She was a proof of concept for the U.S. Navy.
The next carrier class in the U.S. Navy was the Lexington Class, which comprised the Lexington and Saratoga (Figure 2)[10]. These were converted from battle cruisers which meant that they could surpass the 23,000 ton limit placed on aircraft carriers in the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922[11]. The Lexington and Saratoga weighed in at 36,000 tons. This was important as it allowed there to be room for a tower for which enabled better aircraft managing and exhaust release. The initial armament was designed to protect against both air and surface attacks. For anti-surface, they were outfitted with “eight 8in guns fitted in four twin gunhouses, two forward on the island and two aft of the stack”[12]. For anti-air protection, 12 single 5in/25 guns were placed in groups of three on the corners of the flight deck[13]. Because both of the carriers were the most powerful in the U.S. Navy’s fleet, there was no time to spare replacing and modifying their armament after Pearl Harbor[14].
[Image pending permission for use]
Figure 2: The USS Lexington, Saratoga and Langley in the foreground[15].
The first class of aircraft carrier to be built as an aircraft carrier from the keel up was the USS Ranger in 1931 (Figure 3)[16]. Because of the Washington Naval Treaty, the eventual size selected for the Ranger was 13,800 tons, 22,200 tons smaller than the Lexington[17]. Some of the Rangers new features included “provision for an island, an open hangar, a gallery deck around the flight deck, and provision for cross-deck catapults mounted on the hangar deck”[18]. Construction began in 1931 and the Ranger was commissioned in 1934. The armoring on the ship was less than adequate with no underwater protection, a single inch of steel on the hanger deck and the internal sub-divisions had inadequate spacing, meaning a single hit could knock out her entire propulsion system[19]. She could carry as many as 72 aircraft and “during the North African invasion, she embarked on-air group of 54 Wildcats and 18 Dauntless”[20]. The Rangers armament changed throughout her life starting with a configuration of 5in guns, two under the flight deck and two aft guns on the hanger deck[21]. Soon it proved unsatisfactory and was changed to two Mark 33 Directors were adopted to control the 5in guns[22]. It was the first U.S. Navy ships to house .50 cal machine guns to defend from dive bombing[23]. She would be the only ship of her class.
[Image pending permission for use]
Figure 3: The USS Ranger with camouflage paint[24].
The Yorktown class was the first “modern US class of carriers and the first designed with the benefit of fleet experience” with the first ship, the Yorktown, being commissioned in 1937 (Figure 4)[25]. Many lessons were learned from the failure of the USS Ranger, such as adding additional armor. At 20,000 tons, the Yorktown had enough space for planes and tonnage for armor against torpedoes and dive bombers. The entire length of the ship was double bottomed, meaning that there were two layers between the ocean and the hull so if there was an initial leak it would not sink immediately. Ships in this class were intended to carry 90 aircraft and had three elevators and two deck catapults to accommodate the planes[26]. The armament was similar to that of the Rangers, with 5in/38 dual-purpose guns controlled by Mark 33 Directors, and 24 .50 cals[27]. A new addition was that of four 1.1 inch quadruple mounts for intermediate to short-range protection[28].
[Image pending permission for use]
Figure 4: The USS Yorktown, a major improvement over the USS Ranger[29].
The last class to be built under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty, the Wasp was “driven solely by the desire to use the remaining 14,700 tons of the US Navy’s treaty carrier allocation”(Figure 5)[30]. These ships were lighter than the Yorktown and were similar to an improved version of the Ranger. Lessons learned with the Ranger meant that it had more armor meaning that there was less space for planes than the Yorktown[31]. The hull was also significantly shorter by 40 feet and could only hold 72 aircraft[32]. The armament was very similar to the Yorktown only with a smaller number of .50 cals[33].
[Image pending permission for use]
Figure 5: The USS Wasp during sea trials[34].
The next class was based off of the more successful Yorktown design with thicker armor and a larger aircraft capacity. The Essex class was 27,100 tons and with 12 5in/38 guns and eight 40mm quadruple mounts on the stern and one on the bow(Figure 6)[35]. In the Essex class there were seventeen ships built as it was after the Washington Naval Treaty and so tonnage was unlimited[36]. Among these is the USS Intrepid. Built in Newport News and the most war torn of all the Essex classes, she was commissioned in 1943 and was decommissioned in 1974 after three tours off of Vietnam[37]. She is now in New York City.
[Image pending permission for use]
Figure 6: The USS Essex which proved to be very resistant against Kamikaze attacks[38].
When commissioned the Intrepid was identical to the Yorktown but was later fitted with more radio masts, radar, and several of the radar and antennas were moved around[39]. In terms of armament her 20mm battery was replaced with 38 single mounts and 19 twin mounts[40].
The last carrier to be designed and built in World War Two (WWII) was the Independence class(Figure 7). This class was a “crash conversion program brought about by wartime expediency”[41]. As the Essex class was not to be delivered until early 1944 the Independence was supposed to “bridge the gap”[42]. With a much smaller displacement of 10,000 tons, and with a tower so small that it is like that of an escort carrier. Escort carriers could often be only up to a third of the displacement of fleet carriers and were used to “close the mid-ocean gap” while protecting convoys[43]. Like the Ranger, the armor was minimal and there was no flight deck protection at all on the Independence classes[44]. The armored flight deck was 2in thick and the main belt of armor around the ship was at most 5in[45]. The Independence class was the only class with armament that was all fully automatic. The ships were originally armed with 5in/38 guns as was standard on carriers but at the officers request was switched to 40mm quadruple mounts[46]. Ships could hold up to 45 planes of which it was designed to carry, 24 F4F Wildcat fighters, 12 Dauntless dive bombers and 9 Avenger Torpedo bombers[47].
[Image pending permission for use]
Figure 7: The USS Independence in July 1943[48].
The use of these small carriers was important to act as a filler until the Essex class could arrive. Without these carriers these would have not been enough carriers for the Pacific theater.
Part 2: Important Carrier Battles and the Impact Technology had on the Results
The Battle of Coral Sea was a critical battle because the “three American carriers at Midway would have faced six Japanese carriers of the type that had devastated Pearl Harbor five months prior, instead of only four — and the Battle of Midway might have ended differently”[49]. “Coral Sea was the world’s first all-carrier battle, and the first sea battle in which neither side could see the other”[50]. At the end of the battle America had lost the “41,000-ton carrier Lexington, while Japan had lost only the 11,000-ton carrier Shoho”[51]. Even though only one carrier was sunk at the Battle of the Coral Sea, two other carriers were so damaged they could not participate at the Battle of Midway[52]. The US Code breakers had deciphered the codes and pieced together where the Japanese were to attack which was critical for the American victory[53].
The Lexington was not present at Pearl Harbor as it was delivering Marine Fighters to Midway Island[54]. Her first combat mission was when she was sent to attack a “newly captured base at Rabaul, New Britain”[55]. There she was discovered by long-range radar before she could launch her fighters. During the ensuing battle, she destroyed 15 out of 17 bombers that attacked her[56]. Her most important mission, along with Yorktown, was in the first carrier versus carrier battle. The Japanese carriers did little damage to the American carriers. Lexington's aircraft sunk the Japanese light carrier Shoho[57]. On the second day of the battle the Japanese accomplished significantly more damage to the American carriers with two torpedo hits on the port side of the Lexington[58]. After both the flames and list were corrected it seemed like the ship would live but after a “massive explosion took place, sparked be leaking gas vapors as a result of aviation gas tanks” the ship was abandoned and was later scuttled by friendly forces[59].
Between the 4-7 of June 1942 the largest carrier battle of WWII would occur at Midway Island[60]. The Commander for the Japanese was Isoroku Yamamoto while the American Commander was Chester Nimitz[61]. There was a large imbalance of forces at Midway as “the Americans had three carriers, eight cruisers and 15 destroyers in two task forces. Yamamoto commanded four large and two medium carriers, eleven battleships with numerous cruisers and destroyers, in addition to the amphibious task force with which he planned to seize Midway”[62]. The one advantage that the Americans did have was that codebreakers had deciphered the Japanese plans to attack Alaska as a diversion while concentrating their actual attack on Midway[63].“Yamamoto's plan was complex. He relied on a submarine-launched air reconnaissance to locate the American carriers at Pearl Harbor and a submarine ambush to sink them as they responded to his attacks”[64].
Because the American Carriers knew what the Japanese were about to do and how they would attack, the Americans could ambush the Japanese. The American attack was planned as “mixing low-level torpedo bombers with high-level dive bombers”[65]. The first wave of planes were torpedo bombers who were shot to pieces by the highly maneuverable zeroes. 47 out of the 51 planes were destroyed[66]. Out of pure luck, a squadron of dive bombers from the USS Enterprise had gotten lost and by chance had found a destroyer that was heading back to join with the Japanese fleet[67]. Because the torpedo planes had just been shot down, the Japanese fighters were out of position and following a “textbook dive bombing run”, two of the Japanese carriers were sunk[68]. Soon after the strike, the commander of the fleet, Nagumo, ordered a hasty attack on the only American carrier that they had located in the duration of the battle, the USS Yorktown[69]. The Yorktown was hit with two torpedoes and three bombs.
At the end of the battle, the Americans had lost one carrier, the Yorktown, while the Japanese had lost 4, the Akagi, Kaga, Hiryū and the Soryū[70]. Before the battle, the Imperial Japanese Navy had the Advantage but after the battle the tables had turned and there was no questioning the American Navy's strength[71].
Another carrier in the Yorktown class was the USS Enterprise. She launched a full-deck attack on Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands totaling 67 aircraft. During the June 1942 Battle of Midway, Enterprise played a key role in the battle. “Dive bombers from the Enterprise were responsible for sinking the Japanese carriers Akagi and Kaga and shared in the destruction of Hiryu”[72]. Later in the war in January 1945 she took part in the first carrier strikes against the Japanese mainland islands[73]. The last damage done to her was in April 1945 when Kamikaze pilots attacked the ships resulting in a large fire[74]. She was sold for scrap in 1958 after a failed attempt to turn her into a memorial in the Pacific[75].
Ranger's career was short lived as she displayed signs of trouble while in heavy seas. In 1942 in North Africa as the only U.S. carrier not assigned to the Pacific. Less than a year later, on British request, she “joined the Royal Navy’s Home Fleet and was assigned to watch for possible movement of German heavy ships”[76]. After her last operation in 1943, she went back to America where she was used as a training ship before being sold for scrap in 1947[77].
The Wasps service was very brief from ferrying P-40’s in Iceland to helping the Royal Navy with an invasion of Madagascar[78]. By late May of 1941 the threat of the Japanese fleet required the Wasp to be shifted to the Pacific fleet[79]. She was lost while refueling aircraft, after being hit by three torpedoes by submarine I-19. With only 35 minutes to abandon ship, 193 men were lost[80]. This clearly demonstrated the danger of using thin armor on aircraft carriers such was seen on the Ranger.
The USS Independence was commissioned in 1943 and was involved in the Marcus Island raid[81]. She remained active until torpedoed in November 1943 near the Gilbert islands after which she missed the first half of 1944. She was then deployed to the Philippines invasion as well as the Leyte Gulf[82].
The U.S. Navy and the Bureau Of Aeronautics (BeuAer) had access to a multitude of technologies but due to the urgency of war most of the more experimental technologies were abandoned. The chief of BeuAer, Rear Admiral John Towers, was reluctant “to support improved concepts”[83]. Many concept ideas such as the flexdeck, which was an idea to eliminate landing gear from aircraft, were scrapped from large fleet carriers because of Towers principals.
Sources
Footnotes
[1]Konstam, Angus. British Aircraft Carriers 1939-45. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2010. 32.
[2]Thomas C. Hone, Norman Friedman and Mark D. Mandeles. Innovation in Carrier Aviation. Newport: Naval War College, 2011. 1.
[3]Konstam. British Aircraft Carriers 1939-45. 6.
[4]Ibid.
[5]Stille, Mark. US Navy Aircraft Carriers 1922-45. Great Britain: Osprey Publishing, 2010. 14.
[6]Ibid., 12.
[7]Ibid., 13.
[8]Ibid.
[9]Ibid.
[10]Ibid., 15.
[11]Ibid.
[12]Ibid., 17.
[13]Ibid.
[14]Ibid.
[15]Ibid., 16.
[16]Ibid., 22.
[17]Ibid.
[18]Ibid.
[19]Ibid.
[20]Ibid., 23.
[21]Ibid., 24.
[22]Ibid.
[23]Ibid.
[24]Ibid., 23
[25]Ibid., 34.
[26]Ibid., 35.
[27]Ibid.
[28]Ibid., 36.
[29]Ibid., 26.
[30]Ibid., 41.
[31]Ibid., 42.
[32]Ibid.
[33]Ibid.
[34] Ibid., 41
[35]Stille, Mark.US Navy Aircraft Carriers 1942-45. Great Britain: Osprey Publishing, 2007. 14.
[36]Ibid.
[37]Ibid., 21.
[38]Ibid., 15.
[39]Ibid., 21.
[40]Ibid.
[41]Ibid., 36.
[42]Ibid., 42.
[43]Barlow, Jeffery. “The Navy's Escort Carrier Offensive.” U.S. Naval Institute. https://www.usni.org/magazines/navalhistory/2013-11/navys-escort-carrier-offensive
[44]Stille, Mark. US Navy Aircraft Carriers 1942-45. 37.
[45]Ibid.
[46]Ibid.
[47]Ibid., 38-39.
[48]Ibid.
[49]Panko, Raymond R.“Battle of the Coral Sea” Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum. https://www.usni.org/magazines/navalhistory/2013-11/navys-escort-carrier-offensive
[50]Ibid.
[51]Ibid.
[52]Ibid.
[53]Ibid.
[54]Stille, Mark. US Navy Aircraft Carriers 1922-45. 19.
[55]Ibid.
[56]Ibid.
[57]Ibid., 20.
[58]Ibid.
[59]Ibid.
[60]Lambert, Andrew “The Battle of Midway” BBC History. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/battle_midway_01.shtml
[61]Ibid.
[62]Ibid.
[63]Ibid.
[64]Ibid.
[65]Ibid.
[66]Ibid.
[67]Ibid.
[68]Ibid.
[69]Ibid.
[70]Ibid.
[71]Ibid.
[72]Stille, Mark. US Navy Aircraft Carriers 1922-45. 38.
[73]Ibid.
[74]Ibid.
[75]Ibid.
[76]Ibid.
[77]Ibid.
[78]Ibid., 43.
[79]Ibid.
[80]Ibid., 44.
[81]Stille, Mark. US Navy Aircraft Carriers 1942-45. 39.
[82]Ibid.
[83]Thomas C. Hone, Norman Friedman and Mark D. Mandeles. Innovation in Carrier Aviation. 17.
The British launched their first aircraft carrier capable of deck-launching planes in 1918, the HMS Argus[1]. The American and British aircraft carrier engineers did not confer on designs until 1940 -1941[2]. This, however, does not mean that the U.S. did not take inspiration from the British. The USS Langley, which was a converted slow collier, which had a similar towerless silhouette to the HMS Argus (Figure 1(A/B))[3].
[Image pending permission for use]
Figure 1 (A): The HMS Argus with no tower[4].
[Image pending permission for use]
Figure 1 (B): The USS Langley also with no tower[5].
The USS Langley was the first aircraft carrier that the U.S. acquired for their fleet. It was converted from a slow collier, the USS Jupiter, a type of cargo ship, and conversion started in March 1920[6]. The conversion was completed in 1922. The Langley was designed to be a test platform for future aircraft carriers. Its top speed was 14 knots and was too slow to operate effectively in any part of the fleet without severely hindering other US vessels[7]. The aircraft holding area on the USS Langley was completely different than any other carrier that would come after her. The aircraft were held disassembled in the hull and were then re-assembled on deck before flight[8]. The armament on the Langley was four 5in guns offering some protection from surface attack. During her role as an aircraft carrier test bed, her armament was never changed[9]. She was a proof of concept for the U.S. Navy.
The next carrier class in the U.S. Navy was the Lexington Class, which comprised the Lexington and Saratoga (Figure 2)[10]. These were converted from battle cruisers which meant that they could surpass the 23,000 ton limit placed on aircraft carriers in the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922[11]. The Lexington and Saratoga weighed in at 36,000 tons. This was important as it allowed there to be room for a tower for which enabled better aircraft managing and exhaust release. The initial armament was designed to protect against both air and surface attacks. For anti-surface, they were outfitted with “eight 8in guns fitted in four twin gunhouses, two forward on the island and two aft of the stack”[12]. For anti-air protection, 12 single 5in/25 guns were placed in groups of three on the corners of the flight deck[13]. Because both of the carriers were the most powerful in the U.S. Navy’s fleet, there was no time to spare replacing and modifying their armament after Pearl Harbor[14].
[Image pending permission for use]
Figure 2: The USS Lexington, Saratoga and Langley in the foreground[15].
The first class of aircraft carrier to be built as an aircraft carrier from the keel up was the USS Ranger in 1931 (Figure 3)[16]. Because of the Washington Naval Treaty, the eventual size selected for the Ranger was 13,800 tons, 22,200 tons smaller than the Lexington[17]. Some of the Rangers new features included “provision for an island, an open hangar, a gallery deck around the flight deck, and provision for cross-deck catapults mounted on the hangar deck”[18]. Construction began in 1931 and the Ranger was commissioned in 1934. The armoring on the ship was less than adequate with no underwater protection, a single inch of steel on the hanger deck and the internal sub-divisions had inadequate spacing, meaning a single hit could knock out her entire propulsion system[19]. She could carry as many as 72 aircraft and “during the North African invasion, she embarked on-air group of 54 Wildcats and 18 Dauntless”[20]. The Rangers armament changed throughout her life starting with a configuration of 5in guns, two under the flight deck and two aft guns on the hanger deck[21]. Soon it proved unsatisfactory and was changed to two Mark 33 Directors were adopted to control the 5in guns[22]. It was the first U.S. Navy ships to house .50 cal machine guns to defend from dive bombing[23]. She would be the only ship of her class.
[Image pending permission for use]
Figure 3: The USS Ranger with camouflage paint[24].
The Yorktown class was the first “modern US class of carriers and the first designed with the benefit of fleet experience” with the first ship, the Yorktown, being commissioned in 1937 (Figure 4)[25]. Many lessons were learned from the failure of the USS Ranger, such as adding additional armor. At 20,000 tons, the Yorktown had enough space for planes and tonnage for armor against torpedoes and dive bombers. The entire length of the ship was double bottomed, meaning that there were two layers between the ocean and the hull so if there was an initial leak it would not sink immediately. Ships in this class were intended to carry 90 aircraft and had three elevators and two deck catapults to accommodate the planes[26]. The armament was similar to that of the Rangers, with 5in/38 dual-purpose guns controlled by Mark 33 Directors, and 24 .50 cals[27]. A new addition was that of four 1.1 inch quadruple mounts for intermediate to short-range protection[28].
[Image pending permission for use]
Figure 4: The USS Yorktown, a major improvement over the USS Ranger[29].
The last class to be built under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty, the Wasp was “driven solely by the desire to use the remaining 14,700 tons of the US Navy’s treaty carrier allocation”(Figure 5)[30]. These ships were lighter than the Yorktown and were similar to an improved version of the Ranger. Lessons learned with the Ranger meant that it had more armor meaning that there was less space for planes than the Yorktown[31]. The hull was also significantly shorter by 40 feet and could only hold 72 aircraft[32]. The armament was very similar to the Yorktown only with a smaller number of .50 cals[33].
[Image pending permission for use]
Figure 5: The USS Wasp during sea trials[34].
The next class was based off of the more successful Yorktown design with thicker armor and a larger aircraft capacity. The Essex class was 27,100 tons and with 12 5in/38 guns and eight 40mm quadruple mounts on the stern and one on the bow(Figure 6)[35]. In the Essex class there were seventeen ships built as it was after the Washington Naval Treaty and so tonnage was unlimited[36]. Among these is the USS Intrepid. Built in Newport News and the most war torn of all the Essex classes, she was commissioned in 1943 and was decommissioned in 1974 after three tours off of Vietnam[37]. She is now in New York City.
[Image pending permission for use]
Figure 6: The USS Essex which proved to be very resistant against Kamikaze attacks[38].
When commissioned the Intrepid was identical to the Yorktown but was later fitted with more radio masts, radar, and several of the radar and antennas were moved around[39]. In terms of armament her 20mm battery was replaced with 38 single mounts and 19 twin mounts[40].
The last carrier to be designed and built in World War Two (WWII) was the Independence class(Figure 7). This class was a “crash conversion program brought about by wartime expediency”[41]. As the Essex class was not to be delivered until early 1944 the Independence was supposed to “bridge the gap”[42]. With a much smaller displacement of 10,000 tons, and with a tower so small that it is like that of an escort carrier. Escort carriers could often be only up to a third of the displacement of fleet carriers and were used to “close the mid-ocean gap” while protecting convoys[43]. Like the Ranger, the armor was minimal and there was no flight deck protection at all on the Independence classes[44]. The armored flight deck was 2in thick and the main belt of armor around the ship was at most 5in[45]. The Independence class was the only class with armament that was all fully automatic. The ships were originally armed with 5in/38 guns as was standard on carriers but at the officers request was switched to 40mm quadruple mounts[46]. Ships could hold up to 45 planes of which it was designed to carry, 24 F4F Wildcat fighters, 12 Dauntless dive bombers and 9 Avenger Torpedo bombers[47].
[Image pending permission for use]
Figure 7: The USS Independence in July 1943[48].
The use of these small carriers was important to act as a filler until the Essex class could arrive. Without these carriers these would have not been enough carriers for the Pacific theater.
Part 2: Important Carrier Battles and the Impact Technology had on the Results
The Battle of Coral Sea was a critical battle because the “three American carriers at Midway would have faced six Japanese carriers of the type that had devastated Pearl Harbor five months prior, instead of only four — and the Battle of Midway might have ended differently”[49]. “Coral Sea was the world’s first all-carrier battle, and the first sea battle in which neither side could see the other”[50]. At the end of the battle America had lost the “41,000-ton carrier Lexington, while Japan had lost only the 11,000-ton carrier Shoho”[51]. Even though only one carrier was sunk at the Battle of the Coral Sea, two other carriers were so damaged they could not participate at the Battle of Midway[52]. The US Code breakers had deciphered the codes and pieced together where the Japanese were to attack which was critical for the American victory[53].
The Lexington was not present at Pearl Harbor as it was delivering Marine Fighters to Midway Island[54]. Her first combat mission was when she was sent to attack a “newly captured base at Rabaul, New Britain”[55]. There she was discovered by long-range radar before she could launch her fighters. During the ensuing battle, she destroyed 15 out of 17 bombers that attacked her[56]. Her most important mission, along with Yorktown, was in the first carrier versus carrier battle. The Japanese carriers did little damage to the American carriers. Lexington's aircraft sunk the Japanese light carrier Shoho[57]. On the second day of the battle the Japanese accomplished significantly more damage to the American carriers with two torpedo hits on the port side of the Lexington[58]. After both the flames and list were corrected it seemed like the ship would live but after a “massive explosion took place, sparked be leaking gas vapors as a result of aviation gas tanks” the ship was abandoned and was later scuttled by friendly forces[59].
Between the 4-7 of June 1942 the largest carrier battle of WWII would occur at Midway Island[60]. The Commander for the Japanese was Isoroku Yamamoto while the American Commander was Chester Nimitz[61]. There was a large imbalance of forces at Midway as “the Americans had three carriers, eight cruisers and 15 destroyers in two task forces. Yamamoto commanded four large and two medium carriers, eleven battleships with numerous cruisers and destroyers, in addition to the amphibious task force with which he planned to seize Midway”[62]. The one advantage that the Americans did have was that codebreakers had deciphered the Japanese plans to attack Alaska as a diversion while concentrating their actual attack on Midway[63].“Yamamoto's plan was complex. He relied on a submarine-launched air reconnaissance to locate the American carriers at Pearl Harbor and a submarine ambush to sink them as they responded to his attacks”[64].
Because the American Carriers knew what the Japanese were about to do and how they would attack, the Americans could ambush the Japanese. The American attack was planned as “mixing low-level torpedo bombers with high-level dive bombers”[65]. The first wave of planes were torpedo bombers who were shot to pieces by the highly maneuverable zeroes. 47 out of the 51 planes were destroyed[66]. Out of pure luck, a squadron of dive bombers from the USS Enterprise had gotten lost and by chance had found a destroyer that was heading back to join with the Japanese fleet[67]. Because the torpedo planes had just been shot down, the Japanese fighters were out of position and following a “textbook dive bombing run”, two of the Japanese carriers were sunk[68]. Soon after the strike, the commander of the fleet, Nagumo, ordered a hasty attack on the only American carrier that they had located in the duration of the battle, the USS Yorktown[69]. The Yorktown was hit with two torpedoes and three bombs.
At the end of the battle, the Americans had lost one carrier, the Yorktown, while the Japanese had lost 4, the Akagi, Kaga, Hiryū and the Soryū[70]. Before the battle, the Imperial Japanese Navy had the Advantage but after the battle the tables had turned and there was no questioning the American Navy's strength[71].
Another carrier in the Yorktown class was the USS Enterprise. She launched a full-deck attack on Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands totaling 67 aircraft. During the June 1942 Battle of Midway, Enterprise played a key role in the battle. “Dive bombers from the Enterprise were responsible for sinking the Japanese carriers Akagi and Kaga and shared in the destruction of Hiryu”[72]. Later in the war in January 1945 she took part in the first carrier strikes against the Japanese mainland islands[73]. The last damage done to her was in April 1945 when Kamikaze pilots attacked the ships resulting in a large fire[74]. She was sold for scrap in 1958 after a failed attempt to turn her into a memorial in the Pacific[75].
Ranger's career was short lived as she displayed signs of trouble while in heavy seas. In 1942 in North Africa as the only U.S. carrier not assigned to the Pacific. Less than a year later, on British request, she “joined the Royal Navy’s Home Fleet and was assigned to watch for possible movement of German heavy ships”[76]. After her last operation in 1943, she went back to America where she was used as a training ship before being sold for scrap in 1947[77].
The Wasps service was very brief from ferrying P-40’s in Iceland to helping the Royal Navy with an invasion of Madagascar[78]. By late May of 1941 the threat of the Japanese fleet required the Wasp to be shifted to the Pacific fleet[79]. She was lost while refueling aircraft, after being hit by three torpedoes by submarine I-19. With only 35 minutes to abandon ship, 193 men were lost[80]. This clearly demonstrated the danger of using thin armor on aircraft carriers such was seen on the Ranger.
The USS Independence was commissioned in 1943 and was involved in the Marcus Island raid[81]. She remained active until torpedoed in November 1943 near the Gilbert islands after which she missed the first half of 1944. She was then deployed to the Philippines invasion as well as the Leyte Gulf[82].
The U.S. Navy and the Bureau Of Aeronautics (BeuAer) had access to a multitude of technologies but due to the urgency of war most of the more experimental technologies were abandoned. The chief of BeuAer, Rear Admiral John Towers, was reluctant “to support improved concepts”[83]. Many concept ideas such as the flexdeck, which was an idea to eliminate landing gear from aircraft, were scrapped from large fleet carriers because of Towers principals.
Sources
- Barlow, Jeffery. “The Navy's Escort Carrier Offensive.” U.S. Naval Institute. https://www.usni.org/magazines/navalhistory/2013-11/navys-escort-carrier-offensive
- Konstam, Angus. British Aircraft Carriers 1939-45. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2010.
- Lambert, Andrew “The Battle of Midway” BBC History. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/battle_midway_01.shtml
- Panko, Raymond R.“Battle of the Coral Sea” Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum. https://www.usni.org/magazines/navalhistory/2013-11/navys-escort-carrier-offensive
- Stille, Mark. US Navy Aircraft Carriers 1922-45. Great Britain: Osprey Publishing, 2010.
- Stille, Mark. US Navy Aircraft Carriers 1942-45. Great Britain: Osprey Publishing, 2007.
- Thomas C. Hone, Norman Friedman and Mark D. Mandeles. Innovation in Carrier Aviation. Newport: Naval War College, 2011.
Footnotes
[1]Konstam, Angus. British Aircraft Carriers 1939-45. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2010. 32.
[2]Thomas C. Hone, Norman Friedman and Mark D. Mandeles. Innovation in Carrier Aviation. Newport: Naval War College, 2011. 1.
[3]Konstam. British Aircraft Carriers 1939-45. 6.
[4]Ibid.
[5]Stille, Mark. US Navy Aircraft Carriers 1922-45. Great Britain: Osprey Publishing, 2010. 14.
[6]Ibid., 12.
[7]Ibid., 13.
[8]Ibid.
[9]Ibid.
[10]Ibid., 15.
[11]Ibid.
[12]Ibid., 17.
[13]Ibid.
[14]Ibid.
[15]Ibid., 16.
[16]Ibid., 22.
[17]Ibid.
[18]Ibid.
[19]Ibid.
[20]Ibid., 23.
[21]Ibid., 24.
[22]Ibid.
[23]Ibid.
[24]Ibid., 23
[25]Ibid., 34.
[26]Ibid., 35.
[27]Ibid.
[28]Ibid., 36.
[29]Ibid., 26.
[30]Ibid., 41.
[31]Ibid., 42.
[32]Ibid.
[33]Ibid.
[34] Ibid., 41
[35]Stille, Mark.US Navy Aircraft Carriers 1942-45. Great Britain: Osprey Publishing, 2007. 14.
[36]Ibid.
[37]Ibid., 21.
[38]Ibid., 15.
[39]Ibid., 21.
[40]Ibid.
[41]Ibid., 36.
[42]Ibid., 42.
[43]Barlow, Jeffery. “The Navy's Escort Carrier Offensive.” U.S. Naval Institute. https://www.usni.org/magazines/navalhistory/2013-11/navys-escort-carrier-offensive
[44]Stille, Mark. US Navy Aircraft Carriers 1942-45. 37.
[45]Ibid.
[46]Ibid.
[47]Ibid., 38-39.
[48]Ibid.
[49]Panko, Raymond R.“Battle of the Coral Sea” Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum. https://www.usni.org/magazines/navalhistory/2013-11/navys-escort-carrier-offensive
[50]Ibid.
[51]Ibid.
[52]Ibid.
[53]Ibid.
[54]Stille, Mark. US Navy Aircraft Carriers 1922-45. 19.
[55]Ibid.
[56]Ibid.
[57]Ibid., 20.
[58]Ibid.
[59]Ibid.
[60]Lambert, Andrew “The Battle of Midway” BBC History. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/battle_midway_01.shtml
[61]Ibid.
[62]Ibid.
[63]Ibid.
[64]Ibid.
[65]Ibid.
[66]Ibid.
[67]Ibid.
[68]Ibid.
[69]Ibid.
[70]Ibid.
[71]Ibid.
[72]Stille, Mark. US Navy Aircraft Carriers 1922-45. 38.
[73]Ibid.
[74]Ibid.
[75]Ibid.
[76]Ibid.
[77]Ibid.
[78]Ibid., 43.
[79]Ibid.
[80]Ibid., 44.
[81]Stille, Mark. US Navy Aircraft Carriers 1942-45. 39.
[82]Ibid.
[83]Thomas C. Hone, Norman Friedman and Mark D. Mandeles. Innovation in Carrier Aviation. 17.