Aircraft carrier Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Aircraft carriers are generally the largest ships operated by navies; a Nimitz-class carrier powered by two nuclear reactors and four steam turbines is 1092 ft (333 m) long and costs about $5 billion. The United States has the majority of aircraft carriers with over a dozen in service, and its aircraft carriers are a cornerstone of American military power.
Nine countries maintain aircraft carriers: United States, France, India, Russia, Spain, Brazil, Italy, Thailand, and the United Kingdom. The People's Republic of China's People's Liberation Army Navy possesses the former Soviet aircraft carrier Varyag, but most naval analysts believe that they have no intention to operate it, but instead are using Varyag to learn about carrier operations for a future Chinese aircraft carrier.
Basic configurations
Aircraft carriers have two basic configurations. The most common has a flat top deck that serves as a take-off and landing area for aircraft. A steam-powered catapult, accelerates an aircraft under full throttle, from 0 to 165 mph (265 km/h) in 2 seconds during take-off to help it reach take-off speed. To land on the carrier, incoming aircraft moving at 150 mph (240 km/h) are equipped with tailhooks to engage one of up to four arresting cables stretched across the deck, stopping the aircraft within 320 feet (100 m) after engaging a cable.
The second and more recent configuration, developed for the Royal Navy, has a 'ski-jump' at one end of the flat deck, that helps launch the aircraft. This arrangement is designed for use with VTOL or STOVL aircraft that are able to take off and land with little or no forward movement. These aircraft do not require catapult facilities or arrestor cables to be deployed across the flight deck.
In either case the ship steams at up to 35 knots (64 km/h) straight into the wind during take-off and landing operations in order to increase the apparent wind speed, thereby reducing the required speed of the aircraft relative to the ship.
Basic types
There are several basic types of aircraft carriers, some of which are obsolete:
Aircraft carriers are generally accompanied by a number of other ships, to provide protection for the relatively unwieldy carrier, to carry supplies, and to provide additional offensive capabilities. This is often termed a battle group or carrier group, sometimes a carrier battle group.
Cruisers and capital ships of the inter-war years often carried a catapult launched seaplane for reconnaissance. It was launched by a catapult and recovered by crane from the water after landing. These were mostly removed during World War II.
Many modern warships have helicopter landing capability and helicopter assault ships represent a new form of aircraft carriers.
Eugene Ely was the first pilot launch from a stationary ship in November 1910. He took off from the US cruiser USS Birmingham at Hampton Roads, Virginia and landed nearby on Willoughby Spit after some five minutes in the air. On January 18, 1911 he became the first pilot to land on a stationary ship. He took of from the Tanforan racetrack and landed on the USS Pennsylvania anchored on the San Francisco waterfront.
Commander Charles Samson, RN, became the first airman to take off from a moving warship on May 2 1912 He took off in a Shorts S27 from the battleship HMS Hibernia while she steamed at 10.5 knots (19 km/h) in during the Royal Fleet Review at Weymouth.
The first strike from a carrier against a land target took place on July 19, 1918. Seven Sopwith Camels launched from HMS Furious attacked the German Zeppelin base at Tondern. Several airships and balloons were destroyed.
The first ship to have a full length flat deck was HMS Argus the conversion of which was completed in September 1918.
The first ship to be designed specifically as an aircraft carrier was the Japanese Hosho, commissioned in December 1922, followed by HMS Hermes which was commissioned in July 1923. Hermes' construction actually began earlier but numerous tests and experiments delayed its commission.
Early Japanese carriers had the design feature of having the hangar deck extend forward to become a lower takeoff deck, so that airplanes could take off in more rapid succession.
Aircraft carriers played a significant role in World War II, the most notable of which is considered to be the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Many of the major battles in the Pacific involved aircraft carriers. The battle of Midway where four Japanese carriers were sunk in a surprise attack by planes from three American carriers is often considered the turning point of the war in the Pacific. As a result of this battle, the aircraft carrier replaced the battleship as the dominant naval vessel in the war.
The loss of three major carriers in quick succession in the Pacific led the US Navy to develop the light carrier (CVL) from light cruiser hulls that had already been laid down. These were intended to add fighter squadrons to a task force, and were used in the US Navy only during World War II. The Royal Navy made a similar design which served both them and Commonwealth countries after World War II. Recently, the Australians sold the last of these aircraft carrier to the Chinese to scrap.
Combat experience proved that the British invention of the sealed "hurricane bow" which protected against storms was superior to any other use for very front of the ship, be it machine-guns or a second flight deck. This became standard for British and American carriers. The Japanese carrier Taiho was the first of their ships to incorporate it.
As an emergency stop-gap to protect Atlantic convoys before sufficient escort carriers became available, the British provided air cover using CAM ships and merchant aircraft carriers. CAM ships were merchant vessels equipped with an aircraft, usually a battle-weary Hawker Hurricane, launched by a catapult. Once launched, the aircraft could not land back on the deck and had to ditch in the sea if it was not within range of land.
Merchant aircraft carriers were merchant ships equipped with a flat deck for half a dozen aircraft. They operated with civilian crews, under merchant colors, and carried their normal cargo whilst providing air support for the convoy. As there was no lift or hangar, aircraft maintenance was limited and the aircraft spent the entire trip sitting on the deck.
Escort carriers were built in the US from two basic hull designs: one from a merchant ship, and the other from a slightly larger, slightly faster tanker. Besides defending convoys, these were used to transport aircraft across the ocean. Nevertheless, some participated in the battles to liberate the Philippines, notably the battle off Samar in which six escort carriers and their escorting destroyers briefly took on five Japanese battleships and bluffed them into retreating.
The basic difference in design between the carriers of the US Navy and the Royal Navy was that the latter expected to fight within range of land-based aircraft, so the deck was armor-plated to defend against many more air attacks. As the carriers of the US Navy did not have to have the understructure to support the armor, they could have many more aircraft inside. It was intended that the fighters could destroy enemy aircraft at a greater range on the high seas.
More modern uses of aircraft carriers include the Falklands War, where the United Kingdom was able to win a conflict 8,000 miles (13,000 km) from home in large part due to the use of the carriers HMS Hermes and HMS Invincible.
During the Second World War, aircraft would land on the flight deck parallel to the long axis of the ship's hull. Aircraft which had already landed would be parked on the deck at the bow end of the flight deck. A crash barrier was raised behind them to stop any landing aircraft which overshot the landing area because its landing hook missed the arrestor cables. If this happened, this would often cause serious damage or injury and even, if the crash barrier was not strong enough, to destruction of the parked aircraft too. An important development of the late 1940s was the British invention of the angled deck, where the runway was canted at an angle of a few degrees across the ship.
If an aircraft misses the arrestor cables, the pilot only needs to increase engine power to maximum to get airborne again and will not hit the parked aircraft because the angled deck points out over the sea. The picture of USS Harry S. Truman above shows an angled landing deck.
The modern steam-powered catapult, powered by steam from the ship's boilers, was invented by Commander C C Mitchell RNVR. It was widely adopted following trials on HMS Perseus between 1950 and 1952 which showed it to be more powerful and reliable than the compressed air catapults which had been introduced in the 1930s. As now only nuclear powered carriers have boilers as part of their motive power system, the majority of aircraft carriers are now equipped with steam generating plant solely to power the catapults.
A third British invention was the glide-slope indicator. This was a gyroscopically-controlled lamp on the port side of the deck which would send a beam to the aviator who was about to land, indicating to him whether he was too high or too low or at the wrong angle of attack. It also took into account the effect of the waves on the flight deck. This also helped at night. The device became necessary as the landing speed of aircraft increased.
The US Navy prematurely attempted to become a strategic nuclear force with the project to build the United States, termed CVA, with the "A" signifying "atomic". This ship would have carried twin-propeller bombers, each of which could each carry an atomic bomb. The project was cancelled, and the letter "A" was re-cycled to mean "attack." But this only delayed the growth of carriers.
The US has also made use of carriers in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and to protect its interests in the Pacific. Most recently, the 2003 invasion of Iraq featured US aircraft carriers as the primary base of US air power. Even without the ability to place significant numbers of aircraft in Middle Eastern airbases, the United States was still capable of carrying out significant air attacks thanks to its carriers.
In the early 21st century, worldwide aircraft carriers were capable of carrying about 1250 aircraft. US carriers accounted for over 1000 of these; the second leading country, the United Kingdom fielded over 50 aircraft. The United Kingdom and France are both undergoing a drastic expansion in carrier capability (with a common ship class), but the United States will still maintain a very large lead.
To recognize the qualification and training required for service onboard an aircraft carrier, most of the world's navies issue special badges and patches to denote those who are naval pilots or naval aviation support personnel.
This is an Article on Aircraft carrier. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Aircraft carrier History and Milestones
Genesis
The first flat deck carriers
The Second World War
Post-War Developments
Modern carriers
Badges of Naval Aviation
United States
Aircraft carriers in fiction
See also
External link