Carriers in WWII

[Coshy]

In a discussion with my 11 yo nephew the question of carriers in WWII came up. There were some questions I didnt have an answer for. So in an attempt at answering my nephews questions ... I'll put them up here.

Were carriers used in anything other than the Pacific Theater?

I don't come close to being an authority on WWII naval activities, but I cant remember any refrences to carriers other than in the Pacific.

As a follow up ...

Who had/used carriers? Of course the U.S. and Japan, but what about Russia, England, Italy, Germany etc, etc.

What were the major differences between Escort carriers and regular carriers? Did both have the same planes availiable? The same defenses, etc, etc?

Yes, I could Google it, but then I'd have to slog through a bazillion links to find the answers to a few simple, specific questions.

And its been a while since I've started a thread.

[DiabloTX]

Short answer

[Karnak]

Originally posted by Coshy
In a discussion with my 11 yo nephew the question of carriers in WWII came up. There were some questions I didnt have an answer for. So in an attempt at answering my nephews questions ... I'll put them up here.

Were carriers used in anything other than the Pacific Theater?

They were used in the Atlantic and in the Mediterranean theaters as well.  I have heard of some Japanese operations in the Indian Ocean too, but cannot confirm them.

Who had/used carriers? Of course the U.S. and Japan, but what about Russia, England, Italy, Germany etc, etc.

The United States, Japan and United Kingdom were the only operators of aircraft carriers in WWII.  Germany was building one, but it was never finished.  I do not know about Italy or the Soviet Union.

What were the major differences between Escort carriers and regular carriers? Did both have the same planes availiable? The same defenses, etc, etc?

There are many classes of each.  In general Escort Carriers were far slower than Fleet carriers, carried a much smaller complement of aircraft and were lacked any armor protection.  I know the Royal Navy flew F4Us off of Escort Carriers and that the FM2 (exclusively?)was principally used off of Escort carriers.  I believe Japan operated all of its carrier based aircraft off of both Escort and Fleet carriers.  I am not sure if Seafires or Hellcats operated off of Escort carriers.  I am likewise unfamiliar with the defensive armaments of Escort carriers.

[Kev367th]

Didn't the British carriers also have armoured decks?

British escort Carriers carried at least -

Martletts
Swordfish
Sea Hurricane

Don't know about Seafires also.

[DiabloTX]

The Brits did carriers better than the US did at that time: armored decks and enclosed bows.  They also came up with the angled flight deck after the war.

[Kev367th]

Originally posted by DiabloTX
The Brits did carriers better than the US did at that time: armored decks and enclosed bows.  They also came up with the angled flight deck after the war.

Don't forget they also came up with the steam catapult.

[Karnak]

However their complement of aircraft was far, far smaller than that of American or Japanese fleet carriers.

And what is an Aircraft Carrier for?  Carrying aircraft.

The United States and Japan had the most effective carriers in WWII from a war fighting standpoint.

[DiabloTX]

True, but the basic design of the carrier itself was what I was focusing on.

Also the Japanese Carriers, save the Shinano, had smaller complement of aircraft.  And even then, given it's huge size, the Shinano didn't carry a lot.

[Oleg]

I dont remember numbers right now, but only several British carriers had armoured deck.

As far i know, USSR hadnt carriers until 1976.

[Saxman]

I believe the Lexington and Saratoga had armored decks. The Japanese Taijo as well (which is why she blew her sides out after being torpedoed: the heavily armored flight deck largely contained the blast).

[Oldman731]

Originally posted by Karnak
I have heard of some Japanese operations in the Indian Ocean too, but cannot confirm them.

In early 1942, after he finished off everyone else, Nagumo took his fleet down to the Indian Ocean and kicked the Brits around for awhile:

http://ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=7

- oldman

[Zippy41]

Carriers in the Atlantic and Med during the were mostly used for Anti-sub warfare and were mostly Escort carriers. The big Fleet Carriers were assigned to the Pacific to deal with Japan.

[Shifty]

Originally posted by Zippy41
Carriers in the Atlantic and Med during the were mostly used for Anti-sub warfare and were mostly Escort carriers. The big Fleet Carriers were assigned to the Pacific to deal with Japan.

Not quite correct. Both the British and Americans used  Fleet sized carriers in the Med to support landings in N Africa, and Italy. Plus the Royal Navy conducted carrier strikes on Norway against the Tirpitz.

Good source for Royal Navy Carrier Operations

[Puck]

Ranger spent most of the war in the Atlantic hauling army aircraft to exotic places.  A number of CVLs and CVEs were ASW platforms hunting wolfpacks.  By the end of the war Saratoga and Ranger were training carriers operating (mostly) around Perl.

US, Japan, and UK operated carriers.  USSR, Germany, and Italy started carriers but never launched any.  The German flattop was mostly completed, but Hitler wasn't much on surface naval operations.  The USSR and Italian attempts were stillborn.

UK CVs had armored decks; they had much better survivability against Kamikaze attack than the wooden (Douglas fir or Oregon pine) American CVs, but by June of 1944 TF38/58 kept about 15 CVs with assorted CVLs and CVEs for support at any one time.  We had more weight in AIRCRAFT (fully armed and fueled) operating off TF38 during the Battle of the Philippine Sea than the Jutland battle had in ships.  

The CVBs weren't launched until after the war (I think Midway was about a month too late), but we had, as they say, a BOATLOAD of Essex and Ticonderoga class carriers in the water, along with the Big E, hundreds of kilotons of CVLs, and more CVEs than you could count.  I have read one source that had a CV group (including CVL and CVE support, DDs, CL/CAs, and supply shipping) rolling off the ways every month.  I think that's a slight exaggeration, but I know of 5 CVs and a number of CVBs that were canceled, some before they could get the keel laid, after the war.  Conventional wisdom was "Golden Gate in '48".  It wasn't until MUCH later that everyone realized just how expensive Cactus and the whole Solomons campaign was to the Japanese, so we were still cranking out ships for the invasion of Japan.

[B3YT]

don't forget that the brits were the first to land F4U's on a moving flight deck. The USNAF said that it was "unsafe to land the F4U on a carrier due to its long nose and huge prop.