:: wikimiki.org ::
| Flight Deck |
Flight deck, a light V/STOL aircraft carrier on a joint patrol]]
aircraft carrier
See Also: Aircraft Cockpit and Aircraft Carrier
The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea.
In early carriers, the flight deck was a sort of long flat superstructure built above the rest of the ship; this was both a relatively simple addition to make, and offered a little extra room for airplanes strugging to gain altitude after taking off. These decks were made of wood and would occasionally include a small ramp at one end to aid in take-off. Ships of this type were still being built into the late 40s, in the form of the US Navy's Essex and Ticonderoga class carriers. The earliest carriers were converted merchant ships, fleet colliers or cruisers, especially battlecruisers that otherwise would have had to have been discarded under the Washington and London Treaties (although because the military effectiveness of aircraft carriers was then unknown, these ships were typically equipped with cruiser-grade guns to aid in their defense if surprised by enemy warships).
Landing an aircraft on an aircraft carrier was made possible through the use of arresting cables installed on the flight deck and a tailhook installed on the aircraft. Early carriers had a very large number of arresting cables or "wires". Current U.S. Navy carriers have three or four steel cables stretched across the deck at 20-foot (6 meter) intervals which bring a plane, traveling at 150 miles per hour (240 kilometers per hour), to a complete stop in about 320 feet (98 meters). The cables are set to stop each aircraft at the same place on the deck, regardless of the size or weight of the plane.
Early carriers were vulnerable to fire on deck, particularly during refueling. After refueling, fuel lines in the deck would be purged with exhaust gasses to reduce the vulnerability to fire.
Later the flight deck was designed into the carrier hull, becoming a structural element (a move necessitated by the ever-increasing size of the ships, from the 13,000 ton USS Langley (CV-1) in 1922 to over a hundred thousand tons in the latest Nimitz-class carriers), and later still, were made of steel. Aircraft are given extra speed to assist take-offs by catapults.
Another innovation was the angled flight deck, in which the aft part of the deck is widened and a separate runway positioned at an angle. This increases the safety of landings by allowing a plane that "bolters", or misses the arresting gear, to become airborn again without concern for aircraft parked forward. The angle deck also allows the ship to conduct concurrent launch and recovery operations.
A more recent innovation is the "ski jump" deck, which is curved upwards at its forward end, helping aircraft clear the waves more quickly.
On smaller Navy and naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopters and other VTOL aircraft is also referred to as the flight deck. These ships are often referred to as "aviation capable ships" (this is the official U.S. Navy term).
----
Flight deck is also a cartoon by Peter Waldner.
Category:Naval Aviation
Cockpit
A cockpit was originally a pit used for cockfighting, where owners would pit fighting birds against each other for the purpose of gambling. In the 16th century, it was used to mean a place of entertainment or frenzied activity. William Shakespeare used the term in Henry V to specifically mean the area around the stage of a theater. In 1759, the English artist William Hogarth produced a satirical print called The Cockpit showing the enthusiasm of the gamblers during a cockfight. The word "cockpit" came to be used for any area that was the scene of grisly fighting. Belgium is sometimes known as the "Cockpit of Europe."
The word cockpit also came to be used for any small enclosed area. On Royal Navy warships in the 17th and 18th century, the area where junior officers were stationed became known as the cockpit. This lead to the word being used to refer to the area towards the stern of a small decked vessel that houses the rudder controls. This use of the word cockpit in regard to the pilot's compartment in an aircraft first appeared in 1914 and from about 1935 cockpit also came to be used informally to refer to the driver's seat of a car, especially a high performance one.
The cockpit of an aircraft is generally found towards the nose or front of the fuselage, the compartment contains read outs from instrumentation and controls which the pilot uses to fly the aircraft. In most aircraft the most important characteristic of the cockpit is that it affords the pilot a clear and unobstructed view above, below and around the aircraft.
In most commercial aircraft, a door separates the cockpit from the passenger compartment(s). After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, measures have been taken by all major airlines to fortify the cockpit against unauthorized access by would-be hijackers.
See also
- Glass cockpit
External links
- [http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?specialsearch=COCKPIT&distinct_entry=true Collection of Cockpit photos]
Category:Vehicles
Category:Aircraft components
ms:Kokpit
ja:操縦席
AircraftAn aircraft is any machine capable of atmospheric flight.
flight. This is a wide-bodied long-haul aircraft]]
Categories and classification
Aircraft fall into two broad categories:
Heavier than air
- Heavier than air aerodynes, including autogyros, helicopters and variants, and conventional fixed-wing aircraft: aeroplanes in Commonwealth English (excluding Canada), airplanes in North American English. Fixed-wing aircraft generally use an internal-combustion engine in the form of a piston engine (with a propeller) or a turbine engine (jet or turboprop), to provide thrust that moves the craft forward through the air. The movement of air over the airfoil produces lift that causes the aircraft to fly. Exceptions are gliders which have no engines and gain their thrust, initially, from winches or tugs and then from gravity and thermal currents. For a glider to maintain its forward speed it must descend in relation to the air (but not necessarily in relation to the ground). Helicopters and autogyros use a spinning rotor (a rotary wing) to provide lift; helicopters also use the rotor to provide thrust. The abbreviation VTOL is applied to aircraft other than helicopters that can take off or land vertically. STOL stands for Short Take Off and Landing. Mainly used internationally.
Lighter than air
STOL
- Lighter than air aerostats: hot air balloons and airships. Aerostats use buoyancy to float in the air in much the same manner as ships float on the water. In particular, these aircraft use a relatively low density gas such as helium, hydrogen or heated air, to displace the air around the craft. The distinction between a balloon and an airship is that an airship has some means of controlling both its forward motion and steering itself, while balloons are carried along with the wind.
Types of aircraft
:See also: List of aircraft
There are several ways to classify aircraft. Below, we describe classifications by design, propulsion and usage.
By design
A first division by design among aircraft is between lighter-than-air, aerostat, and heavier-than-air aircraft, aerodyne.
Examples of lighter-than-air aircraft include non-steerable balloons, such as hot air balloons and gas balloons, and airships (sometimes called dirigible balloons) such as blimps (that have non-rigid construction) and rigid airships that have a rigid frame. The most successful type of rigid airship was the Zeppelin, although there were some accidents such as the Hindenburg Zeppelin which was destroyed in a fire at Lakehurst, NJ, in 1937.
In heavier-than-air aircraft, there are two ways to produce lift: aerodynamic lift and engine lift. In the case of aerodynamic lift, the aircraft is kept in the air by wings or rotors (see aerodynamics). With engine lift, the aircraft defeats gravity by use of vertical thrust greater than its weight.
Examples of engine lift aircraft are rockets, and VTOL aircraft such as the Hawker-Siddeley Harrier.
Among aerodynamically lifted aircraft, most fall in the category of fixed-wing aircraft, where horizontal airfoils produce lift, by profiting from airflow patterns determined by Bernoulli's equation and, to some extent, the Coanda effect.
The forerunner of these type of aircraft is the kite. Kites depend upon the tension between the cord which anchors it to the ground and the force of the wind currents. Much aerodynamic work was done with kites until test aircraft, wind tunnels and now computer modelling programs became available.
In a "conventional" configuration, the lift surfaces are placed in front of a control surface or tailplane. The other configuration is the canard where small horizontal control surfaces are placed forward of the wings, near the nose of the aircraft. Canards are becoming more common as supersonic aerodynamics grows more mature and because the forward surface contributes lift during straight-and-level flight.
The number of lift surfaces varied in the pre-1950 period, as biplanes (two wings) and triplanes (three wings) were numerous in the early days of aviation. Subsequently most aircraft are monoplanes. This is principally an improvement in structures and not aerodynamics.
Other possibilities include the delta-wing, where lift and horizontal control surfaces are often combined, and the flying wing, where there is no separate vertical control surface (e.g. the B-2 Spirit).
A variable geometry ('swing-wing') has also been employed in a few examples of combat aircraft (the F-111, Panavia Tornado, F-14 Tomcat and B-1 Lancer, among others).
The lifting body configuration is where the body itself produce lift. So far the only significant practical application of the lifting body is in the Space Shuttle, but many aircraft generate lift from nothing other than wings alone.
A second category of aerodynamically lifted aircraft are the rotary-wing aircraft. Here, the lift is provided by rotating aerofoils or rotors. The best-known examples are the helicopter, the autogyro and the tiltrotor aircraft (such as the V-22 Osprey). Some craft have reaction-powered rotors with gas jets at the tips but most have one or more lift rotors powered from engine-driven shafts.
A further category might encompass the wing-in-ground-effect types, for example the Russian ekranoplan also nicknamed the "Caspian Sea Monster" and hovercraft; most of the latter employing a skirt and achieving limited ground or water clearance to reduce friction and achieve speeds above those achieved by boats of similar weight.
A recent innovation is a completely new class of aircraft, the fan wing. This uses a fixed wing with a forced airflow produced by cylindrical fans mounted above. It is (2005) in development in the United Kingdom.
And finally the flapping-wing ornithopter is a category of its own. These designs may have potential but are not yet practical.
By propulsion
ornithopter adapted as a floatplane]]
Some types of aircraft, such as the balloon or glider, do not have any propulsion. Balloons drift with the wind, though normally the pilot can control the altitude either by heating the air or by releasing ballast, giving some directional control (since the wind direction changes with altitude). For gliders, takeoff takes place from a high location, or the aircraft is pulled into the air by a ground-based winch or vehicle, or towed aloft by a powered "tug" aircraft. Airships combine a balloon's buoyancy with some kind of propulsion, usually propeller driven.
Until World War II, the internal combustion piston engine was virtually the only type of propulsion used for powered aircraft. (See also: Aircraft engine.) The piston engine is still used in the majority of aircraft produced, since it is efficient at the lower altitudes used by small aircraft, but the radial engine (with the cylinders arranged in a circle around the crankshaft) has largely given way to the horizontally-opposed engine (with the cylinders lined up on two sides of the crankshaft). Water cooled V engines, as used in automobiles, were common in high speed aircraft, until they were replaced by jet and turbine power. Piston engines typically operate using avgas or regular gasoline, though some new ones are being designed to operate on diesel or jet fuel. Piston engines normally become less efficient above 7,000-8,000 ft (2100-2400 m) above sea level because there is less oxygen available for combustion; to solve that problem, some piston engines have mechanically powered compressors (blowers) or turbine-powered turbochargers or turbonormalizers that compress the air before feeding it into the engine; these piston engines can often operate efficiently at 20,000 ft (6100 m) above sea level or higher, altitudes that require the use of supplemental oxygen or cabin pressurisation.
During the forties and especially following the 1973 energy crisis, development work was done on propellers with swept tips or even scimitar-shaped blades for use in high-speed commercial and military transports.
Pressurised aircraft, however, are more likely to use the turbine engine, since it is naturally efficient at higher altitudes and can operate above 40,000 ft. Helicopters also typically use turbine engines. In addition to turbine engines like the turboprop and turbojet, other types of high-altitude, high-performance engines have included the ramjet and the pulse jet. Rocket aircrafts have occasionally been experimented with. They are restricted to rather specialised niches, such as spaceflight, where no oxygen is available for combustion (rockets carry their own oxygen).
By usage
The major distinction in aircraft usage is between military aviation, which includes all uses of aircraft for military purposes (such as combat, patrolling, search and rescue, reconnaissance, transport, and training), and civil aviation, which includes all uses of aircraft for non-military purposes.
Combat aircraft like fighters or bombers represent only a minority of the category. Many civil aircraft have been produced in separate models for military use, such as the civil Douglas DC-3 airliner, which became the military C-47/C-53/R4D transport in the U.S. military and the Dakota in Britain and the Commonwealth. Even the little fabric-covered two-seater Piper J3 Cub had a military version, the L-4 liaison, observation and trainer aircraft. In the past, gliders and balloons have also been used as military aircraft; for example, balloons were used for observation during the American Civil War and World War I, and cargo gliders were used during World War II to land intruding German troops in many European countries in the 1940/42 period, while Allied troops used them in Europe after D-Day .
Combat aircraft themselves, though used a handful of times for reconnaissance and surveillance during the Italo-Turkish War, did not come into widespread use until the Balkan War when first air-dropped bomb was invented and widely used by Bulgarian air force against Turkey. During World War I many types of aircraft were adapted for attacking the ground or enemy vehicles/ships/guns/aircraft, and the first aircraft designed as bombers were born. In order to prevent the enemy from bombing, fighter aircraft were developed to intercept and shoot down enemy aircraft. Tankers were developed after World War II to refuel other aircraft in mid-air, thus increasing their operational range. By the time of the Vietnam War, helicopters had come into widespread military use, especially for transporting and supporting ground troops.
Civil aviation
helicopter]]
Civil aviation includes both scheduled airline flights and general aviation, a catch-all covering other kinds of private and commercial use. The vast majority of flights flown around the world each day belong to the general aviation category, ranging from recreational balloon flying to civilian flight training to business trips to firefighting to medevac flights to cargo transportation on freight aircraft.
Within general aviation, the major distinction is between private flights (where the pilot is not paid for time or expenses) and commercial flights (where the pilot is paid by a customer or employer). Private pilots use aircraft primarily for personal travel, business travel, or recreation. Usually these private pilots own their own aircraft and take out loans from banks or specialized lenders to purchase them. Commercial general aviation pilots use aircraft for a wide range of tasks, such as flight training, pipeline surveying, passenger and freight transport, policing, crop dusting, and medical transport (medevac). Piston-powered propeller aircraft (single-engine or twin-engine) are especially common for both private and commercial general aviation, but even private pilots occasionally own and operate helicopters like the Bell JetRanger or turboprops like the Beechcraft King Air. Business jets are typically flown by commercial pilots, although there is a new generation of small jets arriving soon for private pilots.
Related topics
- List of aircraft by category
- List of aircraft by date and usage category
- List of civil aircraft
- List of helicopter models
- List of military aircraft
- List of World War II jet aircraft
- List of aircraft engines
- List of aircraft engine manufacturers (alphabetical)
- Aerial refuelling
- Aeronautics
- Aircraft carrier
- Aircraft spotting
- Airline call signs
- Airliner
- Air safety
- Aviation
- Contrail
- First flying machine
- Flight controls
- Flight instruments
- Gliding
- Lifting body
- List of early flying machines
- Model aircraft
- Mobile phones on aircraft
- Spacecraft propulsion
- Spacecraft
- Steam aircraft
- Successful aircraft types
- Undercarriage
- Wright brothers
- List of aviation, aerospace and aeronautical terms
External links
History
- [http://www.nasm.si.edu/ Smithsonian Air and Space Museum] - Excellent online collection with a particular focus on history of aircraft and spacecraft
- [http://invention.psychology.msstate.edu/Tale_of_Airplane/taleplane.html Virtual Museum]
- [http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Prehistory/PH-OV.htm Prehistory of Powered Flight]
- [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-468/contents.htm The Evolution of Modern Aircraft (NASA)]
- [http://www.check-six.com Check-Six] - Information on historic aircraft crashes including the X-15 and Flying Wing
- [http://www.anythingplanes.net Aircraft community ]
Information
- [http://www.aircraft-info.net Aircraft-Info.net]
- [http://www.airliners.net/info/ Airliners.net]
- [http://www.HomebuiltAircraft.com HomebuiltAircraft.com]- Information Portal about Homebuilt Aircraft
- [http://www.DefenceTalk.com Airforces ]
- [http://www.challoner.com/aviation/index.html Series of Photo Essays on British Aviation]
- [http://www.usenet-replayer.com/webrings/aviation.html Pictures of Aircraft] published on Usenet
- [http://www.sulman4paf.tk PAF Procedures and Information, Wallpapers, Picture Gallery, Updated News]
Patents
- US[http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=821393.WKU.&OS=PN/821393&RS=PN/821393 821393] -- Flying machine -- O. & W. Wright
Category:Aircraft
Category:Aviation
zh-min-nan:Hui-hêng-ki
ko:항공기
ms:Pesawat udara
ja:航空機
simple:Aircraft
Essex class aircraft carrier
| The USS Essex
The USS Essex in heavy seas |
| Class | The USS Essex |
|---|
| Lead Ship: | Essex (CV-9) |
| Builders: | Newport News Shipbuilding (CV 9-13), Bethlehem Steel Company (CV 16-18), New York Navy Yard (CV 20, 31) |
| Number of Ships: | 15 ordered, 15 laid down, 10 commissioned as Essex ships 5 completed as Ticonderoga class ships |
| Preceded by: | Yorktown-class aircraft carrier |
| Succeeded by: | Ticonderoga-class aircraft carrier
| | General Characteristics |
|---|
| Displacement: | 27,200 tons (27,600 t)/ 34,880 tons (35,440 t) (standard) |
| Armor: | 1.5 in (38 mm) hangar deck, 2.5 to 4 in (64 to 102 mm) belt |
| Length: | 820 ft (250 m) |
| Beam: | 93 ft (28 m) |
| Height: | 147 ft (45 m) |
| Extreme Width: | 147.5 ft |
| Draft: | 23 ft (7.0 m) |
| Speed: | 33 knots (61 km/h) |
| Range: | 15,000 nautical miles (28,000 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h) |
| Patrol Endurance: | 75 days |
| Propulsion: | Westinghouse geared turbines; 8 - Babcock & Wilcox boilers connected to four shafts |
| Performance: | 150,000 horsepower (110 MW) |
| Complement: | 340 Officers/ 2900 Enlisted |
| Armament: | 12 x 5-inch guns |
| Aircraft: | 80-100 planes |
The United States Navy's ten aircraft carriers of the Essex class, with the thirteen directly-related Ticonderoga-class carriers (often these are classified as Essex class vessels and their development was intertwined with the Essex class) and the Oriskany (CV-34), a highly modified sister-ship that was the prototype of the SCB-27 modernization program, constituted the industrial age's largest class of heavy warships. In fact, a total of thirty-two were ordered, with twenty-four actually entering service between 1942 and 1950. Two more were cancelled while under construction and six others before their keels had been laid down.
Overview
The preceding Yorktown class carriers formed the basis from which the Essex class was developed. Intended to carry a larger air group, and unencumbered by the naval limitations treaties then recently-obsolete, USS Essex (CV-9) was over sixty feet longer, nearly ten feet wider in beam and more than a third heavier. A longer, wider flight deck and a deck-edge elevator facilitated more efficient aviation operations, enhancing the ships' offensive and defensive air power. Machinery arrangement and armor protection was greatly improved from previous designs. These features, with the provision of more anti-aircraft guns, gave the ships much-enhanced survivability. In fact, none of the Essex class carriers were lost and two of them, Franklin (CV-13) and Bunker Hill (CV-17), came home under their own power even after being grievously damaged.
US carriers had deck armor, though less than that carried by their British counterparts. The difference was that American ships carried their armor on the hangar floor, designed such that the flight deck and all above it were superstructure. This allowed for larger hangar bays, while their Royal counterparts carried their armor at the flight deck level. The British solution allowed more effective defense from bombs and particularly kamikazes. Later USN carriers would adopt the British approach making the flight deck rather than the hangar deck the strength deck leaving only the island as superstructure.
Their construction greatly accelerated, the Essexes and the first few Ticonderogas formed the backbone of the Navy's mobile air striking power during the climactic years of the Pacific War. With their larger contemporaries of the Midway class, these carriers sustained the Navy's air power through the rest of the 1940s, during the Korean War era and beyond. Even after the arrival of the Forrestal-type "super carriers", the Essex class and its sisters remained vital elements of naval strength. By the mid-1950s, fourteen of them of them had been modernized along the lines of Oriskany (CV-34), with all but one of those being further updated under the SCB-125 program to facilitate operation of high-performance fighters and heavy attack aircraft.
Korean War and subsequent Cold War needs ensured that twenty-two of the twenty-four ships had extensive post-World War II service, all initially with attack air groups. As bigger carriers entered the fleet, seven of the Essex class and eleven Ticonderogas were reassigned to the anti-submarine warfare mission. Unmodernized ships began to leave active service in the late 1950s, but three had about a decade of additional duty as helicopter assault transports for the Marine Corps. The updated units remained active until age and the increasing fleet of supercarriers drove them from the high seas from the late 1960s into the middle 1970s. However, one of the very first of the type, Lexington (CV-16), ran on until 1991 as the Navy's training carrier. She then became a museum, a new role that also employs three of her siblings, Yorktown (CV-10), Intrepid (CV-11), and Hornet (CV-12).
Development
After the abrogation by Japan from disarmament treaties, the U.S. took a realistic look at its naval strength. With the Naval Expansion Act of Congress passed on May 17, 1938, an increase of 40,000 tons in aircraft carriers was authorized. This permitted the building of USS Hornet (CV-8) and USS Essex (CV-9) which was to become the lead ship of its class.
CV-9 was to be the prototype of the 27,000-ton (standard displacement) aircraft carrier, considerably larger than the Enterprise (CV-6) yet smaller than the Saratoga (CV-3). These were to become known as the Essex class carrier, although this classification was latter dropped in the '50’s. On September 9, 1940, eight more of these carriers were ordered and were to become the Hornet (CV-12), Franklin (CV-13), Ticonderoga (CV -14), Randolph (CV-15), Lexington (CV-16), Bunker Hill (CV-17), Wasp (CV-18) and Hancock (CV-19). The last two of the 13 originally programmed CV-9 class aircraft carriers, Bennington (CV-20) and Boxer (CV-21), were ordered on December 15, 1941.
It should be noted that the Lexington, Wasp, Hornet and the Yorktown names were not their originally intended ones, but were used in line with the Navy’s intent to carry on the traditions of the fighting predecessors (ships lost in combat). It should also be noted that of the original 13 ordered "Essex class" ships, several of them, the Ticonderoga (CV-14), Randolph (CV-15), Hancock (CV-19), and Boxer (CV-21) were modified during design and construction and became those of the directly-related Ticonderoga or "long hull" class carriers.
December 15
In drawing up the preliminary design for USS Essex (CV-9), particular attention was directed at the size of both her flight and hangar decks. Aircraft design had come a long way from the comparatively light planes used in carriers during the 1930s. Flight decks now required more takeoff space for the heavier fighters and bombers being developed. Most of the first-line carriers of the pre-war years were equipped with flush deck catapults, but owing to the speed and size of these ships very little catapulting was done—except for experimental purposes.
With the advent of war, airplane weights began to go up as armor and armament got heavier; crew size aboard the planes also increased. By the war’s end in 1945, catapult launchings would become more common under these circumstances with some carrier commanding officers reporting that as much as 40 per cent of launchings were effected by the ships’ catapults.
The hangar area design came in for many design conferences between the naval bureaus. Not only were the supporting structures to the flight deck to carry the increased weight of the landing and parked aircraft, but they were to have sufficient strength to support the storing of spare fuselages and parts (50 per cent of each plane type aboard) under the flight deck and still provide adequate working space for the men using the area below.
A startling innovation in the Essex (CV-9) was a port side deck edge elevator in addition to two inboard elevators. Earlier, experiments with a ramp arrangement between the hangar and flight decks, up which aircraft were hauled by crane proved too slow. The Naval Bureau of Ships and the Chief Engineer of A.B.C. Elevator Co., designed the engine for the side elevator. Essentially, it was a standard elevator, 60 by 34 ft (18 by 10 m) in platform surface, which traveled vertically on the port side of the ship. The design was a huge success which greatly improved flight deck operations over carriers prior to the Essex.
Since there was no large hole in the flight deck when the elevator is in the ‘down’ position, a critical factor if the elevator were to ever become inoperable during combat operations, the development of the side elevator was a significant improvement in flight operations. Its new position made it easier to continue normal operations on deck, irrespective of the position of the elevator. The elevator also increased the effective deck space when it was in the ‘up’ position by providing additional parking room outside the normal contours of the flight deck, and increased the effective area on the hangar deck by the absence of elevator pits. In addition its machinery was less complex than the two inboard elevators, requiring about 20 percent fewer man-hours of maintenance.
Ongoing improvements to the class were made, particularly with regards to the ventilation system, lighting systems and the trash burner design and implementation.
Nineteen more Essex class ships were ordered or scheduled, starting with ten of them on August 7, 1942. Though only two of the ships, the Bon Homme Richard (CV-31) and the Oriskany (CV-34) where laid down as Essex "short hull" keels. The remainder became the Ticonderoga or "long hull" class ships.
The USS Lexington (CV-16); originally to be laid down as the "Cabot" but was renamed "Lexington" during construction after the Lexington (CV-2) was lost in the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942, was commissioned on February 17, 1943, followed by USS Yorktown (CV-10); originally to be named the "Bon Home Richard", but changed after the Yorktown (CV-5), was lost at the Battle of Midway on June 7, 1942, on April 15, the Bunker Hill (CV-17) on May 25, the Intrepid (CV-11) on August 16, the Wasp (CV-18); name changed from "Oriskany" after the Wasp (CV-7) was sunk in September 1942 in the South Pacific while escorting a troop convoy to Guadalcanal, on November 24, and the Hornet (CV 12); name changed from "Kearsarge" when the Hornet (CV-8) was lost in October 1942 in the Battle of Santa Cruz Islands, on November 29 that year. In 1944, Franklin (CV-13) was commissioned on January 31 and the Bennington (CV-20) on August 6.
In recap, after WW II erupted and until its successful conclusion by Allied forces, the U.S. Navy ordered 32 aircraft carriers of the Essex and the related Ticonderoga class, of which the keels of 26 were laid down, 24 actually being commissioned.
These carriers had better protecting armor than their predecessors, better facilities for handling ammunition, safer and greater fueling capacity, and more effective damage control equipment.
The tactical employment of U.S. carriers changed as the war progressed. In early operations, through 1942, the doctrine was to operate singly or in pairs, joining together for the offense and separating when on the defense—the theory being that a separation of carriers under attack not only provided a protective screen for each, but also dispersed the targets and divided the enemy’s attack. Combat experience in those early operations did not bear out the theory and new proposals for tactical deployment were the subject of much discussion.
As the new Essex, Ticonderoga and Independence class carriers became available, tactics changed. Experience taught the wisdom of combined strength. Under attack, the combined anti-aircraft fire of the task group carriers and their screen provided a more effective umbrella of protection against marauding enemy aircraft than was possible when the carriers separated.
When two or more of these task groups supported each other, they constituted a fast carrier task force. Lessons learned from operating the carriers as a single group of six, as two groups of three, and three groups of two, provided the basis for many tactics which later characterized carrier task force operations. With the evolution of the fast carrier task force and its successful employment in future operations.
Armaments
fast carrier task force
"Sunday Punch"
The pride of the carrier known as the "Sunday Punch" was the offensive power of 36 fighters; 36 dive bombers and 18 torpedo planes. Known to the Japanese as the "Whistling Death",the F6F Hellcat would prove to be a plane superior to that of the Japanese Zero. It was twice as powerful as the Zero and could therefore climb higher and fly faster. Due to the increase in power, the Hellcat could carry an enormous amount of firepower. The Hellcat boasted six .50 caliber (~12.7 mm) machine guns with a rate of fire of over 1000 rounds per minute. The SB2C-1 Helldiver, was a dive-bomber with a capacity of 2650 pounds (1,200 kg) of ordnance or one torpedo. Designed solely as a torpedo plane, Avenger (TBF-1) was produced by Grumman Aircraft.
Guns, Radar, & Radios
The defensive plan for the carriers was to use radio and radar in a combined effort to concentrate anti-aircraft fire. The ship boasted seventeen quad-barrel, 40 mm, anti-aircraft guns and 65 single, 20 mm, close-in defense guns. The main defensive weapons were the five-inch guns. With a range of ten miles and a rate of fire of fifteen rounds per minute these guns launched the deadly VT shells. The VT shells, know as the proximity fuzed-shells, would detonate when they came within 70 feet (21 m) of an enemy aircraft. The Essex Class made use of advanced technological and communications equipment. The Mark 4 sweeping radar was installed but could not track incoming low-level intruders and was quickly replaced with the improved Mark 12 radar. The Position Plan Indicator (PPI) radar was used to keep track of ships and enabled a multi-carrier force to maintain a high-speed formation at night or in foul weather. The new navigational tool known as the Dead Reckoning Tracer was also implemented for navigation and tracking of surface ships. The Identification Friend-or-Foe (IFF) was used to identify hostile ships and aircraft especially at night or in adverse weather. The four-channel very high frequency (VHF) radio permitted channel variation in effort to prevent enemy interception of transmissions. A four-channel radio also allowed for simultaneous radio contact with other ships and planes in the taskforce.
The Essex class ships
:(note: The USS Oriskany, though laid down as an Essex class ship, was mothballed during construction and completed as a highly modified Ticonderoga class.)
See also
- Aircraft carrier classes:
- Ticonderoga class
- Yorktown class
- Forrestal class
- List of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy
Category:Ship classes
Category:Essex class aircraft carriers
ja:エセックス級航空母艦
Merchant ship]
Cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship that carries goods and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usually specially designed for the task, being equipped with cranes and other mechanisms to load and unload, and come in all sizes.
Specialized types of cargo vessels include container ships and bulk carriers.
(Technically tankers and supertankers are cargo ships, although they are habitually thought of as a separate category.)
The earliest records of waterborne activity mention the carriage of items for trade;
the evidence of history and archaeology shows the practice to be widespread by the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. The desire to operate trade routes over longer distances and at more seasons of the year motivated improvements in ship design during the Middle Ages.
Before the middle of the 19th century, the incidence of piracy resulted in most cargo ships being armed, sometimes quite heavily, as in the case of the Manila galleons and East Indiamen.
Piracy is still quite common in some of the waters roughly around Asia, most notably in the Malacca Straits, a narrow channel between Indonesia and Singapore / Malaysia. In 2004, the governments of those three nations agreed to provide better protection for the ships passing through the Straits.
While the definitions have become "cross-pollinated" over the years, "cargo" technically refers to the goods carried aboard the ship for hire, while "freight" refers to the compensation the ship receives for carrying the cargo.
Larger cargo ships are generally operated by shipping lines, companies who specialize in the handling of cargo in general. Smaller vessels, such as coasters and tramp steamers, are often owned by their operators.
Merchant vessels often carry the designation M/V for "Motor Vessel". It is used as part of a ship's name, such as "M/V Independence", similarly to how "SS" stands for "Steam Ship" in names such as SS Uganda.
Famous cargo ships would include the liberty ships of World War II which were prefabricated all over the USA and then assembled by the coast in an average of 6 weeks and as little as 4 days. These allowed the allies to replace cargo vessels faster that the Kriegsmarine's U-boats could sink them and contributed significantly to the ability of the Allies to keep Britain in the war and build up men and equipment for the D-Day landings.
Sizes of cargo ships
Cargo ships are categorised partly by their capacity and partly by their dimensions (often with reference to the various canals and canal locks through which they can travel). Some common categories include:
- Handymax, carriers of less than 50,000 dwt
- Seawaymax, the largest size which can traverse the St Lawrence Seaway
- Aframax, oil tankers between 75,000 and 115,000 dwt. This is the largest size defined by the average freight rate assessment (AFRA) scheme.
- Suezmax, the largest size which can traverse the Suez Canal
- Panamax, the largest size which can traverse the Panama Canal
- Capesize, vessels larger than Panamax and Suezmax, which must traverse the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn in order to travel between oceans
- VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier), supertankers between 150,000 and 320,000 dwt
- ULCC (Ultra Large Crude Carrier), enormous supertankers between 320,000 and 550,000 dwt
References
- [http://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch3en/conc3en/shipsize.html Vessel size groups]
Category:Ship types
ja:貨物船
CruiserCruiser may refer to one of the following:
- A Navy Cruiser
- A type of motorcycle, see motorcycle.
- A cruiser bicycle.
- A Police cruiser.
Battlecruiser (right), in Malta, 1937. Hood was the largest Battlecruiser ever built.]]
Battlecruisers were large warships of the first half of the 20th century. They evolved from armored cruisers and in terms of ship classification they occupy a grey area between cruisers and battleships. Different nations built to widely different designs. Some battlecruisers were smaller than battleships while others were larger than contemporaneous battleships. The chief similarity was the role specification. They were designed to hunt down and outgun smaller warships (or merchant ships in the case of the pocket battleships), and outrun larger warships that they could not outgun. Originally, to achieve this, they deviated from the standard practice of providing a ship with sufficient armour to protect against its own guns. The weight saving from the reduced armour allowed more powerful engines to be fitted. This idea was mainly conceived by British Admiral Jackie Fisher who believed "speed is the best protection". Fisher's idea centred on battlecruisers operating with the fleet, the intention being that they would hunt down enemy cruiser squadrons and evade the battleships. However, as technology developed design philosophy changed and led to the (upgrade or) creation of a more heavily armoured class with less powerful guns. They were given different labels, but essentially performed the same task.
First Battlecruisers
Jackie Fisher
The first battlecruisers were the Royal Navy's Inflexible, Invincible and Indomitable, all completed in 1908. They had armour 6 or 7 inches (150 to 180 mm) thick along the side of the hull and over the gunhouses, whereas a comparable battleship of the period had armour 11 or 12 inches (280 to 300 mm) thick. Originally thought of as simply a new type of armored cruiser (their armour was the same as that of the older armored cruisers'), they were then designated "dreadnought cruisers," and finally battle cruisers. These early ships had a top speed of 26 knots (48 km/h) compared to 20 to 21 knots (37 to 39 km/h) for contemporary battleships. They were armed with 11 in (German) or 12 in (British) (281 or 305 mm) guns, just like battleships. Soon after the British, the Germans started building their own battlecruisers, the first was Von der Tann of 1911. Von der Tann and most later German battlecruisers had only 11 in (280 mm) guns, but they were better armoured than British battlecruisers of the time.
First World War
Battle of the Falklands
The original battlecruiser concept proved successful at the Battle of the Falkland Islands during World War I when the British battlecruisers Inflexible and Invincible did precisely the job they were intended for when they annihilated a German cruiser squadron commanded by Admiral Maximilian Graf Von Spee in the South Atlantic Ocean.
Battle of Dogger Bank
Maximilian Graf Von Spee.]]
The vulnerability of the battlecruiser began to become apparent at the Battle of Dogger Bank, during which the German flagship Seydlitz escaped destruction only by emergency flooding of her after magazines. The Germans learnt the lesson of the near-disaster and instituted improved protection in time for the Battle of Jutland. The British remained unaware of the weakness, to their great misfortune at the Battle of Jutland.
Battle of Jutland
At the Battle of Jutland 18 months later, however, some of the British battlecruisers were employed as fleet units and engaged German battlecruisers and battleships before the arrival of the battleships of the British Grand Fleet. The result was a disaster for the Royal Navy's battlecruiser squadrons: HMS Invincible, Queen Mary and Indefatigable exploded with the loss of all but a handful of their crews. The better armoured German battlecruisers fared better although Lützow was damaged and had to be scuttled, and Seydlitz was heavily damaged. No British or German battleship was sunk during the battle apart from the old German pre-dreadnought Pommern.
Inter-war years
Post-war developments
Following the end of the war many navies re-evaluated their ship designs. This led to a number of changes as many nations chose to reduce their battlecruiser fleet following the Washington Naval Arms Limitation Treaty rather than scrap valuable battleships.
British designs
The British had planned 4 fast battleships, the G3 battlecruisers, which were cancelled by the Washington treaty after the war. The Royal Navy de-emphasized battlecruisers in the original sense of the word and all but three were scrapped by the mid-1930s. In the Royal Navy, the term was applied to ships with heavy armour, but that were still capable of speeds in excess of 25 knots. HMS Hood, launched in 1918, was the last British battlecruiser to be completed - however, she was completed with armour that was thought to be capable of resisting her own weapons, the classic measure of a "balanced" battleship. Three disastrously poor battlecruisers (or "large light cruisers," ships armored as light cruisers but armed with battleship guns) were converted into the HMS Furious and Glorious-class aircraft carriers. Renown was modernised significantly between 1936 and 1939.
Japanese Designs
Renown, before conversion to a "fast battleship".]]
- The Imperial Japanese Navy improved the four battlecruisers of the Kongo class by increasing the elevation of the guns to 40 degrees, adding anti-torpedo bulges and additional armour, and building on a "pagoda" mast. The 3,800 tons of additional armour slowed their speed, but between 1933 and 1940 replacement of heavy equipment and an increase in the length of the hull by 26ft (8m) allowed them to get up to 30 knots once again. They were reclassified as "fast battleships".
- The Imperial Japanese Navy scrapped three of the four Amagi class battlecruisers (which were under construction), and converted the fourth, Akagi, into an aircraft carrier in 1927.
US Designs
The United States Navy retasked two battlecruiser hulls as aircraft carriers: USS Lexington and Saratoga were both designed as battlecruisers (the hull designations were originally CC-1 and CC-3) but converted part-way through construction, although this was only considered marginally preferable to scrapping the hulls outright (the remaining four: Constellation, Ranger, Constitution and United States were indeed scrapped). The Lexington class battlecruisers if completed would have been closer in concept to the later fast battleships, being both swift and well-armored without sacrificing firepower. They were planned to be armed with 16" guns and armored against light battleship-caliber weapons; the engines required to propel these vessels at 33 knots (their design speed) made them into fast, flexible and tough aircraft carriers with large growth margins. The heavy use of Saratoga during World War II, however (at one point she and Enterprise were the only carriers in the Pacific), precluded her from having a postwar career: Severe and repeated bomb and torpedo damage took their toll and by 1946 the hull was simply worn out.
Rearmament
As war became more likely nations began to rebuild their forces. At first lip-service was paid to the Treaty of Versailles and the Washington Naval Treaty, but as war became more likely the designs became more ambitious.
German designs
- The German pocket battleships (German:Panzerschiffe - armored ship: Deutschland, Admiral Scheer, and Admiral Graf Spee), built to meet the 10,000 ton displacement limit of the Treaty of Versailles, were another attempt at a battlecruiser-like concept. Rather than construct a lightweight battleship which sacrificed protection in order to attain high speed, the pocket battleships were relatively small vessels with only six 11 inch (280 mm) guns — essentially large heavy cruisers. They attained fairly high speeds of 26 knots (52 km/h), and reasonable protection, while staying close to the displacement limit, by using welded rather than riveted construction, triple main armament turrets, and replacing the normal steam turbine power with a pair of massive 9 cylinder diesel engines driving each propeller shaft. They were later called "heavy cruisers".
- Two more ships were built later in the 1930s, the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, which were considerably more powerful. At 38,900 tons full load they were somewhat larger than the French Dunkerque class and very well armoured. They were designed to carry six 15 inch (380mm) guns, but for various reasons they were stuck with nine 11 inch (280mm) guns instead (it was planned to rearm them during the war, but this plan was abandoned). The Royal Navy categorised them as battlecruisers while the German Navy categorised them as battleships.
French designs
As a response to the German pocket battleships the French decided to built the Dunkerque class in the 1930s. They were labelled "fast battleships" and were armed with 13 inch (330mm) guns arranged in two quadruple turrets located forward. They were considerably larger, faster and more powerfully armed than the ships they were designed to hunt. This last design illustrated inter-war technological developments. The ultimate limit on ship speed was drag from the water displaced (which increases as a cube of speed) rather than weight, so heavier armor slowed World War II battleships by only a couple of knots (4 km/h) over their more lightly armored brethren. Heavy guns mounted on fast and well armoured ships invalidated the concept of the battlecruiser as a ship class in its own right, although the development of the aircraft carrier overshadowed this.
Second World War
Commerce raiding
In the early years of the war the German ships each had a measure of success hunting merchant ships in the Atlantic. The pocket battleships were deployed alone and sank a number of vessels, causing disruption to the trade routes which supplied the UK. They were pursued by the Royal Navy and on one occasion, at the Battle of the River Plate in 1939, the hunter became the hunted. Allied battlecruisers such as Renown, Repulse, Dunkerque and Strasbourg were employed on operations to hunt down the commerce raiding German battlecruisers, but they rarely got close to their targets. The exception was when the Bismarck was sent out as a raider and was intercepted by HMS Hood in May 1941. However, the modern German battleship was not suitable prey for the elderly British battlecruiser and the Bismarck’s 15 inch shells caused a magazine explosion reminiscent of the Battle of Jutland. Only three men survived.
The Gneisenau and the Scharnhorst hunted together and were initially successful at commerce raiding, sinking the British armed merchant cruiser Rawalpindi in 1939. Following repairs from damage during the Norwegian campaign, the two battlecruisers set out commerce raiding once again in 1941 and sank 22 merchant ships. They returned to Brest in northern France but found this port was vulnerable to Royal Air Force attacks and were obliged to return to Germany. They did so in the Channel Dash, a daring and successful run up the English Channel. However, they were both damaged and although Scharnhorst was repaired, Gneisenau was damaged again in RAF bombing raids and was eventually disarmed and sunk as a blockship. Scharnhorst was employed once more to attack commerce and attempted to raid the Arctic convoys in December 1943. However, she was cornered by the battleship HMS Duke of York at the Battle of North Cape and sunk on 26 December 1943.
The use of battlecruisers as commerce raiders was curtailed following an attack by the Admiral Scheer on a convoy guarded by the HMS Jervis Bay, an armed merchant cruiser. It persuaded the British Admiralty that convoys had to be guarded by battleships (or battlecruisers) and subsequently the smaller German ships were forced away from their quarry. Additionally, the air gap over the North Atlantic closed, Huff-Duff (radio triangulation equipment) improved, airborne centimetric radar was introduced and convoys received escort carrier protection. The results of some of these developments were illustrated by the successful defence of convoys at the Battle of the Barents Sea and the Battle of the North Cape.
Norwegian campaign
Battle of the North Cape
The Royal Navy and the Kriegsmarine both deployed battlecruisers during the Norwegian Campaign in April 1940. The Gneisenau and the Scharnhorst both engaged HMS Renown and although they had stronger armour than their counterpart, the British ship could hit them harder and at a longer range. They disengaged after Gneisenau sustained damage.
Later in the campaign they returned and sunk the light aircraft carrier HMS Glorious (a converted battlecruiser herself) and her destroyer escort. One of the destroyers succeeded in damaging the Scharnhorst with a torpedo, and later a submarine did the same to Gneisenau, forcing both ships to spend several months in repair. The pocket battleship Lutzow was similarly damaged by HMS Spearfish during the campaign.
Mediterranean
The French battlecruisers had fled to North Africa following the fall of France. In July 1940 Force H under Admiral James Somerville was ordered to force their surrender or destroy them. The Dunkerque was damaged by shells from HMS Hood at Mers-el-Kebir but escaped to join the Strasbourg at Toulon. Both ships were scuttled on 27 November 1942, although Strasbourg was raised and used by the Italian navy before being sunk again in an air attack on 18 August 1944.
Pacific War
The first battlecruiser to see action in the Pacific War was Repulse when she was sunk near Singapore on December 10 1941 whilst in company with HMS Prince of Wales. She had received a refit to give extra anti-aircraft protection and extra armour between the wars, however despite these additions and her agility, without aerial protection she was unable to avoid the continuous waves of Japanese torpedo bombers indefinitely.
The Japanese Kongo-class "fast battleships" were used extensively as carrier escorts for most of their wartime career. However, in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on 12 November the Hiei was sent out to bombard US positions. She was badly damaged by gunfire from US cruisers and destroyers. She was attacked by US aircraft from Guadacanal’s American held airfield the next day and left to sink north of Savo Island. A few days later on 15 November 1942 Kirishima, engaged the U.S. battleships South Dakota and Washington, and was scuttled following damage from 75 hits inflicted by the Washington. In contrast South Dakota survived 42 hits and was back in operation four months later. The Kongo survived the Battle of Leyte Gulf, but was eventually sunk on 21 November 1944 in the Formosa Strait by three torpedoes from the U.S. submarine Sealion. Haruna was involved in bombardment operations at Guadacanal, the Battle of the Philippine Sea and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. She was attacked by American carrier aircraft of Task Force 38 and B-24 bombers of the United States Army Air Forces while at Kure on 28 July 1945 and sank at her moorings.
New US designs
1945's few "large cruisers"]]
Part way through the war the US built the two Alaska class "large cruisers", Alaska and Guam. They were designed to hunt down the Japanese heavy cruisers. They were built to cruiser standards, with a cruiser-like secondary battery and no torpedo defense system. Their armor was not able to withstand fire from their own caliber of gun. As with the never-completed Lexington-class battlecruisers, the Alaska-class ships were an outgrowth of contemporary American cruiser design, rather than a modification of contemporary American battleships. However, they resembled contemporary battleships in appearance, with the familiar 2-A-1 main battery, massive columnar mast and cluster of 5"/38 DP guns along the sides of the superstructure. The easiest way to tell the Alaska class ships from the battleships was by the dual 5"/38 mount superfiring over the fore and aft main batteries.
Like the contemporary Iowa-class battleships, their speed made them ultimately more useful as carrier escorts and bombardment ships than as the sea combatants they were developed to be (as well as the early and ignominious defeat of the fleets of Japanese heavy cruisers that were their raison d'être). A planned additional four ships of the Alaska class were cancelled after the war.
Along with Renown, the two Alaskas were the only "battlecruisers" to survive the war (not including Turkish Yavuz - ex SMS Goeben, which did not fight during the war).
Cold War Designs
The Soviet Union planed to build several large cruiser classes, that would be a response for Scharnhorst, then Alaska classes in the 1940s and early 1950s, but these plans were abandoned. In Russia, they were called "heavy cruisers" (thyazholyi kreyser).
The first design were project 69 (Kronshtadt) cruisers, with 35,240 tons standard load, 9 guns 305 mm and a speed of 32 knots. Two ships were laid in 1939. In 1940 it was decided to complete them according to the project 69I, with 6 guns 380 mm, bought in Germany, but the German attack on the USSR put an end to these plans and all works were canceled in a favour of more useful ship types, like submarines.
Next design were project 82 (Stalingrad) cruisers, with 36,500 tons standard load (42,300 tons full load), 9 guns 305 mm and a speed of 35 knots. Three ships were laid in 1951-52, but after Stalin's death they were canceled in April 1953. Apart from high costs, the main reason was, that gun-armed ships became obsolete with an advent of guided missiles. Only a central armoured hull section of the first cruiser Stalingrad was launched in 1954 and then used as a target for rockets.
SMS Goeben
The Soviet Kirov class of Raketny Kreyser (Rocket Cruiser), displacing approximately 26,000 tons, is classified as a battlecruiser in the 1996-7 edition of Jane's Fighting Ships, even though in actuality they are very large missile cruisers. Their classification as battlecruisers arises from their displacement, which is roughly equal to that of a World War I battleship, and the fact that they posses more firepower than nearly every other surface ship; however, the Kirov-class lacks the heavy armore that distinguishes battlecruisers from regular cruiser. They are classified as "heavy rocket cruisers" in Russia. There were four members of the class completed, Kirov, Frunze, Kalinin, and Yuri Andropov. As the ships were named after Communist personalities, after the fall of the USSR they were given traditional names of the Imperial Russian Navy, respectively Admiral Ushakov, Admiral Lazarev, Admiral Nakhimov and Petr Velikiy. Due to budget constraints three members of this class have been decomissioned, although one is reportedly still running off parts cannibalised from the other three ships.
Problems with the idea
In practice, battlecruisers rarely saw the type of independent action for which they were designed. In most cases, the temptation to add extra big guns to the main fleet proved hard to resist, and battlecruiser squadrons were added to the line of battle — a role for which they were not designed and which exposed them to great risk. It was found that their speed was not sufficient to protect them from the battleships' guns, particularly when asked to sail in the line. The increase in gunnery technology was so swift in the years following 1905, that there was a blurring of the distinction between the battleship and battlecruiser. At Jutland the guns on Beatty's flagship, HMS Lion were 13.5 inch, which was larger than most German and many British battleships. However, the armour on a battlecruiser remained that of (or slightly more than) a normal cruiser. Thus the ships could give a lot more than they could take. They became increasingly vulnerable to new technology, such as aircraft, and, as a result, during World War II they were almost all destroyed.
Science fiction
In science fiction, the use of the word "battlecruiser" became considerably corrupted. It came to represent a vessel more comparable to the fast battleships of World War II: A large, fast and tough vessel with both high firepower and enough protection to dish out and take considerable amounts of damage. In Star Trek Klingon "battlecruisers" often menaced the Starship Enterprise - which was classified as a "heavy cruiser".
See also
- List of cruisers
- Crossing the T
Further reading
- Bernard Ireland, Tony Gibbons, Jane's Battleships of the 20th Century (HarperCollins, New York, 1996) also covers battlecruisers
- David Miller, The Illustrated Directory of Warships from 1860 to the Present Day (Salamander, London, 2004) ISBN 0-86288-677-5
External links
- [http://www.bobhenneman.info/Homepage.htm ALL THE WORLD'S BATTLECRUISERS]
Category:Ship types
ja:巡洋戦艦
Washington Naval TreatyThe Washington Naval Treaty limited the naval armaments of its five signatories. It was signed by representatives of the United States of America, the British Empire, Japan, France, and Italy in Washington, DC, on February 6 1922. The US Senate advised ratification on March 29 1922; the President of the United States ratified it on June 9 1923; the ratifications were deposited with the Government of the United States on August 17, 1923, and were proclaimed on August 21 1923.
Background
In the aftermath of World War I, the major nations embarked upon large programmes of new capital ships (battleships). The United States had declared an aim to produce a navy "second to none". In the face of recession and the fact that the largest navies were the British and Japanese, who had a mutual defence treaty, that ambition was seen to be unrealistic, even ruinous. The United States initiated a treaty to limit the largest ships in each of the signatory nations.
Terms
After specifying some exceptions for ships in current use and under construction, the treaty limited the total capital ship tonnage of each of the signatories: the United States Navy and the Royal Navy could not exceed 525,000 tons (533,000 t), the French Navy and the Italian Navy were limited to 175,000 tons (178,000 t), and the Japanese Navy to 315,000 tons (320,000 t). No single ship could exceed 35,000 tons (35,560 t), and no ship could carry a gun in excess of 16 inches (406 mm).
The tonnage was defined in the treaty to exclude fuel because Britain argued that their global activities demanded higher fuel loads than other nations and they should not be penalised.
Aircraft carriers were addressed specifically: the total tonnage for carriers of the United States and the British Empire was limited to 135,000 tons (137,000 t); for France and Italy 60,000 tons (61,000 t); and for Japan 81,000 tons (82,000 t). Only two carriers per nation could exceed 27,000 tons (27,400 t), and those two were limited to 33,000 tons (33,500 t) each. The number of large guns carried by an aircraft carrier was sharply limited—it was not legal to put a small aircraft on a battleship and call it an aircraft carrier.
As to fortifications and naval bases, the United States, the British Empire, and Japan agreed to maintain the status quo at the time of the signing. No new fortifications or naval bases could be established, and existing bases and defences could not be improved in the territories and possessions specified. In general, the specified areas allowed construction on the main coasts of the countries, but not on smaller island territories. For example, the United States could build on Hawaii and the Alaskan mainland, but not on the Aleutian Islands. The various navies of the British Empire — considered under the treaty as one entity — were treated similarly and the facilities of the Royal Australian Navy (which had to give up the battlecruiser HMAS Australia) and the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy could be built up by their respective governments, but not the base of Hong Kong. Japan could build on the home islands, but not Formosa.
On December 29 1934, the Japanese government gave notice that it intended to terminate the treaty. Its provisions remained in force until the end of 1936, and it was not renewed.
Effects
In Europe, the Treaty changed planned building programs for most of the signatories. The British gave up their planned N3 battleships and G3 battlecruisers. Almost all of the forces built new designs in the new "heavy cruiser" class, but at the same time few new battleships were built. Instead, extensive conversions were made to existing battleships and battlecruisers, resulting in fleets in World War II that consisted primarily of ships laid-down before World War I. The United States built no new battleships until the keel of North Carolina was laid in October 1937 — a span of nearly 20 years.
A number of attempts were made to build new battleship designs within the Treaty limitations. The need to increase armor and firepower while keeping weight under the Washington limit resulted in experimental new designs like the British Nelson-class (based in part on the G3 design) and the French Richelieu.
In general ship effectiveness is related to speed, armor and armament. Weight is related to ship length which permits higher speeds. Each nation used a different approach to circumvent the treaties. The US used high strength boilers for higher speeds in a smaller ship. Germany used high strength steels for better armor and lower weight. Britain designed ships that could have armor added after a war began, and in the case of HMS Rodney and HMS Nelson used waterfilled "fuel tanks" as armour. Italy simply lied about the tonnage of their ships. Japan withdrew from the treaty in 1936, and continued the building program that they had previously begun, to include placing 18.1 inch (460 mm) guns on battleship Yamato.
Few European forces operated at long ranges from land, and therefore there was little interest in aircraft carrier construction. The Germans, French and Italians did not bother with carriers until WWII was clearly looming, at which point all of them started construction in small numbers. The Royal Navy, tasked with long-range operations the world over, clearly needed carriers and so continued construction. Between 1920 (prior to the treaty) and the start of WWII the British built six new carriers of various one-off classes. The US had six carriers at the start of the war, not including the old CV-1, Langley, as she had been converted to a seaplane carrier (AV-3) in 1936 to allow for the completion of Wasp (CV-7). After the Washington Treaty terminated, the US laid down six new carriers, starting with Hornet (CV-8) (a repeat Yorktown) and Essex (CV-9) (the first of a new class). Japan converted incomplete battleship Kaga and battlecruiser Akagi to aircraft carriers to conform to Washington Naval Treaty. These conversions provided much needed experiences and helped to build future classes of aircraft carriers. Japan had ten carriers at the start of the war.
The effects of the Treaty on the United States could not have been more different. The Treaty, coupled with the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, was a major cause of the United States Navy's conversion from a battleship fleet to a carrier-based force.
The United States was over the limits in capital ships when the treaty was ratified, and had to decommission or disarm several older vessels in order to comply. However, the only aircraft carrier in the US fleet before the treaty was signed was USS Langley (CV-1) (11,500 tons, 11,700 t), a converted collier. Not only did carriers have separate limits, but as an experimental vessel, Langley did not count against the tonnage restrictions. The US Navy thus had a free rein to build carriers.
In the 1920s the Department of the Navy had a low opinion of the concept of naval aviation despite (or perhaps because of) Billy Mitchell's 1921 success in using Army bombers to sink the captured German battleship Ostfriesland. However, to comply with the treaty, two battlecruisers of the Lexington class still under construction, USS Lexington (CC-1) (43,500 tons, 44,200 t) and USS Saratoga (CC-3) (43,500 tons, 44,200 t), had to be disposed of. They were converted into carriers USS Lexington (CV-2) (33,000 tons, 33,500 t) and USS Saratoga (CV-3) (33,000 tons, 33,500 t), although that choice was only slightly preferred over scrapping. However they were also equipped with eight 8-inch guns, the maximum number of that calibre allowed by the treaty for aircraft carriers bigger than 27,000 tons.
In 1931, the United States was still well under the treaty's limit on carriers. USS Ranger (CV-4) (14,500 tons, 14,700 t) was the first US carrier designed as such — no other class of capital ship could be built — and the Navy began incorporating the lessons from those first four carriers into the design of two more. In 1933, Congress passed Franklin Roosevelt's "New Deal" package of legislation, which included nearly $40 million for the two new carriers: Yorktown (CV-5) (19,800 tons, 20,100 t) and Enterprise (CV-6) (19,800 tons, 20,100 t). Still bound by the 135,000 ton (137,000 t) limit, the keel of the final US pre-war Treaty carrier Wasp (CV-7) (14,700 tons, 14,900 t) was laid down on April 1, 1936. The US Carrier Fleet now totaled 135,000 tons (137,000 t) and there it remained until the treaty was terminated by Japan in 1936.
External links
- [http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/pre-war/1922/nav_lim.html The text of the Washington treaty]
Category:Arms control
Category:Naval history
Category:Treaties
Category:1923 in law
ja:ワシントン海軍軍縮条約
London TreatyTreaty of London may refer to:
- Treaty of London, 1359 ceding western France to England, repudiated by the Estates-General in Paris, 19 May 1359
- Treaty of London, 1518 a non aggresion pact between the major European nations.
- Treaty of London, 1604 between England and Spain
- Treaty of London, 1700, also known as the Second Partition Treaty.
- Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814
- Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824
- Treaty of London, 1827 between Britain, France, and Russia for end to Turkish action in Greece
- Treaty of London, 1832 between Britain, France, and Russia creating an independent Kingdom of Greece
- Treaty of London, 1839 guaranteeing the neutrality of Belgium
- Treaty of London, 1864 uniting the Ionian Islands with Greece
- Treaty of London, 1867 guaranteeing the neutrality of Luxembourg
- Treaty of London, 1913 ending the First Balkan War
- Treaty of London, 1915 between the Entente powers and Italy
- Anglo-Irish Treaty, 1921 establishing a semi-independent Irish Free State.
- Treaty of London, 1945 is the legal basis for the Nazi trials
- Treaty of London, 1946 ends British mandate over Transjordan
- Treaty of London, 1949 which created the Council of Europe
See also
- List of treaties
- UK topics
Tailhook:This article is about the aircraft equipment; for the fraternal organization, see Tailhook Association.
Many aircraft that land on aircraft carriers are equipped with a simple piece of equipment called a tailhook. A tailhook is a strong metal bar with one end attached to the aircraft. The other end of the strong metal bar is flattened out, thickened somewhat, and fashioned into a claw-like hook that resembles the human hand when the fingers are two-thirds closed.
Aircraft land on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier at an area located close to the stern of the ship (far from the bow). Three or Four (depending on the class of Carrier) very greasy and very strong thick flexible cables called arresting cables or arrestor wires are positioned in the landing area. When an aircraft lands properly, its tailhook will engage one of the very greasy cables and the cable will transfer the energy of the aircraft to the belowdecks arresting gear engines which will stop the aircraft.
The pilot is capable of raising a tailhook to its inflight position or lowering it for landings. "Hook down" is a phrase spoken by naval aviators. Helicopters and other aircraft that are able to fly vertically are not equipped with tailhooks.
Image:Tail_hook_catched.jpg|
Image:Tail_hook_missed.jpg|
Image:Tail_hook_detail.jpg|
External links
[http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/ships/carriers/ Aircraft carriers of the Navy]
Category:Naval Aviation
Category:Aircraft components
USS Langley (CV-1)
The USS Langley (CV-1/AV-3) was the United States Navy's first aircraft carrier, converted from the collier USS Jupiter (AC-3) in 1920. After conversion from carrier to seaplane tender, she fought in World War II and was sunk by the Japanese.
Collier
The Jupiter's keel was laid down on 18 October 1911 by the Mare Island Naval Shipyard of Vallejo, California. She was launched on 14 August 1912 sponsored by Mrs. Thomas F. Ruhm; and commissioned on 7 April 1913, Commander Joseph M. Reeves in command.
After successfully passing her trials, Jupiter, the first electrically propelled ship of the United States Navy, embarked a United States Marine Corps detachment at San Francisco, California, and reported to the Pacific Fleet at Mazatlán Mexico, 27 April 1914, bolstering U.S. naval strength on the Mexican Pacific coast during the tense days of the Veracruz crisis. She remained on the Pacific coast until she departed for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 10 October. En route the collier steamed through the Panama Canal on Columbus Day, the first vessel to transit it from west to east.
Prior to America's entry into World War I, she cruised the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico attached to the Atlantic Fleet Auxiliary Division. The ship arrived Norfolk, Virginia, on 6 April 1917, and, assigned to NOTS, interrupted her coaling operations by two cargo voyages to France in June 1917 and November 1918. She was back in Norfolk 23 January 1919 whence she sailed for Brest, France, 8 March for coaling duty in European waters to expedite the return of victorious veterans to the United States. Upon reaching Norfolk 17 August, the ship was transferred to the west coast. Her conversion to an aircraft carrier was authorized 11 July 1919, and she sailed to Hampton Roads, Virginia, 12 December where she decommissioned 24 March 1920.
Carrier
Jupiter was converted into the first U.S. aircraft carrier at the Navy Yard, Norfolk, Virginia, for the purpose of conducting experiments in the new idea of seaborne aviation. On 11 April 1920, her name was changed to Langley in honor of Samuel Pierpont Langley, an American astronomer, physicist, aeronautics pioneer and aircraft engineer, and she was given hull classification symbol CV-1. She recommissioned 20 March 1922 with Commander Kenneth Whiting in command.
As the first American aircraft carrier, Langley was the scene of numerous momentous events. On 17 October 1922 Lieutenant Virgil C. Griffin piloted the first plane, a V-E-7-SF, launched from her decks. Though this was not the first time an airplane had taken off from a ship, and though Langley was not the first ship with an installed flight-deck, this one launching was of monumental importance to the modern U.S. Navy. The era of the aircraft carrier was born introducing into the Navy what was to become the vanguard of its forces in the future. With Langley underway nine days later, Lieutenant Commander Godfrey de Courcelles Chevalier made the first landing in an Aeromarine 39B. On 18 November Commander Whiting, at the controls of a PT, was the first aviator to be catapulted from a carrier's deck.
By 15 January 1923 Langley had begun flight operations and tests in the Caribbean Sea for carrier landings. In June she steamed to Washington, DC, to give a demonstration at a flying exhibition before civil and military dignitaries. She arrived Norfolk 13 June and commenced training along the Atlantic coast and Caribbean which carried her through the end of the year. In 1924 Langley participated in more maneuvers and exhibitions, and spent the summer at Norfolk for repairs and alterations, she departed for the west coast late in the year and arrived San Diego, California, on 29 November to join the Pacific Battle Fleet. For the next twelve years she operated off the California coast and Hawaii engaged in training fleet units, experimentation, pilot training, and tactical-fleet problems.
Seaplane tender
On 25 October 1936 she put into Mare Island Navy Yard, California, for overhaul and conversion to a seaplane tender. Though her career as a carrier had ended, her well-trained pilots proved invaluable to the next two carriers, Lexington (CV-2) and Saratoga (CV-3).
Langley completed conversion 26 February 1937 and was assigned hull classification symbol AV-3 on 11 April. She was assigned to Aircraft Scouting Force and commenced her tending operations out of Seattle, Washington, Sitka, Alaska, Pearl Harbor, and San Diego, California. She departed for a brief deployment with the Atlantic Fleet from 1 February to 10 July 1939, and then steamed to assume her duties with the Pacific fleet at Manila arriving 24 September.
At the outbreak of World War II, Langley was anchored off Cavite, Philippines. She departed 8 December and proceeded to Balikpapan, Borneo, and Darwin, Australia, where she arrived 1 January 1942. Until 11 January Langley assisted the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in running antisubmarine patrols out of Darwin. She was then assigned to American-British-Dutch-Australian forces assembling in Indonesia to challenge the Japanese thrust in that direction. She departed Fremantle, Australia, 22 February in convoy, and left the convoy five days later to deliver thirty two Curtiss P-40s to Tjilatjap, Java.
Early in the morning 27 February, Langley rendezvoused with her antisubmarine screen, destroyers Whipple (DD-217) and Edsall (DD-219). At 1140 nine twin-engine enemy bombers attacked her. The first and second Japanese strikes were unsuccessful; but during the third Langley took five hits. Aircraft topside burst into flames, steering was impaired, and the ship took a ten degree list to port. Unable to negotiate the narrow mouth of Tjilatjap Harbor, Langley went dead in the water as inrushing water flooded her engine room. At 1332 the order to abandon ship was passed. The escorting destroyers fired nine four-inch shells and two torpedoes into the old tender to ensure her sinking. She went down about | | |
