The Whale Has Wings Vol 3 - Holding the Barrier
Page 29
HMS Formidable, HMS Victorious, HMS Indefatigable, HMS Implacable
24,500t displacement, speed 32kt ; 16x4.5" guns, 64x40mm, approx 20x20mm. Normal aircraft complement 68
HMS Colossus, HMS Mars, HMS Vengeance, HMS Venerable (sunk April 1940), HMS Glory, HMS Ocean, HMS Edgar, HMS Theseus (renamed HMAS Brisbane), HMAS Melbourne, HMS Unicorn (repair carrier)
13,000t displacement, speed 27kt ; 16x40mm guns, approx 16x20mm. Normal aircraft complement 24 (40 maximum with deck park)
HMS Audacious
32,000t displacement, speed 32kt; 16x4.5" guns, 80x40mm, approx 24 20mm. Normal aircraft complement 100.
United States Navy
USS Saratoga, USS Lexington
39,000t displacement, 34kt; 12x5" guns. Normal aircraft complement (pre-war) 90
USS Ranger
17,500t, speed 29kt ; 8x5" guns, 40x0.5" mg. Normal aircraft complement (pre-war) 75 planes
USS Yorktown, USS Enterprise USS Hornet, USS Ticonderoga
22,000t displacement, 32.5kt ; 8x5" guns, 16x1.1"mg, 24 0.5"mg. Normal aircraft complement (pre-war) 90
USS Wasp
16,000t displacement, 29kt ; 8x5" guns, 16 1.1"mg, 24x0.5"mg. Normal aircraft complement (pre-war) 80
German Kriegsmarine
Graf Zeppelin (sunk 25th April 1941)
28,000t displacement, 35kt ;8x5.9"guns, 16x4.1" guns, 22x37mm cannon, 28x20mm. Normal aircraft complement 40
Imperial Japanese Navy
HMIJS Akagi
41,300t displacement, 31kt ; 6x8" guns, 12x4.7" guns, 28x25mm. Normal aircraft complement 72
HMIJS Kaga
42,500t displacement, 28kt ; 10x8" guns, 10x5" guns, 22x25mm. Normal aircraft complement 81
HMIJS Soryu
19,800t displacement, 34kt ; 12x5" guns, 28x25mm. Normal aircraft complement 63
HMIJS Hiryu
21,900t displacement, 34kt ; 12x5" guns, 31x25mm. Normal aircraft complement 64
HMIJS Shokaku, HMIJS Zuikaku
32,000t displacement, 34kt ; 16x5" guns, 42x25mm. Normal aircraft complement 72
HMIJS Ryuju
10,150t displacement, 29kt ; 12x5" guns, 24mg. Normal aircraft complement 37
HMIJS Chitose, HMIJS Chiyoda
15,300t displacement, 29kt ; 8x5" guns, 30x25mm. Normal aircraft complement 30
HMIJS Zuiho, HMIJS Shoho, HMIJS Taiyo
14,200t displacement, 28kt ; 8x5" guns, 8x25mm. Normal aircraft complement 30
HMIJS Hosho
12,500t displacement, 29kt; 4x5" guns, 8x25mm. Normal aircraft complement 24.
HMIJS Takasaki, HMIJS Tsurigisaki
16,000t displacement, 26kt; 8x5" guns, 8x25mm. Normal aircraft complement 28
Notes :
(1) The displacement is given as a 'normal' displacement. The displacement of a ship varies as it uses fuel and stores, and even the 'normal' displacement is somewhat variable, especially when reported to keep inside treaty limits
(2) The aircraft capacity of a carrier can be quite variable. In addition to the 'complete' aircraft carried, most fleet carriers would also carry a number of replacements, broken down into parts in the hangar which could be used to cover normal operational losses. The US carriers carried the most planes as they used a full deck park - aircraft were held on deck. The RN carriers and the Japanese carriers normally kept all their planes in the hangar, although they could increase the number available by using a deck park if they wished. However there were also practical limitations due to the need to carry the extra flight deck and maintenance crews for a larger aircraft complement.
Irrespective of the number of planes actually carried, carriers were also limited to how many planes they could launch in a single 'strike' due to deck space. During this period in time it was about 30-35 planes, after which planes would have to be brought on deck, armed, fuelled and placed ready for a second strike, a process which usually took around an hour or so (depending on the skill of the carrier crews).
(3) Armament, especially of the light 20mm cannon which tended to be fitted on wherever they could fit, also varied through the War. The numbers given are those deigned in; where major changes were made these are listed with date
(4) Speed. This assumes the ship is in good mechanical condition and with a clean bottom. During wartime service the actual speed was often lower due to the inability to refit the machinery and dock the ship for bottom-cleaning.
Glossary
AA - Anti Aircraft (guns).
AI - Airborne Intercept (radar). A small light radar set capable of being carried on a plane to allow it to intercept another aircraft at night.
ASDIC - what later became known as SONAR, a high-frequency sound system designed to detect a submerged submarine. At this time, rarely usable above 1,500 - 2000 metres.
A/S - Antisubmarine.
ASV - Air to Surface radar, a small airborne set designed to spot ships and, later, smaller objects such as submarines.
Avgas - Aviation Gasoline (fuel), very volatile and very dangerous.
Boom and Zoom - A fighter tactic that consisted of a high speed attack dive (from a superior altitude), - the boom - a slashing attack pass then continuing to dive past, usually pulling up once clear of the target - the zoom. Popular if you wish to avoid a dogfight with the enemy.
CAP - Combat Air Patrol, the act of keeping a number of fighters in the air above the carrier or fleet ready to intercept enemy aircraft.
DB - Dive Bomber, an aircraft designed to deliver a single bomb in a very steep (normally over 70°) dive.
DEI - The Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia.
FAA - Fleet Air Arm, the aeroplanes flown and controlled by the Royal Navy.
FIC - French Indo China, roughly modern Veitnam.
HA - also known as HA(AA), the guns capable of attacking a high-altitude enemy plane. Normally used against high altitude level bombing. While not terribly accurate at this time, the aim was to disrupt the formation of the attackers, making them miss, rather than to shoot them down. Level bombers depended on the 'shotgun' principle of bombing during this period.
Hammer-and-Anvil attack - a type of attack by torpedo planes. Two groups of planes will attack 90° apart, one the 'hammer', the other the 'anvil'. Dodging the torpedoes of one group will put the ship broadside on to the other group. The ideal torpedo attack against a moving ship.
HMS - His Majesties Ship (British); also HMAS - His Majesties Australian Ship, HMCS - His Majesties Canadian Ship, HMNZS - His Majesties New Zealand Ship.
HIMJS - His Imperial Japanese Majesties Ship (Japan).
Kriegsmarine - the German Navy.
LA - Low angle guns, normally those unable to elevate above about 40 degrees, so unable to fire on a plane over the ship. In fact, these guns can be used as anti-aircraft guns, but only on aircraft some distance away (the angle of the aircraft increases as it closes the ship). Usually even less accurate than HA fire, as this type of gun was not usually matched with the control system designed to engage aircraft.
Luftwaffe - the German Air Force.
MN - Marine Nationale, the French navy.
PBY - the designation of the Consolidated Catalina patrol plane in US service.
Pom-pom - the name given in the RN to a fast-firing light AA weapon. Originally firing a 2-pdr shell, then the 40mm shell, given its name due to the sound the multi-barrel version made.
RA - Regia Aeronautica, the Italian Air Force (Italy did not have a separate naval air force).
RAF - the British Air force.
RDF - Radio Direction Finding, an early (British) name for Radar (so named to try and mislead what it actually did).
RN - Royal Navy, the British naval forces. Also the RAN (Australian), RCN (Canadian), and RNZN (New Zealand).
Round down - the aft part of a carrier's flight deck. This was 'rounded down' in a downward curve, which improved the airflow and made it easier for a plane to land. It also reduced the available deck parking area, and so was reduced on British carriers
as larger strikes became more common.
SAP - Semi Armour Piercing.
Shadow factory - A set of factories built in the mid-30's in Britain ready to be used as aircraft factories in war. In fact the need for aircraft due to the expansion of the Luftwaffe meant they were brought into use before the war, and more built. The term 'shadow program' came to be used for anything built in advance of wartime needs, such as the Japanese programme of 'Shadow Carriers', merchant ships built ready for easy conversion into light carriers.
TBR - Torpedo, Bomber, Reconnaissance. A class of plane used by most navies in these three roles. Bombing was normally level bombing with light bombs, although some aircraft like the Swordfish could dive bomb at shallow dive angles.
Twins - or the twins, the two German Battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau.
USS - United States Ship (USA).
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Information on the next book in this series may be found at
http://www.AstroDragon.co.uk/Books/TheWhaleHasWings.htm
Book 4, Midway - The decisive Battle is due for publication in early 2014. This will cover the 'decisive battle' the Japanese Navy has been hoping for, as the carrier fleets of Japan, the USA and the UK battle over the Pacific island of Midway