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The Evolution of the Aircraft Carrier - up to 1918

Re The Hosho, I just consulted The Aircraft Carrier Story 1908 - 1945 by Guy Robbins which says:

"Assistance was given to the Japanese in every area, from training to design details for their first carrier. As with the American Langley, it was decided to convert a trails carrier before building the two projected carriers. On 19 December 1919, Hosho (7,470 tons) had been laid down as (contrary to many reports) a tanker.
Launched in November 1921 and fitted out with Britich aid on the lines of the Hermes, she was in fact completed first (December 1922), but was not, as so often claimed, designed from the start as an aircraft carrier. Hosho, flew off and landed her first aircraft on 22 February 1923, only a few months after the Americans' first landing on Langley. Her role was to pioneer flying off and on to decks and deck training, and her equipment included British - type longitudinal arrestor gear."
 
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Re The Hosho, I just consulted The Aircraft Carrier Story 1908 - 1945 by Guy Robbins which says:

"Assistance was given to the Japanese in every area, from training to design details for their first carrier. As with the American Langley, it was decided to convert a trails carrier before building the two projected carriers. On 19 December 1919, Hosho (7,470 tons) had been laid down as (contrary to many reports) a tanker.
Launched in November 1921 and fitted out with Britich aid on the lines of the Hermes, she was in fact completed first (December 1922), but was not, as so often claimed, designed from the start as an aircraft carrier. Hosho, flew off and landed her first aircraft on 22 February 1923, only a few months after the Americans' first landing on Langley. Her role was to pioneer flying off and on to decks and deck training, and her equipment included British - type longitudinal arrestor gear."

I too have a copy of Guy Robbins' book. Since this thread was about development up until 1918 I am not sure why developments in the 1920s or during the Second World War are mentioned here.

I think it worth mentioning things that proved to be dead ends as they helped identify things. For example the use of lighters for seaplane launch demonstrated that sailing into the wind aided launch. I am strongly tempted to quote and link to a PhD paper by an Engineering student who was involved in work relating to the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers that was published in March 2018.

The Development Validation, and Integration of Aircraft Carrier Airwakes for Piloted Flight Simulation - Michael Kelly

Chapter 1

1.31 Genesis of Aircraft Carrier Airwake Research

The potential impact of a ship’s turbulent airwake upon naval aviation has been apparent since the earliest days of aircraft operation to ships, from the first successful landings to a moving ship performed by Squadron Commander E.H. Dunning to HMS Furious in August 1917. HMS Furious was a modified battlecruiser, fitted with a 49 metre flight deck over her forecastle, and with the ship superstructure located amidships. During his third landing attempt to the ship, a sudden and unexpected updraft caught Dunning’s port wing, rolling his Sopworth Pup overboard and killing him (Gilbert, 2004). This fatal accident, after just the third successful landing of an aircraft to a moving ship, demonstrated to the Admiralty the critical importance of ship airwake upon flight safety during operation at sea. In light of this incident, it was recommended that a second landing-on flight deck be installed at the aft end of the ship to simplify the landing procedure, with the forward deck used exclusively for take-off. These modifications were completed in 1918, and views of the topside arrangement of HMS Furious after the refit can be seen in Fig 5.

Despite the modifications to HMS Furious, landing to the ship remained a hazardous task due to the highly turbulent airwake shedding from the ship’s large superstructure and passing over the flight decks. To address this, aerodynamic experiments were performed by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), who recommended that Furious be converted to a full-length, flat-deck aircraft carrier; this refit was carried out between June 1921 and September 1925, and can be seen in Fig 6 (Burt, 1993). Two other notable outcomes of the research conducted by the NPL aboard Furious were the first examples of arrestor wires aboard a ship, and the introduction of rounding along the forward and stern edges of the flight deck. This rounding of the flight deck edges was demonstrated during experiments to steady the airflow in the lee of the ship, thus increasing the safety of landing, and can be seen in Fig 6. (Darling, 2009)

The lessons learned from HMS Furious on the negative effects of superstructure aerodynamics upon aircraft landings were applied in HMS Argus, the first full length, flat-deck aircraft carrier, commissioned in 1918. HMS Argus can be seen in Fig 7. As work on Argus was commenced prior to the sea trial lessons gained aboard Furious, Argus was originally intended to have twin islands, located on the port and starboard edges of the ship, and with the flight deck running between them. Additionally, it was intended that the islands would be connected by braces, with the ship’s bridge mounted atop this bracing, at 6.1 metres height above the flight deck. During the design of Argus, further wind tunnel tests were performed at the NPL to determine the effect of this superstructure design upon aircraft during take-off and landing to the ship. Although the twin-island superstructure was found to significantly increase levels of turbulence passing over the flight deck, these findings were largely ignored when they were presented in mid-1917. It was not until the experience of the persistent airwake problems aboard Furious that all superstructure above flight deck level on Argus was deleted, very late in the build of Argus in April 1918. (Friedman, 1988 )

Although HMS Argus was commissioned too late to participate in the First World War, the ship was used extensively by the Royal Navy and the NPL as a test bed for development of future aircraft carrier design and operation. Notably, Argus was fitted with a dummy island and smoke generators as part of aerodynamic design optimisation for HMS Hermes, with Hermes finally commissioned in 1924 having a single island after extensive design changes. It was in this way that aerodynamic investigation of turbulent ship airwake set the template for aircraft carrier designs for the next 90 years, with Hermes, shown in Fig 8, entering service having a hurricane bow, longitudinal arresting gear, two aircraft lifts, and a characteristic island offset to starboard. (Darling, 2009)
 
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I too have a copy of Guy Robbins' book. Since this thread was about development up until 1918 I am not sure why developments in the 1920s or during the Second World War are mentioned here.

I think it worth mentioning things that proved to be dead ends as they helped identify things. For example the use of lighters for seaplane launch demonstrated that sailing into the wind aided launch. I am strongly tempted to quote and link to a PhD paper by an Engineering student who was involved in work relating to the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers that was published in March 2018.

The Development Validation, and Integration of Aircraft Carrier Airwakes for Piloted Flight Simulation - Michael Kelly

Chapter 1

1.31 Genesis of Aircraft Carrier Airwake Research

The potential impact of a ship’s turbulent airwake upon naval aviation has been apparent since the earliest days of aircraft operation to ships, from the first successful landings to a moving ship performed by Squadron Commander E.H. Dunning to HMS Furious in August 1917. HMS Furious was a modified battlecruiser, fitted with a 49 metre flight deck over her forecastle, and with the ship superstructure located amidships. During his third landing attempt to the ship, a sudden and unexpected updraft caught Dunning’s port wing, rolling his Sopworth Pup overboard and killing him (Gilbert, 2004). This fatal accident, after just the third successful landing of an aircraft to a moving ship, demonstrated to the Admiralty the critical importance of ship airwake upon flight safety during operation at sea. In light of this incident, it was recommended that a second landing-on flight deck be installed at the aft end of the ship to simplify the landing procedure, with the forward deck used exclusively for take-off. These modifications were completed in 1918, and views of the topside arrangement of HMS Furious after the refit can be seen in Fig 5.

Despite the modifications to HMS Furious, landing to the ship remained a hazardous task due to the highly turbulent airwake shedding from the ship’s large superstructure and passing over the flight decks. To address this, aerodynamic experiments were performed by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), who recommended that Furious be converted to a full-length, flat-deck aircraft carrier; this refit was carried out between June 1921 and September 1925, and can be seen in Fig 6 (Burt, 1993). Two other notable outcomes of the research conducted by the NPL aboard Furious were the first examples of arrestor wires aboard a ship, and the introduction of rounding along the forward and stern edges of the flight deck. This rounding of the flight deck edges was demonstrated during experiments to steady the airflow in the lee of the ship, thus increasing the safety of landing, and can be seen in Fig 6. (Darling, 2009)

The lessons learned from HMS Furious on the negative effects of superstructure aerodynamics upon aircraft landings were applied in HMS Argus, the first full length, flat-deck aircraft carrier, commissioned in 1918. HMS Argus can be seen in Fig 7. As work on Argus was commenced prior to the sea trial lessons gained aboard Furious, Argus was originally intended to have twin islands, located on the port and starboard edges of the ship, and with the flight deck running between them. Additionally, it was intended that the islands would be connected by braces, with the ship’s bridge mounted atop this bracing, at 6.1 metres height above the flight deck. During the design of Argus, further wind tunnel tests were performed at the NPL to determine the effect of this superstructure design upon aircraft during take-off and landing to the ship. Although the twin-island superstructure was found to significantly increase levels of turbulence passing over the flight deck, these findings were largely ignored when they were presented in mid-1917. It was not until the experience of the persistent airwake problems aboard Furious that all superstructure above flight deck level on Argus was deleted, very late in the build of Argus in April 1918. (Friedman, 1988 )

Although HMS Argus was commissioned too late to participate in the First World War, the ship was used extensively by the Royal Navy and the NPL as a test bed for development of future aircraft carrier design and operation. Notably, Argus was fitted with a dummy island and smoke generators as part of aerodynamic design optimisation for HMS Hermes, with Hermes finally commissioned in 1924 having a single island after extensive design changes. It was in this way that aerodynamic investigation of turbulent ship airwake set the template for aircraft carrier designs for the next 90 years, with Hermes, shown in Fig 8, entering service having a hurricane bow, longitudinal arresting gear, two aircraft lifts, and a characteristic island offset to starboard. (Darling, 2009)
Thanks for the link, shall read that later.

One aspect of Furious I've never seen an explanation for is the slight change in level of the flight deck. Was it for structural reasons or to loft the aircraft on take off perhaps?
 
I am not entirely sure what you mean. Do you mean the way the ramp sloped from aft to fore?

brit_c195.gif


I assume it was to give the aircraft a rolling start to help get enough speed (plus wind over the bow) for take off.

A similar arrangement was used for the first launch (Shorts S27 from HMS Africa in January 1912):

1616869726638.jpeg


Because putting a ramp over the forward turrets bow made using the guns impossible, the Admiralty concluded that it would be better to use seaplanes. If was the need for rapid launch to deal with the Zeppelin that resulted in the resumption of launching for the ship herself.

In under ten years naval aviation evolved:

Launch from battleship, land in sea
Take off in sea, land in sea
Take off from cruiser, land in sea
Take off from special ship, land in sea
Take off from ship, land on ship

The information about HMS Africa is from page 2-1 (Rear Admiral RH Burn AFC RN) of the AGARD 509 papers from 1991:

This picture hangs in my office in London and shows HMS AFRICA in January 1912 launching a short S27 from a ramp over the bow. I don't know whether this was the first ever ski 3ump launch, but it must certainly have been a very early one. Unfortunately the S27 did not have a vertical landing capability so there was in fact no way of recovering the aircraft and strictly it falls outside my brief for today, but it is astonishing that nearly 80 years ago the Navy was experimenting with these techniques.

Of course, having a full length flight deck (as Argus had) meant the aircraft could accelerate with their own engines for a longer distance.
 
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I am not entirely sure what you mean. Do you mean the way the ramp sloped from aft to fore?

brit_c195.gif


I assume it was to give the aircraft a rolling start to help get enough speed (plus wind over the bow) for take off.

A similar arrangement was used for the first launch (Shorts S27 from HMS Africa in January 1912):

View attachment 560655

Because putting a ramp over the forward turrets bow made using the guns impossible, the Admiralty concluded that it would be better to use seaplanes. If was the need for rapid launch to deal with the Zeppelin that resulted in the resumption of launching for the ship herself.

In under ten years naval aviation evolved:

Launch from battleship, land in sea
Take off in sea, land in sea
Take off from cruiser, land in sea
Take off from special ship, land in sea
Take off from ship, land on ship

The information about HMS Africa is from page 2-1 (Rear Admiral RH Burn AFC RN) of the AGARD 509 papers from 1991:

This picture hangs in my office in London and shows HMS AFRICA in January 1912 launching a short S27 from a ramp over the bow. I don't know whether this was the first ever ski 3ump launch, but it must certainly have been a very early one. Unfortunately the S27 did not have a vertical landing capability so there was in fact no way of recovering the aircraft and strictly it falls outside my brief for today, but it is astonishing that nearly 80 years ago the Navy was experimenting with these techniques.

Of course, having a full length flight deck (as Argus had) meant the aircraft could accelerate with their own engines for a longer distance.
The transition can be seen below the arrow in this image. Slightly outside the 1918 cut off of the tread title I know but this is simething I've always wondered about.


Furious.jpg
 
Do you mean the short deck to take off on the bow and the higher and much longer one used for landing? No idea off the top of my head, but I would guess it was due to construction and internal arrangement issues. The hangar was below the landing deck.

The same conversion was done with the sister ships Courageous and Glorious.
 
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You might find this YouTube video interesting:




It covers seaplane carriers, and the early experiments launching aircraft from the bows of a ship, and onto early experiments with HMS Furious and her operations in 1918, and the construction of HMS Argus...

Churchill (as First Lord of the Admiralty) was an early advocate of shipborne aviation.
 
You might find this YouTube video interesting:




It covers seaplane carriers, and the early experiments launching aircraft from the bows of a ship, and onto early experiments with HMS Furious and her operations in 1918, and the construction of HMS Argus...

Churchill (as First Lord of the Admiralty) was an early advocate of shipborne aviation.

Thank-you, it is not only interesting by seems to answer my question about Furious' deck. The upward slope was there to help slow down landing aircraft.
 
Do you mean the short deck to take off on the bow and the higher and much longer one used for landing? No idea off the top of my head, but I would guess it was due to construction and internal arrangement issues. The hangar was below the landing deck.

The same conversion was done with the sister ships Courageous and Glorious.
Taken from the end of the video above this shows the change in flight deck level I was talking about.

Furious.jpg
 
Taken from the end of the video above this shows the change in flight deck level I was talking about.

View attachment 561310

I wonder if that was what wind tunnel experiments at the National Physical Laboratory suggested? I am guessing that there would have been turbulence coming from the lower deck on the bow, so having the majority of the landing deck at a lower level that the front may have helped.

Were her two sister ships the same?

It is amazing to think that as long ago as 1917 and 1918 wind tunnels and models were being used to investigate these type of issues.
 
I wonder if that was what wind tunnel experiments at the National Physical Laboratory suggested? I am guessing that there would have been turbulence coming from the lower deck on the bow, so having the majority of the landing deck at a lower level that the front may have helped.

Were her two sister ships the same?

It is amazing to think that as long ago as 1917 and 1918 wind tunnels and models were being used to investigate these type of issues.
Yes, this is a photo of Glorious, the lines on the flight deck show the change quite clearly.

Glorious.jpg
 
More detail from this paper about The Logistics of British Naval Airpower 1914 - 1945 has more detail:

Aviation and the Grand Fleet

Support for the fleet was an obvious role for naval aviation but was limited as seaplanes could not take off or land on anything but the calm seas. Admiral Jellicoe, Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Fleet wrote to Beatty on 7 August 1915 that for seaplanes: ' ...the chances are about a hundred to one against it being suitable for them to nse from the water. The Grand Fleet's first seaplane earner, HMS Campania, a converted Cunard liner, did not arrive until April 1915 and HMS Manxman, added in 1916, proved to be wholly inadequate: 'The recently joined seaplane carrier "Manxman" has proved to be totally unfit for service with the Battle-Cruiser Fleet owing to her lack of speed. The turning point proved to be the failure at the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916, when Campania was ordered back to Scapa Flow and Engadine, operating with Beatty's battlecruiser force managed only one reconnaissance flight, HMS Argus, the RN's first flush deck carrier was ordered in September 1916 and a month later Jellicoe's requests for kite balloons was finally accepted by the Admiralty." At a meeting between Jellicoe and Rear Admiral Tudor, the Third Sea Lord, in October 1916 the former rejected a suggestion that flying boats could replace seaplanes.

...and...

At the beginning of 1917, Admiral David Beatty, new C-in-C of the Grand Fleet, observed the inadequate air support for the Fleet and requested improvements in the use of seaplane carriers, kite balloons, rigid airships and large seaplanes. Godfrey Paine, the Fifth Sea Lord, ordered that twenty-five per cent of pilots should be utilised for fleet work. To reinforce his air capabilities before the completion of Argus Beatty forced through the conversion of HMS Furious to carry aeroplanes in March, together with merchant ships Pegasus and Nairana as seaplane carriers. The world's first purpose-built carrier, HMS Hermes, was laid down in July 1917. Jellicoe's intervention had led to the a large order of sixty of kite balloons and twenty-four meteorological balloons for Fleet and patrol work." To increase the number of fighters available the anti-Zeppelin role experiments were undertaken to them fighters from the platforms on cruisers, the first successful flight by Flight Commander F.J. Rutland from HMS Yarmouth in June 1917. Turret platforms were developed shortly afterwards enabling the use of aeroplanes from capital ships.
 
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While scanning the photo above I also copied this showing a Fairey Flycatcher taking off from the hangar deck of Glorious passing between a pair of 4.7" guns in the process, one of which can be seen.

Flycatcher.jpg
 
Somewhere in the discussion of the path to developing air craft carriers there ought to be some mention of the Gallipoli campaign. This was the first campaign that depended on naval aviation - and one that showed up the limitations of seaplanes, even in the calm seas of the Med. The fleet also contained the first naval air group, a squadron of seaplance carriers and tenders.
 
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