Malta class aircraft carrier

The Malta class aircraft carrier was a British large fleet aircraft carrier design of World War II. Inspired by the strike capability of United States Navy aircraft carriers, the Malta design took onboard several American innovations in hangar design and aircraft operations. Three ships were ordered in 1943 for the Royal Navy. However, design work on the class was not completed before the end of the war, and all three ships were cancelled before construction started.

Design

The Maltas were designed with the strike role in mind, as British carriers in service at the time were unable to field the same quantity of aircraft, or launch and recover them at similar rates, to carriers of the United States Navy. The ships were designed along similar lines to the American Midway-class aircraft carriers, and were to be slightly larger at 897 feet (273 m) in length overall and 115 feet 9 inches (35.28 m) at the beam. It was predicted that each ship would displace 47,350 tonnes at standard load, and 56,800 tonnes at full load, with draughts of 29 feet 6 inches (8.99 m) and 34 feet 6 inches (10.52 m) respectively.^[1] Eight boilers and geared steam turbines would have supplied 200,000 shp (150,000 kW) for propulsion; this was to be distributed to four or five propeller shafts (the thinking was that a fifth, centerline shaft would have been less susceptible to damage from torpedoes).^[1]

There were major design departures from previous British carriers, with an open hangar deck, allowing aircraft to warm up their engines before transferring to the flight deck for launch.^[1] The 897-by-136-foot (273 by 41 m) flight deck allowed multiple aircraft to launch or land simultaneously, and four aircraft lifts (two on the centereline, and two on the deck edges) aided the rapid movement of aircraft around the flight deck.^[1] Sixteen arrestor cables would have been capable of catching landing aircraft up to 20,000 pounds (9,100 kg) in weight, at speeds of up to 75 knots (139 km/h; 86 mph), while the two hydraulic aircraft catapults could launch fully laden aircraft at 130 knots (240 km/h; 150 mph).^[2] The armoured flight deck, while seen as a necessity in the context of Japanese kamikaze attacks, was, at 4 inches (100 mm), thinner than other British carriers.^[1] Between the hangar spaces and the deck park, the Malta class design would have been capable of carrying up to 80 aircraft.^[1]

Ordering and cancellation

Although the design was still being finalised, three ships were ordered in July 1943. The design was continually revised until the end of the war, when the order for the ships was suspended.^[1] All were cancelled by the end of 1945, although it is unclear if the lead ship, HMS Malta was laid down before the cancellation.^[2]

Ships in class

There were to be three ships:

HMS Africa was ordered as an Audacious class aircraft carrier|Audacious class]] carrier from Fairfield, Govan in July 1943 but re-ordered as Malta Class in 1944 before being cancelled in October 1945.

Notes

References

• Brown, David K. (2006). Nelson to Vanguard: Warship Design and Development 1923-1945. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1-59114-602-X. 
• Chesneau, Roger, ed (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7. 
• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC 67375475. 
• Friedman, Norman (1988). British Carrier Aviation: The Evolution of the Ships and Their Aircraft. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-054-8. 
• Lenton, H. T. (1998). British & Commonwealth Warships of the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-048-7. 

External links

• Hazegray.org