HMS Vindictive converted to a Through deck aircraft carrier

[tigercat]

The admiralty decide to convert Vindictive to a proper carrier

How useful would she have been ? How many aircraft could she have carried


Just to give an idea here are the Stats for HMS hermes and the Vindictive

HMS Vindictive
Displacement: 9,394 long tons (9,545 t) (light), 11,500 long tons (11,700 t) (deep load)
Length: 565 ft (172 m) (p.p.)
605 ft (184 m) (o.a.)
Beam: 55 ft (17 m)
Draught: 17 ft 6 in (5.33 m) (mean)
Installed power: 60,000 shp (45,000 kW)
Propulsion: 4 × Parsons geared turbines,
12 × Yarrow boilers,
4 × shafts
Speed: 29.75 kn (34.24 mph; 55.10 km/h)
Range: 5,400 nmi (6,200 mi; 10,000 km) at 14 kn (16 mph; 26 km/h)
Capacity: 1,000 tons oil and coal fuel (normal), 800 tons coal and 1,500 tons oil (m


HMS Hermes

Type: Aircraft carrier
Displacement: 10,850 long tons (11,020 t) standard
13,700 long tons (13,900 t) (deep load)
Length: 600 ft (182.9 m)
Beam: 70 ft 3 in (21.4 m)
Draught: 23 ft 3 in (7.1 m) (deep load)
Installed power: 40,000 shp (30,000 kW)
Propulsion: 2 shafts
2 geared steam turbine sets
6 water-tube boilers
Speed: 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph)
Range: 5,600 nmi (10,400 km; 6,400 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement: 566 (excluding aircrew)
Armament: 6 × 1 – 5.5-inch guns
4 × 1 – 4-inch anti-aircraft guns
Armour: Belt: 3 in (76 mm)
Deck: 1 in (25 mm)
Aircraft carried: 20

[pyro-manic]

In my opinion, not very. Hermes wasn't big enough to be useful as a proper fleet carrier, and Vindictive was even smaller. She could have been useful as an escort carrier for convoy duty, I suppose, but I suspect she would have been more valuable in her original guise as a cruiser than as anything else.

[Spey_Phantom]

i dont think HMS Vindictive would have been wide enough for a carrier conversion,

ive seen the remains of the front hull in Ostend Harbour, its not that wide.
would have made a goos seaplane tender though 

[tigercat]

I can see it being done as an experiment but not being followed through for her classmates.  The Hawkins class were a bit of an anomaly armamament wise being the only 7.5 inch guns in the RN  afloat at the time. I wonder if they caused any supply issues , presumably their was ammo left from when the guns were more common on battleships etc .It was planned to refit them all with 6 inch but WW2 intervened. The admiralty never saw a need for her to return to her role as a cruiser  whether the cost would have been too much  or their were treaty limitations or they felt  she would be better as a cadet training ship/fleet repair ship/ destroyer depot ship.
Also they could have formed the core of the Hunter killer groups against u boats that were formed. Far better they were risked than their larger bretheren. THe Ark Royal had a near miss and the Courageous was sunk.



The Japanese managed to squeeze 48  aircraft capacity into the
Ryujo, god knows how which wasn't much different sizewise although there were stability problems and the crew probably had to sleep standing up.



Class and type: Ryūjō class light aircraft carrier
Displacement: Standard: 10,600 t (10,432.6 long tons; 11,684.5 short tons)
Loaded: 13,650 t (13,434.4 long tons; 15,046.5 short tons)
Length: 179.9 m (590 ft 2.7 in)
Beam: 20.8 m (68 ft 2.9 in)
Draught: 7.1 m (23 ft 3.5 in)
Installed power: 65,000 hp (48,000 kW)
Propulsion: 2 shafts, Steam turbines
6 water-tube boilers
Speed: 29 kn (53.7 km/h; 33.4 mph)
Range: 10,000 nmi (18,520.0 km; 11,507.8 mi) at 14 kn (25.9 km/h; 16.1 mph)
Complement: 924
Armament: 8 × 127 mm (5 in) guns,
4 × 25 mm anti-aircraft guns,
24 × 13 mm machine guns
Aircraft carried: 48 (operational maximum 37)

[tigercat]

Heres an example of a Light Cruiser carrier conversion the US Cleveland class converted to the Independence class carrier. The conversion seems more down to availability than capability but it shows it could be done.


Name: Cleveland class cruiser
Operators:  United States Navy
Preceded by: Atlanta-class cruiser
Succeeded by: Fargo-class cruiser
Planned: 52
Completed: 27
Cancelled: 3 (9 converted to aircraft carriers, 13 reordered)
Retired: 27
Preserved: 1 (converted to a Galveston-class guided missile cruiser)
General characteristics
Type: light cruiser
Displacement: 11,800 tons (standard), 14,131 tons (full)
Length: 600 ft (Waterline) 600 ft (180 m), 608 ft 4 in (Overall) 608 ft 4 in (185.42 m)
Beam: 63 ft (20.2 m)
Height: 113 ft (34.5 m)
Draft: 20 ft mean (7.5 m )