Review: The Design and Construction of British Warships

This book has just landed on my doorstep. I will be integrating any fresh tidbits, comments and insights to the Design / Development pages over the next few days.

 

The Design and Construction of British Warships, 1939-1945

Assembled essays from the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors, Edited by D.K. Brown

At the end of the Second World War the Director of Naval Construction ordered the various design teams of his department to record their wartime activities - from designing the biggest fleet carrier down to the humblest tugboat, summarising their reasoning and the integration of lessons from combat. These essays were much later assembled by Deputy Chief Naval Architect D.K. Brown into this set of three books. It is full of useful tidbits of information and reasoning, offering rare insight into the mind of those responsible for designing and building ships such as the Illustrious, Implacable and Audacious types. It's always good to get such a perspective from the people actually involved: It bypasses the decades worth of revision (not always for the best), second-guessing, eagle-eyed hindsight and chest-beating often applied in other summaries.Very Good. 

Question: Letting in water is the objective of the enemy...

I know I've read it in several sources: I've not noted where as it has usually been in the context of Ark Royal which is outside the scope of these pages.

But when the RN went to war in 1939 it had a standing order not to counter-flood as part of the damage control process.

The reason given: Letting in water was the objective of the enemy.

It's a classic example the kind of ideological, politik think that infects all military services - and is often only painfully beaten out of them in first contact with the enemy.

I'll try and find the sources: But it may take a while, I'm quite sure it was in several narratives from people writing personal accounts of their early war service. 

If anyone else knows anything about this order (was there a quote from Churchill? I seem to remember one) please let me know.

Commemoration: May 25, 1941, HMS Formidable and MAQ3

On May 25, on Facebook and Twitter, I'll broadcast the story of HMS FORMIDABLE and Operation MAQ3 in an attempt to help set the record straight:

#FORMIDABLE

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009190403137

https://twitter.com/ArmouredCarrier

The story appears to have been accidentally distorted in Friedman's otherwise excellent British Carrier Aviation - where a tight one paragraph summary of MAQ3 was merged and cut into a tight one-paragraph summary of the Operation Iceberg kamikaze attacks.

Regrettably, almost every work on World War II carrier operations since - both major and minor - has repeated this error almost verbatum.

It's a shame as it demonstrates how this early experiment in carrier air power has been ignored and forgotten.

Time to set the record straight.

 

Update: HMS Unicorn - the missing link

I've put up a page detailing the 'forgotten carrier', HMS Unicorn. She emerged from the same frenzy of inspiration as the Illustrious class armoured carriers. In fact, she was essentially the armoured carrier's "other half" ... designed to give a force of three of them the same extended operational capacity US carriers took for granted. 

Unicorn also had her own armoured flight deck!

The page can be found HERE

Update: HMS Illustrious Gunnery Report for January 10th-19th, 1941

Thanks to the donation of a document by Duncan Munro, I have been able to transcribe and reproduce here a copy of the Captain's official gunnery report for HMS Illustrious in relation to the Operation Excess action.

It makes particularly fascinating reading given the context that this was one of the first - certainly the first large-scale - dive bombing attacks on a warship in World War II. It was also the most intense anti-aircraft action of the war to that point.

READ THE REPORT HERE

Critique: From David Anderson

THIS IS MY REBUTTAL TO THE COMMENT THAT “THE AMERICAN CARRIERS WERE MORE VULNERABLE TO KAMIKAZE ATTACK THAN THEIR BRITISH COUNTERPARTS,” FROM THE MAN WHO ONCE WAS WHIZZER WHITE BY DENIS J. HUTCHINSON (THE FREE PRESS, NEW YORK:1998), PAGE 190.


By David Anderson 


   My first reaction to Mr. Hutchinson’s text was, “Why bring this up now?  You haven’t written about this before, but you choose to make an issue of it at this point!”

   Yes, British carriers had armored (armoured) flight decks.  The American (and American-built) carriers had a thin metal deck that supported the wooden flight deck.  But this is only one side of the controversy.

   The U. S. Navy’s point of view was that their aircraft carriers had more airplanes, which could be refueled more times, before having to meet the service force.  Consequently, the USN carrier could stay on station for a longer time, fly more sorties, and do more damage to the enemy before having to replenish aviation fuel, ship’s fuel, aircraft, pilots, and food...     

READ THE FULL REBUTTAL HERE

Update: HMS Formidable Damage Reports for May 9, 1945

I have transcribed two documents from ADM 267/87 relating to the kamikaze attack on HMS Formidable on May 9, 1945.

These are the Action Damage Report and Repair of Damage Report issued by the ship in the days following the attack.

Two pictures found bundled loosely in the file which match the circumstances of this have been included (They show Formidable'd damaged deck with only Corsairs on deck. The May 4 attack involved Corsairs and Avengers)

See the document page here

Review: The Disastrous Fall and Triumphant Rise of the Fleet Air Arm

Wow.

Just finished reading The Disastrous Fall and Triumphant Rise of the Fleet Air Arm by Henry 'Hank' Adlam.

Talk about a brutally honest assessment.

And, coming from someone who was there and whom the politics, policies and doctrines of the time directly affected, it is particularly relevant and insightful.

While some specifics have become hazy in this former FAA pilots mind after so much time (For example, Seafires only had eight .303s in the test conversions, and he merges HMS Formidable's accidental hangar fire into a kamakaze strike), the context he provides and establishes is invaluable and invariably missing from most academic accounts.

It's a deep and personal review of the consequences of command, bureaucracy, innovation and courage.

His telling of the disastrous abrogation of fleet air responsibility in the 1920s and 1930s screams its relevance now that history has repeated... (Yes, barely six weeks after decommissioning the last RN Harrier carrier, Britain had to go to France cap-in-hand for carrier air support against Gadhaffi!)

And who believes the RN will actually get to keep its aircraft-less super carriers? And will the F-35Bs they're supposed to carry live up to their advertising hype? And given the experience and impending expensive refit of the purpose-built F-35 Marine carrier "America", can the equally purpose-built "Queen Elizabeth" even fly the type?

As Hank would no doubt say: The "Penguins" of the 20s and 30s seem to be back in command.

Can it be overcome? Well, that too has been done before - as Hank so clearly details.

Politics aside - read this book.

It will put all you already know about the FAA into awesome perspective.

 

Review: Crowood Aviation Series Junkers Ju87 Stuka

I had hoped this would contain as much detail and discussion as that of the Crowood Aviation Series Seafire book.

Almost.

Unfortunately, the degree of detail as to Stuka performance, bomb loads and operational ranges are just as lacking as in all other publications dealing with the Ju87.

It does, however, contains plenty of tantalising tidbits, such as

"About twenty feet of the wing of a Ju87 fell on the after lift (of ILLUSTRIOUS). Aircraft assumed to have crashed. A Ju87 was seen to fall into the sea by the Chaplain and another crashed into the sea just astern of one Swordfish on A/S patrol"

Frustratingly, this is not clearly attributed. But I will try and find a full copy of the document they do reference -  "Report of Air Attacks on HMS Illustrious during Operation MC4, 26 January, 1941" (0404/427/172, No. 3320/0197, AIR2/ 4221). It seems to contain different details to that of the Captain's report and Damage Report reproduced here on this website.

It also sticks with the 500kg (1100lbs) definition of every bomb which hit every armoured carrier in the Mediterranean ... despite quoting direct from reports which clearly state otherwise (HMS Formidable's Damage Report, for example). The authors do not give any reason for this (perhaps they know the Stuka B-2's limits and therefore take the 500kg load for granted?)

Overall, Excellent.

Review: Nelson to Vanguard

NELSON TO VANGUARD

Warship Design and Development 1923 - 1945

By RN Deputy Chief Naval Architect D. K. Brown

This book is an amazing and deep dive into Royal Navy design development, testing and war experience. Written by a naval architect with unique insight into the performance of RN ships, it is one of the books I will now automatically turn to for insight.

However, Brown - like most others - did not delve deep into the armoured carrier's damage reports.

He perpetuates the editing error in Friedman's "British Naval Aviation" which misplaces the 1945 kamikaze armoured spalling event in the 1941 attack off Crete (think about it - how can the central deck armour spall from hits in the extreme bow and stern?)

Also, his much cited Appendix 13 summary of kamikaze damage is based on a single Pacific Fleet report, dated from May 1945 (therefore likely compiled only days after the final attacks). As such, the full nature of the attacks - particularly the three upon Formidable and Indefatigable - are not appreciated. (That report also states: "Without armoured decks, TF57 would have been out of action for at least 2 months." 

Regardless, this book - as an incredible overview of RN design doctrine - is an absolute "Read Now".

Update: HMS Illustrious Damage Report pictures added

After re-reading the fine-print of my purchase of copies of the Illustrious' 1941 Damage Report, it is clear that I am actually able to reproduce them here as Crown copyright has expired and they do not belong to third party.

As such, I have added the photo attachments from this report to the full Admiralty Damage Report (Bomb & Shell) as well as scatter them through the Damage Overview and Malta Refuge pages.

 

I will add similar pages / photos to the Indomitable and Formidable battle damage pages in the coming days.

Update: Battle Damage drawings

A set of 11 original battle damage drawings (or components thereof) for Illustrious (1941), Formidable (1941) and Indomitable (1942) have now been uploaded to the relevant Document (ADM) pages reproducing their official reports.

A further five plans for Indomitable (stitched together from non-professional photographs) have also been attached to the Indomitable Admiralty bomb damage document.