Armoured carrier decks before the kamikaze threat

Would armoured flight decks have seemed worthwhile without kamikaze attacks?

The kamikazes decisively proved them in the Pacific, but British Mediterranean experience had already demonstrated the value of an armoured hangar and flight-deck system.

The Pacific kamikaze campaign produced the most dramatic evidence for armoured carriers. Royal Navy experience against German and Italian aircraft in the Mediterranean had already shown the value of protected flight decks and hangars under heavy air attack. Kamikazes strengthened the case in the Pacific. The design argument also rested on pre-kamikaze combat experience in the Mediterranean.