Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 3:13:34-3:15:14

Could interwar US carriers survive Atlantic operations?

The carriers were usable in either ocean, though the North Atlantic punished deck parks and flight operations far more consistently.

Aircraft CarriersLive Q&ANaval AviationNorth AtlanticSeakeepingUS Navy
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Question

Were interwar US carriers designed only for the Pacific and too vulnerable for an Atlantic war?

Short answer

They could operate in the Atlantic, but weather would require different aircraft parking and storage arrangements and a different air group.

Notes

Interwar US carriers could operate in the Atlantic, but their air groups would differ from those used in the Pacific. Aircraft parking and storage arrangements that worked in one theater would be harder to use unchanged in the other. Pacific typhoons provide the comparison with prolonged North Atlantic and North Sea wind and storms. That comparison concerns the aircraft and their storage as well as the ship's ability to survive the sea.