Q&A · 3:57:39-3:58:18

Fleet-carrier anti-submarine patrols and the loss of Courageous

The loss of Courageous is the immediate answer to a question about Royal Navy fleet carriers on anti-submarine patrol.

Question

What was the Royal Navy's experience of using fleet carriers for anti-submarine warfare?

Short answer

The loss of Courageous is the cautionary example.

Notes

Courageous is the immediate cautionary example for fleet-carrier anti-submarine patrols. Her loss challenges the suggestion that fleet carriers were an obvious answer to the Atlantic submarine threat. The brief comparison concerns those early patrols, without assessing the later escort-carrier campaign.