Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:13:57-1:14:25

Japan might repeat Hosho while America moves beyond Langley

Without the large battlecruiser conversions, Japan and the United States would likely pursue different successors to their experimental first carriers.

Aircraft CarriersHoshoImperial Japanese NavyNaval AviationUS NavyUSS Langley
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Question

If the United States and Japan did not receive their battlecruiser carrier conversions, would they build another Langley and another Hosho?

Short answer

Japan might build another Hosho-like test carrier, but the United States would probably move to a different design rather than repeat Langley.

Notes

Langley was converted from the collier Jupiter, while Hosho was built from scratch as a test bed. Japan might plausibly build another Hosho-like vessel to continue development. An exact American repeat of Langley seems unlikely; a different follow-on design is expected.