Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:34:58-1:35:10

Did Courageous and Glorious receive continuous flight decks?

Both carriers entered the Second World War with their lower flying-off openings intact; unlike Japanese conversions, neither received a continuous single-deck rebuild.

Carrier Flight DecksCarrier ModernisationCourageous Class Warship LineageHMS CourageousHMS GloriousWorld War II
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Question

Were Courageous and Glorious rebuilt with continuous single flight decks before the Second World War?

Short answer

No. Both were sunk while still carrying the lower flying-off-deck configuration.

Notes

Neither Courageous nor Glorious was rebuilt into a continuous single-flight-deck carrier before the war. The lower flying-off opening therefore remained part of the configuration in which both ships were lost. Japanese carriers with similar multiple-deck layouts did receive later single-deck rebuilds. Disusing an opening did not reconstruct either British ship around one continuous flight deck.