The torpedo-carrier idea for HMS Eagle

What was a torpedo carrier?

It was a proposed carrier that would use aircraft for scouting and defense by day, then close the enemy at night to launch a large ship-mounted torpedo broadside.

The hybrid concept had the carrier scout and protect the fleet by day, then close at night to fire a large torpedo broadside. The practical studies generally envisioned roughly twelve to sixteen tubes while retaining the flight deck and air group. The answer exposes the tension between treating a carrier as an aviation platform and risking it as a direct surface combatant. Later discussion adds that contemporary torpedo range would have brought the carrier dangerously close to enemy guns and destroyers.