HMS Furious turns a large light cruiser into an early carrier

Furious began as a fast large light cruiser designed around two 18-inch guns in separate turrets. The layout made salvo spotting and fire control difficult with contemporary rangefinders, while the lightly protected hull would have been vulnerable to a battlecruiser. Those weaknesses left her speed and size better suited to aviation experiments than to the intended cruiser-hunting role. Unlike earlier flying-off platforms, Furious attempted to recover aircraft at sea, so this configuration can cautiously be called an early true carrier. Squadron Commander Edwin Dunning died during the second landing attempt. His loss shows the cost of learning how to recover aircraft on a moving ship.