Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 5:31-5:40

Why the G3 did not need its own spotting aircraft

The answer places aviation support at fleet level by assigning spotting duties to HMS Hermes rather than to floatplanes carried by each G3.

G3 Class BattlecruisersHMS HermesNaval Aviation
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Question

Why were the G3 and N3 designs not intended to carry a Blackburn Blackburn floatplane?

Short answer

Because HMS Hermes was expected to provide the spotting-aircraft support for them.

Notes

HMS Hermes was intended to provide spotting-aircraft support for the force, so the G3 design did not need to carry a Blackburn Blackburn. This reflects a doctrinal choice between organic aircraft on each capital ship and specialist carrier support. The equipment fitted to an individual ship makes more sense when read as part of the wider fleet system around it. Here, the missing floatplane represented planned carrier support rather than a neglected requirement.