Q&A · 3:47:18-3:48:14

Purpose-built carriers instead of HMS Eagle

Without wartime requisition, Eagle remains a Chilean battleship; Britain would probably build Hermes-style carriers sized for torpedo aircraft.

Question

How would HMS Eagle and carrier aviation affect an alternate Jutland in the delayed-war scenario?

Short answer

Jutland itself might not occur. Eagle would remain a Chilean battleship, while Britain would probably build Hermes-style carriers around torpedo aircraft.

Notes

The delayed war could also remove the circumstances that produced Jutland, so the historical battle cannot simply be repeated with different ships. Eagle would remain a Chilean battleship instead of becoming a British carrier conversion. A purpose-built Hermes-style order around 1916 could follow the development of an aircraft intended to launch a torpedo. Its large wings would set substantial space requirements for launching and recovering it, making a carrier larger than the historical Hermes plausible.