Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:43:13-1:45:09

Could ordinary cruiser yards build and crew light carriers?

A Hermes-size carrier needs roughly a County-class crew and can be built by a yard capable of constructing cruisers, putting the type within Australian industrial reach.

County Class CruisersLight CarriersNaval PersonnelRoyal Australian NavyShipbuilding
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Question

What size shipyard and how much manpower would a Hermes-style light carrier require?

Short answer

A cruiser yard and a cruiser-sized crew would suffice; the design could plausibly be built and manned across the Commonwealth.

Notes

Hermes required about 566 ship's company without her air group and roughly 760 to 770 with aviation personnel, comparable to a wartime County-class cruiser. Against the Royal Navy's personnel totals, several such ships would not create an exceptional crewing burden, especially if Australia and other dominions supplied crews. No specialist capital-ship yard would be necessary: a cruiser-building yard could construct the hull, and Australia might even build one domestically.