Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:22:02-1:22:28

Why the Royal Navy moved toward twin-engine carrier aircraft

Treaty limits favored compact single-engine air groups before the war, but twin-engine aircraft became more attractive as limits eased and engine demands rose.

Carrier Air GroupsFleet Air ArmNaval TreatiesTwin Engine Aircraft
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Question

Did the Royal Navy plan to operate twin-engine torpedo aircraft from carriers?

Short answer

It was considering them by the end of the war, after treaty-era incentives for compact single-engine aircraft became less decisive.

Notes

The Royal Navy was examining twin-engine carrier torpedo aircraft by the end of the Second World War. Before the war, carrier limits rewarded the space efficiency of single-engine aircraft, so a larger twin-engine machine consumed too much of a constrained air group. Once that pressure changed, twin-engine designs offered a way around the escalating horsepower demands placed on single engines. Aircraft configuration therefore followed treaty rules, deck capacity, and engine-development constraints.