Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 15:33-19:39

US and Royal Navy light-carrier build paths

A 1937 response to Japanese light-carrier orders could combine American shipyard expansion and extra Yorktowns with a British carrier adapted from the Unicorn support-ship design.

Colossus Class Aircraft CarriersFleet CarriersHMS UnicornLight CarriersNaval ProcurementNaval TreatiesRoyal NavySecond London Naval Treaty (1936)Ship DesignUS NavyUS ShipbuildingYorktown Class Aircraft Carriers
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Question

If Japan began mass-building light fleet carriers in 1937, how could the United States and Britain respond?

Short answer

The United States could expand its shipyards and order more Yorktowns while developing a light carrier. Britain could adapt the existing Unicorn support-ship design, with individual treaty size limits still applying.

Notes

The Second London Naval Treaty had removed cumulative carrier limits by 1937, so a response to Japanese light-carrier construction would still have to respect individual ship limits. American industrial potential would need investment in shipyards before it could support an earlier large carrier programme. Additional Yorktown-class ships could bridge the wait for a new light-carrier design, since Wasp was considered an unsatisfactory smaller version. Britain had a more immediate design option in HMS Unicorn, studied as a forward aviation support ship from about 1933. Removing some support functions could turn that design into a light fleet carrier close to the later Colossus class. The proposal rests on the amount of design work already available when new orders become urgent.