British carrier fire-safety practice did not begin only in the Second World War. Fires aboard HMS Ben-my-Chree and other First World War seaplane carriers drove close attention to aviation fuel systems. Oil drain lines, isolation valves, and other fire-prevention measures became part of the Royal Navy's institutional memory. Those precautions help explain why later British carriers were less likely to suffer massive fires after being hit. Operational accidents had produced durable damage-control and survivability practice.
Notable Point · 18:00-19:15
Seaplane-carrier fires shaped British safety practice
First World War fires aboard seaplane carriers are presented as the origin of British attention to carrier fuel drainage, valves, and fire prevention.