Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 3:49:26-3:50:23

Taiho and the British armoured-carrier sequence

Taiho is better compared with the later Implacable design than with the treaty-constrained Illustrious class, and its advantage over Indomitable is modest.

Armoured CarriersIllustrious Class Aircraft CarriersImplacable Class Aircraft CarriersIndomitableSecond London Naval Treaty (1936)Taiho
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Question

Was the Japanese carrier Taiho a better armoured design than the Illustrious class?

Short answer

It was a later and somewhat less constrained design, but it is closer to Implacable and only modestly better than Indomitable rather than decisively superior.

Notes

The Illustrious-class design still reflected the constraints under which it was completed during the Second London Naval Treaty era. Japan's Taiho could move beyond some of those limits and should therefore be compared with the later Implacable-class development. Even then, the panel does not regard Taiho as a dramatic leap. Its overall balance is described as roughly comparable to Indomitable, the modified British subclass. The exchange demonstrates why contemporaneity and design constraints matter when comparing armoured carriers.