United States Navy - Aircraft Carrier 'Scheme A' (1941)

[Graham1973]

From the third volume of the US Navy's 'Springstyle' plan books is one of the designs the US Navy looked at during the design process that led to the Midway Class Carriers. The design work was actually completed after the 'Scheme B' design which will be the feature of a future post.

This one envisaged a 44,000 ton carrier with a hull too wide to fit through the Panama Canal. Planned speed was 33knots. Oddly despite the Yorktown's showing that a heavy surface battery was not needed this design features a 9 x 8inch main battery (Three triple turrets, 2 fwd of the Island superstructure, 1 aft) and an 8 x DP 5 inch battery in single mounts. It did however have an armored flight deck, albeit with unarmored extensions over the bows and stern, though the details on how thick that armor was to be is missing.

http://www.shipscribe.com/styles/S-511/images/s-file/s51134ac.htm

 

[Tzoli]

Actually....
The 1931 series of carrier designs which led to the Yorktown, many of them featured a heavy surface battery of 6" and 8" Guns, mostly triples.

As for this design the carrier designers alawys in dabate whatever heavy guns were required or not. The cruiser and destroyer force at this tiem were still modest in the USN and they feared the IJN cruisers with their high speed to catch up the carriers and strong armament.

 

[Dilandu]

As for this design the carrier designers alawys in dabate whatever heavy guns were required or not. The cruiser and destroyer force at this tiem were still modest in the USN and they feared the IJN cruisers with their high speed to catch up the carriers and strong armament.

Yep, especially considering the possibility of unfavourable "wind gauge" - i.e. the situation, when to turn in the wind, carrier is forced to steam toward the enemy.

 

[A Tentative Fleet Plan]

From the third volume of the US Navy's 'Springstyle' plan books is one of the designs the US Navy looked at during the design process that led to the Midway Class Carriers. The design work was actually completed after the 'Scheme B' design which will be the feature of a future post.

This one envisaged a 44,000 ton carrier with a hull too wide to fit through the Panama Canal. Planned speed was 33knots. Oddly despite the Yorktown's showing that a heavy surface battery was not needed this design features a 9 x 8inch main battery (Three triple turrets, 2 fwd of the Island superstructure, 1 aft) and an 8 x DP 5 inch battery in single mounts. It did however have an armored flight deck, albeit with unarmored extensions over the bows and stern, though the details on how thick that armor was to be is missing.

http://www.shipscribe.com/styles/S-511/images/s-file/s51134ac.htm

The Yorktowns were protected against 6-inch gunfire and armed with 5-inch guns because that was all that could be afforded on their treaty-limited displacements. The Lexingtons 8-inch batteries and heavy armour protection left over from their Battlecruiser roots were valued as it enabled them to perform independent operations and to potentially survive surface attack. The limited number of cruisers available to the USN prior to the wartime building programs meant they could not necessarily provide enough escorts without depleting cruiser strength for other tasks.

Scheme A was protected against against 8-inch heavy (335-lb) projectiles and had a 7.6-inch belt, a 1-inch flight deck (696 ft long), designed to reduce damage from explosions just above of below the flight deck, and to initiate the fuses of bombs to prevent them form exploding in the vitals. The hangar deck was 3.5-inches and below that the fourth (protective) deck was 2-inches thick (both were 500ft long).

Machinery was the same 172,000-SHP plant as the Montana and she had an airwing of 112 aircraft (36 VFs, 38 VSBs and 38 VTBs)