Info on the RN's planned carrier raid on the HSF
The Royal Navy’s Air Service in the Great War: David Hobbs
The proposed 1917 raid would have used eight converted ships carrying 121 aircraft, 120 with torpedoes and 1 brightly coloured aircraft to act as raid commander which would stay in the area to co-ordinate the three waves and the H-12 flying boats flying from Felixstowe that would attack at the same time with 230lb bombs directed against floating docks, dockyard engine houses, magazine and submarines moored alongside each other in the basin.
Five aircraft flights from each of the eight ships would make up each wave of 40. As soon as the first flight of five had taken off, the second and third flights would be ranged and launched. Five was a good number to handle into position and launch quickly from a deck; there was at the time no experience of launching larger numbers in sequence. Furthermore, engines tended to overheat if kept running on deck so they were just started prior to take off; again five seemed to be a practical number to start and get airborne in a single batch. It was also deemed the minimum necessary to cripple a single capital ship at anchor.
The 8 ships would have a flight deck above the superstructure with no hanger.
Each ship would carry up to 17 Cuckoos and 2 Camel fighters.
Cover story was that the ships were destined for the Persian Gulf, Egyptian waters or the Red Sea and additional features were to be added to make this look the case such as fans, ventilation etc
The flying boats would refuel from destroyers on the way back.
Cruisers and destroyers would provide the close escort while mines would be laid in the theoretical way of German light forces from Emden and the Grand Fleet would provide distant cover.
The proposed 1918 raid would have used Furious, Vindictive and Argus,
On 6th September 1919 a demonstration raid was carried out on Portland with eleven aircraft in two groups, one with five torpedo aircraft with torpedoes with inert warheads and two aircraft with smoke bombs and the other with three aircraft with torpedoes with inert warheads and one aircraft with smoke bombs. The first group scored one hit each on Barham and Malaya, two on Implacable with the fifth torpedo diving into the seabed. The second group scored two hits on Queen Elizabeth, the last seems to have been a mistake as the crews claimed they thought they thought they were attacking Barham, with one torpedo diving into the seabed.