1938.
The level of tension in the international scene ramps up yet again as Germany announces a peaceful union with Austria, absorbing the country into the third Reich in March. It's not quite clear why a peaceful democratic union requires quite so many German troops.
The increased tension plays a part in the crisis in Czechoslovakia in May, when the country almost goes on a war footing as a result of what they think is an impending German attack.
The tension had effects on the allocation of British defence spending; it was deemed that the major threat was from the air, and the RAF was going to get priority in resources. This was obviously bitterly resented by the other two services. The Navy's shipbuilding wasn't terribly affected, as this, and much of the equipment for the ships, was specialised and not able to do anything for the RAF anyway, although there were difficulties with some of the general engineering firms used.
The FAA, however, considered it likely to have much greater impact on their planned air program. A certain amount of discussion went on behind closed doors, as a result of which the navy kept its priority for airplanes along with that of the RAF, but agreed to use its fighters to cover its own bases, and land-based attack squadrons would also be available to Coastal Command. To some extent this was already the case, the FAA and Coastal Command (which included quite a few ex-navy senior officers), already had quite a good relationship, and in any case it had been pointed out that the RAF's airframe requirements were limited to some extent by engines the Navy didn't use. It also pointed out that the Goshawk was as good a fighter as the Hurricane in everything but rate of climb, and it would be foolish to disrupt or stop its production line to produce more Hurricanes. The political issue of planes needed by the carrier under construction for the RAN is also used to bolster the FAA case.
The Navy was obviously concerned with the flow of planes needed for the carriers coming into commission in 1939; the pilot training program had been arranged with the assumption the planes would be available, and it would be embarrassing to have the carriers sitting there without their aircraft. In case, production for the FAA was only about 10% of what was being produced for the RAF. The FAA is looking forward to a considerable expansion of planes at sea in 1939 as the new carriers commission.
The situation on Radar was somewhat confused. The FAA had been pushing the need for a radar able to detect planes at long range, and also something which could have a shorter range but which would allow them to control their planes, ideally in a manner similar to that of the RAF command system. While this had impressed them, it obviously wouldn't fit on a ship, and something simpler and less capable, but which at last ship-sized, was needed.
An improved model of the type 79 radar, the 279, was available in the middle of the year and was on order for fitting to a range on ships. The most vital were seen as the Carriers, Battleships and some of the cruisers. The model gave a good detection range, but couldn't do much more than detect a group of aircraft.
More useful was the type 286. This was developed from the early AI radar work, and used a lot of the technology developed for the Army's Coastal Defence (CD) radar. This was accurate enough to allow the ship to vector aircraft onto an enemy raid. It was scheduled to go into production (the initial run of sets were hand-assembled) towards the end of 1938, and a set would be fitted to the carriers in addition to the 279 set. This did require additional masts on some of the carriers, and it was intended to add radar, some additional facilities for the first, primitive Operations room and some upgrades to AA, etc, in a 2 month period, rotating the carriers through the shipyard. The set was also intended for use on the cruisers being modified for AA use, as it seemed logical that they should be able to control (or at least advise) FAA or RAF aircraft. The 286 would later be fitted to many ships down to the destroyer size.
Considerable thought had been given as to what to lay down in the way of fleet carriers in 1938. While the FAA was happy to get as many as it could get its greedy little hands on, the number of available slips had been reduced by 5 due to the KGV class battleship program. Also, the RN would be accepting 2 fleet and 3 light carriers in 1939, and even with laying up some of the older ships, this was a lot to absorb - especially if the growing war meant the older ships would continue in service.
It was therefore decided to lay down HMS Bulwark in April for completion in 1941.
The light carriers were rather easier; they could fit on slips suitable for cruisers, and while there was a shortage of cruisers, the building program was limited by supplies of guns and fire control equipment. Space could be found for 3 more light fleets, and it was pointed out that this would basically meet the Navies 8+8 requirement by 1941.
HMS Ocean would lay down in May 1938 to complete in June 1940
HMS Edgar would lay down in May 1938 to complete in July 1940
HMS Theseus would lay down in August 1938 to complete in Sep 1940
In addition, a carrier maintenance ship, HMS Unicorn, would be laid down in February to complete in Aug 1940. She would be built to a modified Colossus design, not able to operate aircraft and with half the engine capacity, allowing her space for the facilities to support up to 3 fleet carriers on an extended deployment. She was expected to be deployed either to the Med or the Far East, and so her AA was increased over the normal Colossus-class fit.
Finally a second flotilla of escort destroyers was laid down. It was not expected to produce more for at least a year, as the available berths were reserved for 2 flotillas of conventional destroyers.
The Royal Navy had long expected to need additional carriers in war, to allow for the availability of aircraft in many locations, and to allow for war losses. They had intended to supplement the exieting fleet from 2 sources; first the building of very simple carriers (not suitable for use in intensive operations, but suitable for use in relatively peaceful areas, allowing the more capable ships to be used on more dangerous operations, and the conversion of some merchant vessels into Auxilliary carriers. The concept of the very simple, low capacity, carrier had been under consideration for quite a few years. By this point the concept was fairly stable. The ship would be about 12,000t (anything smaller was not thought to be able to have a flight deck big enough for Atlantic operations). It would be built to merchant standards (to save time and money), and with the same torpedo 'protection' planned for the merchant ships marked for conversion to Auxiliary cruisers. Hanger and maintenance facilities would be minimal, as would AA - there would be no heavy AA, and the ship would be fitted for (but not with) sponsons for 4 quad 40mm guns. 20mm guns would be fitted as available. The ship would carry 12 TBR planes (for reconnaisance and AS duties), and 4 fighters (to eliminate patrol planes trying to find the ship and its convoy). Speed required was around 21-22 kt, ample for a merchant convoy, and just fast enough for the slow battleships. No armour would be fitted.
The problem of the propulsion plants had been an issue; the dockyards and turbine manufacturers were busy with the large workload of new ships, and these carriers would not have a high priority. This had been solved some years previously, however. During the mid-30's the RN had scrapped a large number of R & S class destroyers from WW1. While a few had been retained, they were considered simply too small and light for conversion to anything useful. However they had 27,000hp of turbines... As the ships were scrapped, the propulsion machinery, particularly the turbines, had been put aside in storage. It had been estimated that with some work for new parts amd boilers, and refurbishment, around 30 of these sets would be available for a relatively small cost and, more important, a small drain on manufacturing resources. By using this machinery, it was expected the cost of the ship would be under £1m, a bargain for a carrier. A single ship (HMS Audacity) was ordered in April 1938, with an expected completion of October 1939.
In addition, plans were drawn up for the conversion of 6 liners to auxiliary carriers. There was some opposition to this, as the number of available liners was smaller than expected, and they were seen as needed for auxiliary cruisers armed with 6" guns. It was pointed out that while these would be useful, it would actually be more effective (at least for those engaged in blockading choke points in places like the Atlantic, if 6 carriers supplemented the 40-odd cruisers. As a result, ships were earmarked and plans drawn up ready for use in wartime. It was expected that conversion would take around 6 months per ship.
In September, the RN's second new fleet carrier, HMS Ilustrious, commissions. There have been minor changes to the design, which have delayed the completion of the ship slightly - the new Mk2 pom-pom is fitted instead of the older version in Ark Royal, and provision has been made for the fitting of radar and an Operations room. It is hoped to fit the radar in the short refit after her trials.
The arrival of the new ship is overshadowed by what will be called the Munich crisis. The navy is put on full alert, indeed it is considered an informal war warning, as Germany places demands on Czechoslovakia that come close to surrender to Germany. It is only averted at the last moment by the signing of the Munich Agreement, allowing Germany to annex the Sudetenland portion of Czechoslovakia, is signed, by British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, French Premier Édouard Daladier, Italian leader Benito Mussolini, and Adolf Hitler. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain says "This is the second time that there has come back from Germany to Downing Street peace with honour. I believe it is peace for our time."
Many in the navy, and increasingly in the country, see it as peace for a few months more before the inevitable happens. The FAA is looking worriedly at the large batch of carriers due to complete in the next year. Orders for planes are increased, although limitations of manpower on the aircraft production lines means they won't be delivered for some time, but the navy is keep to build up reserves - due to the nature of its operations, it has a lower ratio of its planes actually available in service
Progress on new engines for a new generation of FAA planes was progressing. The Centaurus was tested Feb 38, and it was flight qualified in Aug 38. The Taurus engine was put on hold, as the Hercules engine seems more suitable for the range of planes it was intended for, and the Hercules is in full production and is undergoing improvements
The sleeve valve problem is finally solved by the use of specialised machines, and the Hercules goes into mass production.
The Rolls-Royce Griffon is tested in late 37, and is flight qualified in March 38.( Additional resources had been found resources by deciding that there would now not be any use for the originally propose EXe engine, originally considered for a FAA spec - its now seen as superseded by the Hercules. This is useful as RR is heavily committed to Merlin development)
The Fairy P.24 is tested Mar 38, flying in Oct 38. This engine is seen rather as a backup in case one of the others fails, although the nature of the 'dual' engine is of interest as a safety feature for partol planes/
Contracts for development of a new TBR prototype(based on a specification in 1936 that has changed a few times) have been given to Fairy, Blackburn (on strict instructions it will be ready on time..), and Boulton-Paul. One condition was that each company would produce 2 prototypes, one using the Centaurus, one with a different engine. The FAA prefers a radial, but there is always the chance of a problem in development.
The FairySpearfish flies with a Griffon engine in March, and the 2nd prototype with a Centaurus in September
The Blackburn Blackadder flies with a Centaurus in October (Blackburn is late again), and wont fly with the P.24 until 1939. The FAA are increasingly unhappy with Blackburn
The Boulton-Paul SeaLance flies with a Griffon in May, and a Centaurus in October
Trials of the Lance and the Spearfish look very promising, although there are issues with both the new engines (and the issue of cooling the radial has only got worse with the increase in power.
A new fighter is wanted now that the new high-power engines are available. A specification was issued in 1937, and Hawker, Gloster and Martin-Baker are selected for prototypes (while Martin-Baker didn't win the fighter contract, the FAA were impressed with many of the features on the aircraft), and now Hawker have the Hurricane well into production they have some interesting concept aircraft. It is expected that the prototypes will fly towards the end of 1939.
France lays down its first modern carrier, the Joffre, in October. It is not expected to be available until 1942.
In the USA, the USS Wasp is launched in April. The new carrier fighter, the Brewster Buffalo, is undergoing testing and is expected to enter service next year. The FAA is not terribly impressed, as they consider the Goshawk to have better performance and armament, while the Buffalo isnt even in service yet. More promising is the Grumman Wildcat, but this isn't expected to be in service until 1940. Even so, the FAA consider the Goshawk to be marginally superior, and expect further improvements to increase this superiority.
In Germany, their first aircraft carrier, the Graf Zeppelin, is launched in September. It is expected to be completed some time in early 1940, but the FAA considers it will take a considerable period before it becomes operational due to the lack of experience in Germany with carriers. Surprisingly there is still no indication of a carrier-borne torpedo plane in development. Intelligence confirms that a 'navalised' version of the Me109 fighter and Ju87 dive bomber are under development.
A second carrier, the Peter Strasser, is laid down as soon as the slipway is available.
Japan lays down the Zuikaku in May. The Japanese are using naval aircraft in China, and as a result some more details are emerging about them, those these are incomplete and often contradictory. The main current fighter, the A5M 'Claude', seems to be a very lightweight plane, probably very agile, but considered under-armed with 2 7.7mm machine guns, and its low weight suggests a fragile plane.
The B5 'Kate' torpedo bomber is being used in a bombing role. It again seems quite light, and from reports its performance is better than that of a Swordfish (but inferior to the replacements now under development)
The Aichi D1A 'Susie' is a biplane, and the performance of this dive bomber is considered unexceptional at best by current standards. There are rumours of a prototype replacement undergoing trials (given the codename 'Val'), but there is no evidence of its use in China
