WI the U.S. Navy had built the flying deck cruiser?

10,000 tonnes of hybrid is always going to be worse than 10kt of cruiser or 10kt of carrier. But is it better than 5kt of carrier and 5kt of cruiser (approximately an Atlanta and a Casablanca)?

Anyway I think (without any evidence...) the Flight Deck Cruisers were intended to be converted into proper light carriers (ending up like the Independence class) in the event of war. Lift the turrets, razee the superstructure, extend the hanger/flight deck, new superstructure etc.. This might take a short as six months, much quicker than building new carriers. 20kt of Yorktown gives you an air group of 90 vis 70 for 22kt worth of Independences, which doesn't seem too bad. 20kt of carrier is more useful than 20kt of cruiser in nearly all WW2 circumstances.

Apologies in advance for the poor wording.
 
I would think naming them along the lines of Outrageous,Spurious and Uproarious would be appropriate.
If one is engaged in a gun fight then it couldn't operate aircraft and likewise if operating aircraft then being in a gun fight is silly.
 
you'd need 4 hybrids to match the aircraft capacity of one carrier as it stood. So if the Navy is waiting for congress to authorize a carrier, they can use 3-4 while waiting for a carrier. And since no carrier tonnage is wasted, they'll get their actual carriers.

No, they won't. Congress will tell them since they already have four small carriers, they don't need more, even if they are bigger.
 
No, they won't. Congress will tell them since they already have four small carriers, they don't need more, even if they are bigger.

Depends on the pork barrel factor. Much of the expanded War &Navy Dept budgets passed in 1938, for the next two years, were sold as make work projects for local employment. Recovery from the 1937 recession and the Depression in general were under way & authorizing money for some big hull projects was really popular. Not just in the shipbuilding districts but in the steel mill cities, and other contributing industries.
 
I would think naming them along the lines of Outrageous,Spurious and Uproarious would be appropriate.
If one is engaged in a gun fight then it couldn't operate aircraft and likewise if operating aircraft then being in a gun fight is silly.
If you need to launch while shooting at surface targets, you're nearing the end of the road of bad decisions.

20,000 yards away is like 4 minutes away at biplane speeds.

But why not launch while reloading, and tell Plot to hold fire until the planes is clear. Desperate conditions imply desperate actions....
 
No, they won't. Congress will tell them since they already have four small carriers, they don't need more, even if they are bigger.

Thing is, this is cruiser tonnage. The carrier tonnage can only be used for carriers, but the London Naval Treaty, which the Congress ratified, explicitly allows for a certain percentage of cruiser tonnage to be built as hybrid cruisers, not carriers. These ships would likely be laid down late 1931 if they were ordered, pushing back some of the New Orleans class a few years.

They do not take up carrier tonnage, and the US would still need to use the entirety of its tonnage there. There's nothing else they can spend the allotted funds for, as there is a battleship holiday going on. There's nothing else to spend the money on, and the cost would likely be cheaper up front than OTL to boot as aircraft carriers costs are skewed towards the long term. After all, the US hybrids were counters to cruisers (esp Panzerschiff) while still being treaty compliant - they do not match up to Japanese carriers.

So if Congress is willing to not build up to treaty limits in the one capital class vessel they can construct in the early 30s because of an alternate cruiser design, there must be other issues at hand or the Japanese are no longer such a threat.

10,000 tonnes of hybrid is always going to be worse than 10kt of cruiser or 10kt of carrier. But is it better than 5kt of carrier and 5kt of cruiser (approximately an Atlanta and a Casablanca)?

Anyway I think (without any evidence...) the Flight Deck Cruisers were intended to be converted into proper light carriers (ending up like the Independence class) in the event of war. Lift the turrets, razee the superstructure, extend the hanger/flight deck, new superstructure etc.. This might take a short as six months, much quicker than building new carriers. 20kt of Yorktown gives you an air group of 90 vis 70 for 22kt worth of Independences, which doesn't seem too bad. 20kt of carrier is more useful than 20kt of cruiser in nearly all WW2 circumstances.

Apologies in advance for the poor wording.

Hybrids as a type were considered all the way up until the late 30s, even in the era where the treaty had been abrogated and the US was planning on exceeding the 10k ton limit. The landing strips were longer, but the sentiment remained (aircraft gained a lot more of the vessel than previously). The type wasn't abandoned as tonnage limits were abandoned, however, so I doubt that the vessels would be converted upon immediate entry.

They still maintain a role scouting, and are good vessels to use for escorting until dedicated escort vessels are built. If the war is anything like OTL, the US will be starving for decks - yes they could convert these vessels, but they could also use what they have for now while better built, larger light carriers are constructed.

If one of these warships is greviously wounded but makes it back to port, then yes, they will likely be converted as they're going to be there anyway. But the importance of using existing assets would outweight converting the old vessels unless an availability of such length occurs.
 
Since these are an entirely new thing, a new naming convention makes sense, one close to the CV's (with flying things), but since they're hybrids, what about strictly mythical? Griffin, Centaur, Wyvern?

Forgot to reply to this...

I mean, from one of the lists I've done... Harpy, Mystic, Lorelei, Undine, Nymph in addition to Syren and Sylph, mentioned above. Different strain on the theme.
 
If you need to launch while shooting at surface targets, you're nearing the end of the road of bad decisions.

20,000 yards away is like 4 minutes away at biplane speeds.

HMS Glorious syndrome. But how can you know you found a dud captain before you travel that route?

eta
 
If one of these warships is greviously wounded but makes it back to port, then yes, they will likely be converted as they're going to be there anyway. But the importance of using existing assets would outweight converting the old vessels unless an availability of such length occurs.
Provided the budget could be had I would expect any hybrid to be sent for full conversion after its first commission.
 
Provided the budget could be had I would expect any hybrid to be sent for full conversion after its first commission.

The Cruiser No. 39? Est commissioned 33-34 while the treaty limit was still in place? Doubtful.

A later CLV (or CF) designed 34-35, commissioned 38-39? Possibly depending on design.

The latest ones, at 12k tons and designed 38-39, commissioned 40-41? They'd become carriers on the slips for sure.

The need for decks is there, but until you get a triggering event that takes the caps off naval spending, you'll not have the unlimited funds, and you still need them to assume their cruiser role which is vital as they are busy occupying cruiser slots. Any conversion will take place only after the point the treaty becomes completely moot.
 
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