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Malta class aircraft carrier
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | |
| Laid down: | |
| Launched: | |
| Commissioned: | |
| Decommissioned: | |
| Fate: | all cancelled 1945 before building started |
| Struck: | |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 56,800 tons full load |
| Length: | 279 metres (915 ft) |
| Beam: | 41.5 metres (136 ft) |
| Draught: | 10.5 metres (34 ft) |
| Propulsion: | Steam turbines, 8 boilers, 4 shafts, 200,000 shp |
| Speed: | 32.5 knots |
| Range: | |
| Complement: | 2,780 (3,535 wartime) |
| Armament: | 8 dual 4.5 inch /45 guns, 8 6-barrel 40 mm, 7 single 40 mm |
| Aircraft: | 81 |
| Motto: | |
The Malta Class Large Fleet Carrier was a British aircraft carrier design of World War II.
A large carrier design originated in the middle of the Second World War, they would have been by far the largest Royal Navy carriers of the time. No ships were laid down; two were cancelled at the end of the war, and two later on due to economic pressures.
It was a major departure from previous RN designs, incorporating features such as an open hangar deck and reduced armour. Overall, the design appears to show the influence of the big US carriers, especially their relatively large aircraft complement and the hangar arrangements necessary to make such a large air wing possible.
There were to be four ships:
- HMS Malta (D93) Assigned to John Brown & Company. Cancelled 21 December 1945.
- HMS New Zealand (D43) Assigned to Cammell Laird, Birkenhead. Cancelled 21 December 1945.
- HMS Gibraltar (D68) Assigned to Vickers-Armstrong, Tyne. Cancelled 5 November 1945.
- HMS Africa (D06) Assigned to Fairfield, originally as Audacious class. Cancelled 15 October 1945.
- Midway class aircraft carrier - comparable size
| Malta class aircraft carrier |
| HMS Malta (D93) | HMS New Zealand (D68) | HMS Gibraltar (D68) | HMS Africa (D06) |
List of aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy |