What is the difference between a battleship and an aircraft carrier

Amature vs. Lieing vs. Preferred vs. Omage vs. Finally vs. Attendance vs. Latest Comparisons Burka vs. Start vs. Loin vs. Dedication vs. Pall vs. Moho vs. Primarily vs. Breastplate vs. Stearin vs. Organogram vs. Tubercule vs.

Glyptal vs. Faucet vs. Com vs. The American and Japanese aircraft carriers duelled over a period of five days, hunting for each other, launching strikes and recovering aircraft. At the end, four Japanese aircraft carriers had been sunk for the loss of one American aircraft carrier, and the Japanese fleet was forced to retire. Throughout the battle the fleets were more than miles apart, and the large, expensive battleships were reduced to spectators.

If any doubt remained about the ascendancy of the aircraft carrier they were firmly dispelled by the sortie of the Japanese battleship Yamato. The Yamato was the largest battleship ever built, displacing 64, tons and armed with nine mm It was intended that she attack the US ships at Okinawa in a suicide attack.

Whilst she was still only about miles from the Japanese coast, and over miles from her target area, she was found by reconnaissance aircraft. She was attacked and finally sunk for the loss of only 10 aircraft. Operational Notes Aircraft carriers were the most important ship in a fleet, due to the large radius for attack and the heavy punch associated with their aircraft.

Conversely, they were themselves very vulnerable to attack by opposing aircraft, submarines and surface vessels if they got within range. This vulnerability was enhanced by the need for carriers to steam in to the wind when launching or recovering aircraft. This manoeuvre could result in the carrier moving away from the bulk of protective ships, although as the war progress tactics changed so that the protection followed the carrier.

Carriers were also very vulnerable when preparing to fly off a strike force. With a mass of fully fuelled and fully armed aircraft on and below deck, any attack could spark a chain of destruction and result in the loss of a ship.

In the Washington Treaty it was agreed that no ships with a standard displacement of over 35, tons would be built, no ships fitted with guns in excess of 14 inches, and no secondary guns fitted in excess of 6 inches, however this treaty lapsed shortly before the start of the Second World War. In addition, some existing ships that displaced more than 35, tons were permitted to be retained.

The broad definition of a capital ship includes many types of warship including battleships, battle cruisers, pocket battleships and monitors.

In the 19th century, fuelled by the industrial revolution, nations began to make widespread use of iron plating to give added protection to their large warships, and steam power began to replace sails for propulsion. For a while it was possible to give ships so much armour that the latest guns could not penetrate it, and ships were armed with rams as they were the only means of sinking a heavily armoured enemy. Efforts were made to improve the power of guns resulting in the reduction, then elimination, of the old broadside in favour of a smaller number of huge guns that could be traversed through a wide arc.

In the latter half of the 19th century a farcical situation had developed. The modern warships known as Ironclads were slow moving, un-manoeuvrable vessels armed with the most powerful guns in the world which nevertheless could not penetrate the armour of the enemy and due to the pitching and rolling of the ship at sea rarely hit the enemy anyway.

Battles resembled cumbersome dances, with ships manoeuvring to try to ram each other but rarely succeeding. Eventually the power of the gun maker overcame the ability of the armourer to provide protection, but it took the development of effective range finding and fire control to give ships a realistic chance of hitting the enemy at anything beyond point-blank range, and not until oil power and steam turbines were developed could sufficient propulsion be provided.

The first vessel to take advantage of all these developments was the famous HMS Dreadnought laid down in When she was commissioned she immediately made all previous ships obsolete due to her speed, numerous large guns, well-located range finding, good fire control and well thought out arrangement of armour.

The ultimate extension of the concept was the Japanese battleship Yamato. This massive ship displaced 64, tons, and was the largest battleship ever built. The Second World War marked the end of the era of the battleship. The British attack on Taranto where 20 carrier-based aircraft left two battleships with their keels resting on the bottom and damaged one other and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour where carrier-based aircraft sank or beached five battleships and damaged another three relegated the battleship to secondary importance at sea.

Thereafter, their major contribution was in providing immense fire support to troops ashore. Operational Notes Battleships are large, expensive ships, and because of this they rarely operate alone. In the absence of a threat from the air or in the days before the air threat was recognised a typical arrangement would be for the battleships to be protected from enemy ships by a screen of cruisers, and for destroyers to screen the cruisers from enemy ships. More destroyers would be used to screen the whole fleet from submarine attack, or to sweep for mines ahead of the fleet.

If opposing fleets met, the battleships would form a line of battle and attempt to manoeuvre so that they maximised the number of guns that could fire on the enemy whilst minimising the number of enemy guns that could be brought to bear on them.

Cruisers or destroyers could be sent to make torpedo attacks on the enemy battlefleet, or could be used to protect the friendly battlefleet from similar attacks by the enemy. British Battlecruiser HMS Hood Development and History The battle cruiser concept was a product of discussions relating to the most appropriate design for capital ships following the commissioning of the Dreadnought in Lacking war experience with the new type of battleship, and aware of the difficulty of hitting fast moving targets at sea, one school of thought proposed that a fast moving, heavily armed and lightly armoured ship would be superior to a slow moving, heavily armed and heavily armoured ship.

This was based on the assumptions that the battle cruiser would be unlikely to be hit, whereas the slower-moving battleship would be hit much more often, and that gun power would overcome armour protection. Conclusive proof or disproof of the theory is hard to find, however the balance of opinion is that the increase in speed probably did not compensate for the reduction in armour. The most famous battle cruiser of the Second World War was HMS Hood , which was hit and exploded during an engagement with the German battleship Bismarck , leaving only three survivors.

Even today, the argument as to the exact series of events, the tactics employed and the final cause of loss rage undiminished. Operational Notes No real role was found for battle cruisers. Their weaker armour made them vulnerable to battleships, although their speed advantage could sometimes be used to decisive effect. As with battleships, they must be screened from attack by cruisers and destroyers. They are best employed in fleets of similar fast vessels, as the presence of battleships would slow them down and negate their speed advantage.

Only three ships have ever been referred to as pocket battleships, and so a precise definition is difficult to give. Pocket battleships may best be thought of as large cruisers with big guns. They have a typical battleship-type armament several large main guns mounted in turrets fore and aft, with cruiser-style guns mounted port and starboard adjacent to the superstructure , moderate speed 25 to 30 knots , and cruiser-type displacement around 10, tons.

German Pocket Battleship Graf Spee Development and History After the end of the First World War, the Treaty of Versailles restricted Germany to a collection of vessels that were barely adequate for coastal defence 6 obsolete battleships, 6 light cruisers, 12 destroyers and 12 torpedo boats. The treaty permitted the replacement of the battleships and cruisers 20 years after launch i. Germany had great difficulty deciding on an appropriate design of ship to replace the very old pre-Dreadnought era battleships.

The tonnage limitation was severe, making it impossible to build a ship that was heavily armed and heavily armoured. Faced with treaty limitations on the number of ships, and with potential threats from Russia, Poland and France, the choice of design was not easy. It was eventually decided to build a ship the Deutschland that was well armed with six She was also provided with eight torpedo tubes, a multitude of smaller guns, and two aircraft for scouting purposes.

Due to weight restrictions, however, little armour could be provided. Such an arrangement made the vessel ideal for commerce raiding, with the ability to stay at sea for a long time, sufficient speed to catch any merchant cargo vessel and escape from any superior vessel, sufficient armour to be protected against the guns from any merchant vessel, and finally with sufficient guns to overcome any merchant vessel and most warships.

By the time the Second World War began the speed of modern battleships was comparable with that of the pocket battleship. The vessel actually displaced over 11, tons standard over 15, tons full load , however the ship was a creditable effort to keep within the Versailles treaty limits whilst still providing a useful warship. These ships differed in detail to the original and to each other , however none of the fundamental design elements was altered.

The Admiral Graf Spee is probably the most famous pocket battleship. She made an extended raid in the South Atlantic, staying at large for many months and causing considerable disruption to shipping before being scuttled in Monte Video harbour after being convinced that a superior force was awaiting her at sea. Operational Notes Pocket battleships acted as merchant raiders see below.

Although heavily armed, the light armour makes the ships extremely vulnerable, and thus all ocean-going warships pose a potential threat. Victory should be assured against cruisers or smaller vessels if encountered singly, as the long range and heavy hitting ability of the main guns will discourage attempts to bring her to within range of the smaller guns mounted by these vessels.

If the range closes, the secondary armament will add to the weight of shot, making it difficult for even a group of cruisers to defeat her. Nevertheless, disengagement should be a priority, as the armour cannot be relied upon to ensure hull integrity or to protect vital areas in a prolonged engagement.

The cruiser category is divided into two sub-categories, as follows:. Cruisers were usually armed with torpedo tubes, and often are fitted with facilities for carrying one to three floatplanes. Italian Cruiser Bolzano , Development and History Cruisers developed out of a multitude of needs, related to the move from wind power to steam power and the advent of wireless communications. In the days of sail, the ability of a ship to stay at sea was limited by how much food and water could be carried, with re-supply being easy and quick at sea.

Long journeys away from port were possible for all vessels, with noting except journey time preventing even far-flung seaways being patrolled. With the advent of steam power, ships could no longer stay at sea for extended periods. The supply of coal later oil was limited to established facilities, and replenishment could not easily be carried out at sea. This had the effect of making close blockade of ports impossible, and of protecting trade routes difficult.

There was a clear need for a vessel which had good endurance to make extended patrols , significant size preventing the enemy from easily driving the vessel off its patrol area, or for hunting down commerce raiders and enough speed to be able to shadow and report enemy warships once discovered to enable them to be brought to battle by the main fleet.

The cruiser filled this need. Over time, the role of the cruiser developed in to several main functions: protecting or attacking remote trade routes; patrolling off enemy shores blockading ; reconnaissance; shadowing a larger enemy vessel; protection of capital ships. During the Second World War, cruisers undertook all these tasks and proved their value repeatedly. Their air defence capability was particularly vital in the Pacific and Mediterranean; their endurance was valuable in hunting commerce raiders worldwide; their ability to shadow larger ships was demonstrated in the Bismark chase.

Smaller and cheaper than a battleship, yet much larger and more powerful than a destroyer, the cruiser could be used whenever significant firepower was needed but when a battleship could not be risked. When with the fleet they were expected to screen the capital ships, protecting them against aircraft and enemy cruisers.

During a fleet action they were expected to counter any attack by enemy cruisers, and could use their own torpedoes to attack enemy capital ships if needed. Vessels that are designed for a speed of less than 30 knots, do not carry torpedoes, and do not mount more than four guns above 3 inch 76 mm calibre are not considered to be destroyers. Most destroyers were fitted with four or six main guns, smaller calibre canon or machineguns, torpedoes, mine sweeping equipment, depth charges and asdic sonar.

Some destroyers were fitted for mine laying, although this was unusual. Destroyers usually had a top speed of over 35 knots. Australian destroyer HMAS Winchelsea , Development and History With the advent of self-propelled torpedoes, thoughts in many nations turned to the possibilities of being able to defeat any fleet blockading a port with a multitude of cheap coastal torpedo boats, or to defeat larger enemy ships at sea with cheap ocean-going torpedo boats.

In order to provide a defence against this potential threat, there was seen to be the need for a small, fast, ocean-going boat that could travel with the fleet at sea to their destination, and then protect the fleet from torpedo-boat attacks on arrival. Thus the torpedo-boat destroyer soon known simply as the destroyer was born.

A dual role for destroyers was very quickly seen. Being large enough to travel with a fleet at sea and fast enough to fight torpedo boats, destroyers if fitted with torpedoes could be used as ocean-going torpedo boats, posing a threat to even the largest ship in a fleet action.

Destroyers became essential to the fleet, providing a screen for larger ships from potential attacks from similar vessels, and being seen to be useful for most of the multitude of small tasks that are required in any navy. When ocean-going submarines became widespread, the protective role for the fleet from submarines naturally fell on the destroyer as an extension of their normal screening operations, and a minesweeping role was also soon added.

Due primarily to their anti-submarine capability, destroyers were used to escort merchant ships in both the First and the Second World War. This was soon seen to be a poor use for them, however, as their high speed which was expensive to obtain in terms of engine power, size and cost was rarely useful. They were replaced wherever possible with smaller, cheaper, slower and more specialised vessels.

Operational Notes Whilst the fleet was at sea destroyers were expected to prevent submarines getting in range to attack cruisers, capital ships or aircraft carriers. Once battle was joined they were expected to prevent enemy destroyers closing to engage the larger ships with torpedoes, and if ordered to themselves close with larger enemy ships and attack them with their torpedoes.

Destroyers were also used when larger ships could not be risked, and were described by one British Admiral as being 'expendable'. They were often used for scouting waters that were feared to contain mines, submarines or other hazards, or for work very close to shore which might expose the ships to increased chance of bombardment or air attack. French torpedoboat Bouclier Development and History When the self-propelled torpedo was invented, countries with small navies saw this as a way of beating big navies cheaply.

The Zumwalt class weighs in at nearly 16,t making it double the weight of smaller destroyers that weigh in at around 8,t at full load. They are roughly the same width as destroyer vessels. They can thus provide theatre wide air and missile defence for forces such as a carrier battle group and typically serve this function. Must Read Astute vs Virginia: Which navy has the best nuclear attack submarine?

Despite its impressive size, the Zumwalt-class destroyer can travel up to 30kn, slightly slower than the smaller Sovremenny and Daring classes, which have an average of 32kn. The Zumwalt class is still as fast — if not faster — than most frigate classes. Weapons and EW capabilities vary based on roles Unsurprisingly, both frigates and destroyers are armed with the latest weapons and defence systems, which are vital for carrying out their escort and protect roles.

ASW-enhanced frigates come with helipads and hangars that accommodate helicopters capable of identifying and attacking nuclear submarines using torpedoes and depth charges. Navy removed them from its register. Destroyers are now the heaviest surface combat vessels in most navies, although a handful still employ the heavier cruisers. Dr James Holloway has been writing about games, geek culture and whisky since Regardless of how old we are, we never stop learning.

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