Читать книгу The Gathering Storm - Geirr Haarr - Страница 11

— 2 —

The Allied Navies

Scant Resources

IN 1919 THE ROYAL Navy could muster 438,000 men, 58 capital ships, 12 aircraft carriers, 103 cruisers, 456 destroyers and 122 submarines. Great Britain was the unchallenged master of the seas. Economic and social reforms were necessary, though, and reduced military spending was inevitable. Arguments that sustaining an armaments industry would help maintain employment and stimulate new industries were dismissed. The British politicians had no choice but to follow a course that would lead to a dramatic development for the armed forces. The army was cut to little more than an imperial police force. The Royal Navy and the newly established Royal Air Force fared relatively better but still faced dramatic cutbacks. The Royal Navy would fall to almost insignificance within ten years. One by one, the shipbuilding and ordnance companies collapsed or merged to preserve a minimum of employment and competence. First Sea Lord Admiral Beatty was shocked and stubbornly continued to plan for a renewal of the fleet, including battleships and carriers, arguing that the strategic needs of the empire could only be met by naval superiority.¹ This was not to be.

The Washington Naval Treaty signed on 1 February 1922 allowed the Royal Navy to retain twenty-two capital ships, most of them of the 25,750-ton, 15-inch gun Queen Elizabeth-class, with the notable exception of Hood, which floated a substantial 41,200 tons. In the ‘Special Programme of Naval Construction’ of 1923 that gave the priorities for the remainder of the decade, some of the retained capital ships were listed for upgrading while four were scrapped, allowing for the building of two new ones – Nelson and Rodney. To remain below 35,000 tons while keeping their 16-inch guns, all three triple turrets were positioned forward, with the after hull trimmed short. The day of the capital ship was nearly over, though, and within two decades, the aircraft carrier would replace the capital ships as the ultimate naval weapon, supported by simpler, less expensive warships and submarines.

By the early 1930s, the Royal Navy had shrunk to two main fleets, the Home Fleet and the Mediterranean Fleet. Cruiser squadrons were maintained at the West Indies, North America, Cape, East Indies and China stations. Later still, economic constraints led to some of these being replaced by sloops and other smaller ships performing ‘cruiser tasks’. In 1939, the Home Fleet was still a significant force but of mixed vintage and inadequately balanced for full tactical efficiency. In addition to the battleships Rodney, Nelson, Ramillies, Royal Oak and Royal Sovereign, the battlecruisers Hood, Renown and Repulse were under command, as were the aircraft carriers Ark Royal and Furious, twelve cruisers, seventeen destroyers and sixteen submarines in addition to minesweepers and support ships. An additional two cruisers and nine destroyers were stationed in the Humber. The battleships Revenge and Resolution with the carriers Hermes and Courageous, three A/A cruisers and nine destroyers were deployed at Portland, in addition to destroyers and light forces in Harwich, Dover, Portsmouth, Plymouth and Milford Haven.²

Battlecruiser Renown was originally commissioned in September 1916. By 1939, she had effectively been reconstructed. Among the improvements were high-pressure boilers and Parson-geared turbines, upgraded 15-inch gun turrets and completely new 4.5-inch dual-purpose secondary gun armament. She could do just over 30 knots but became very wet forward if she did. (Wright and Logan – W&L)

Ramillies, Royal Sovereign, Royal Oak and Repulse lacked modernisation and, although they would be dangerous to most opponents in terms of guns, they were so slow that for all practical purposes they were useless. Only Hood and the modernised Renown were fast enough to catch the German ‘pocket’ battleships, and both would be a match for Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in an equal fight.³ Hood, the pride of the fleet, was ageing and due for extensive upgrades and modernisation in September 1939 – which she would never have. Nelson and Rodney were still relatively modern with powerful main guns and armour, but very slow. The lack of speed in the British capital ships meant that to catch the German battleships they would have to rely on surprise or damage by torpedoes from submarines, destroyers or aircraft – even more difficult as the German capital ships had efficient radars installed.

At the end of WWI, the Royal Navy had some forty modern cruisers in commission and a further nine under construction. Most of these were small, with 6-inch guns, suitable for the North Sea and the Mediterranean. For the protection of Atlantic and Asian trade routes, larger ships were needed. The Washington Treaty allowed for 10,000 tons and 8-inch guns, so eleven County-class cruisers were ordered in 1924–26.⁴ These were seaworthy ships and could maintain speed in rough seas, being stable gun platforms with a good rate of fire and a superior director system. To stay within the limitations, a top speed of 32 knots had to be accepted, and the ships were vulnerable to bombing throughout their careers, due to reduced armour. Several of them would play important roles in the early years of WWII.

Shortage of funds forced simplifications and in 1928 York was launched, followed by the modified Exeter a year later. These were some 8,000 tons, carrying three twin 8-inch gun turrets. Further reductions were needed, and 6-inch guns became the hallmark of British cruiser design in the 1930s. Although it was half the weight of an 8-inch shell, it was argued that the rapid rate of fire of the 6-inch guns would give a superior weight of broadside if it could shorten the range fast enough to avoid lethal damage from long-range heavier guns.

Five Leander-class,⁵ three Arethusa-class⁶ and eight Southampton-class⁷ cruisers were launched between 1931 and 1937. The Leanders were some 7,200 tons with eight 6-inch guns, while the Arethusas carried six 6-inch guns at 5,250 tons. The Southamptons carried a formidable twelve 6-inch guns in four three-gun turrets, but this required a displacement of over 9,000 tons. In 1938 the even larger Belfast and Edinburgh were launched but these would not be operational until after the outbreak of war. At the start of the war, the Royal Navy had fifty-seven cruisers in commission, of which thirty-seven were modern designs.⁸

The successful V&W-class and their modifications constituted the mainstay of the Royal Navy destroyer force in the 1920s. New ships were needed, however, and after extensive testing – including prototypes – the Admiralty settled for a new design during 1927–28. Funds were made available and the building of almost eighty fast, agile and seaworthy destroyers commenced. Running through nine batches, these were known as the A- to I-classes, produced, with minor modifications, at a rate of eight per year, with a flotilla leader for each group. The leaders were larger, somewhat better equipped and most of them carried a fifth gun amidships. Building usually took less than a year from the laying down of the the keel to launch. Fitting out took another year, but as the crews were normally transferred from one of the older destroyers in for refit or being paid off, commissioning and working up was smooth.

Cruiser Norfolk, 24 May 1939, at Devonport. The County-class cruisers were 10,000-ton ships with eight 8-inch guns in twin mounts. (Keystone)

Destroyer Firedrake showing off in high seas. She was one of the 1,400-ton F-class destroyers, built in 1934 and commissioned in May 1935. Armament consisted of four 4.7-inch Mk IX guns in single mounts and eight 0.5-inch Vickers machine guns in quad mounts in addition to eight torpedo tubes (in quad mounts) and one rack for twenty depth-charges. Maximum speed exceeded 35 knots. (Crown Copyright)

Three single-reduction steam turbines provided 42,000 horsepower to two shafts. Endurance was 3,400 miles at 15 knots, or 5,340 miles at 12.5 knots. The early ships carried 4-inch guns while the later versions were upgraded with 4.7-inch guns. The elevated forecastle and bridge well aft gave the nimble ships good sea-keeping abilities. Efficient fire control was ensured by a 10-foot base rangefinder and the new ‘Destroyer Director Control Tower’ (DCT). Anti-aircraft (A/A) defences were insufficient, though: initally only two quadruple 0.5-inch machine guns abreast the bridge and some 0.303 Lewis guns. Two quadruple torpedo mountings for 21-inch torpedoes were standard for the early ships, while quintuple mountings were introduced for the later classes.⁹ In 1934 Esk and Empress were completed as minelayers and used for testing. In spite of increased vibrations and some stability issues, the concept was found acceptable. Ships of the subsequent G-, H- and I-classes were designed for, but not fitted out with, minelaying capacity.

The building of ‘super-destroyers’ in other navies made the Admiralty worry over the relative inferiority of the standard British destroyer, and in the late 1930s the Tribal-class was developed. Arguably an unnecessary concept, the Tribals were formidable warships and among the finest-looking vessels the Royal Navy ever possessed. With even better sea-keeping qualities than the smaller destroyers and armed with four twin 4.7-inch turrets, they would be a match for many light cruisers, all the more so as power ramming of the ammunition meant that a high rate of fire could be kept up in rough seas.¹⁰ The 4.7-inch guns had a maximum elevation of only 40 degrees, however, and with insufficient A/A armament, one four-barrel pompom and two quadruple machine guns they would suffer heavily when exposed to the dive-bombers of the Luftwaffe. Still, the Tribals, of which the first, Cossack, was commissioned in June 1938, would have an outstanding war record.

In 1936, the Board of the Admiralty, after discussions with fleet officers, decided there was a justifiable requirement for a destroyer, smaller than the Tribal-class, but still armed with a 4.7-inch twin-mounting high-angle/low-angle (HA/LA) gun, two torpedo mountings and minesweeping gear.¹¹ The result was the highly successful J-, K- and N-classes of, in all, twenty-four ships. The first two flotilla leaders, Jervis and Kelly, were completed in May and August 1939, respectively. By the end of 1939, all sixteen J- and K-class destroyers were in service. As with the Tribals, the A/A armament was inadequate and had to be upgraded once the war commenced.¹²

The myriad of auxiliaries, minesweepers and other small vessels that had been commissioned during WWI were largely put in the reserve, sold or scrapped. The most modern ships were kept, meaning that newbuilds were not even considered before the late 1920s, by which time financial constraints applied. By 1926–27, fourteen vessels of a ‘sloop’ type were included in the building programme for the years 1927–30. In spite of their classification, they were essentially multi-purpose minesweepers equipped for escort and patrol duties and anti-submarine (A/S) work. As usual, when trying to put too many functions on one keel, none worked very well. Too slow for A/S work, too large for efficient mine-sweeping and too weakly armed for patrol duties, the ships were nevertheless complicated in design and needed time and resources to build. From minor differences, they were known as Bridgewater-, Hastings- and Shoreham-classes. The subsequent Grimsby- and Halcyon-classes were simpler, but not necessarily more suitable for wartime service. By 1936, eight Grimsbys and eighteen Halcyons had been built. Later, the Bridgewaters, Hastings, Shorehams and Grimsbys were reclassified as patrol sloops and even later as escort vessels, while the Halcyons became minesweepers. All forty vessels were first and foremost minesweepers, though.¹³

Sloop Dundee was launched in 1932. She was torpedoed and sunk in September 1940 by U48, which was at the time under the command of Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Bleichrodt (see Chapter 12). (Author’s collection)

From 1936 to 1938 the Naval Staff construction programmes were chiefly concerned with larger vessels – destroyers and above. As war did not appear imminent, the focus was on traditional larger ships, tying up large amounts of resources. There would, it was expected, be sufficient time to fill in the gaps with smaller ships later, should tension increase. When Parliament cut the navy estimates in 1938, the decision was made to maintain cruiser and capital ship programmes and push the smaller ships even further into the future. Instead, arrangements were made for some 200 trawlers to be made ready for rapid conversion to auxiliaries, should necessity dictate. In addition, specifications were prepared whereby further auxiliary minesweepers of trawler design could be built at regular shipyards should the need arise. In early 1939, the first of these ‘Admiralty trawlers’ were ordered. Pending their completion, twenty-six commercial trawlers were bought and put into the yards for conversion. Fifteen of these were ready for service on 3 September 1939.¹⁴

Limited in relative and absolute strength, the Royal Navy of the early 1930s was no longer the battle-hardened senior service of Admiral Beatty that had watched the German Hochsee Flotte sail into internment.¹⁵ The military historian Correlli Barnett argues that ‘once again a kind of fashionable yacht-club more apt for elegant displays of ship-handling and royal tours of the Empire than for battle’ had emerged.¹⁶ In a meeting of the Committee on Defence Programmes, held on 20 March 1939, there seems to have been contentment with the 200 or more ships under construction and no immediate urgency to accelerate the building programme in a systematic manner. ‘A little of everything’ seemed to be the solution, in spite of the meeting admitting to the ‘completely inadequate number of A/S escorts [and] minesweepers’.¹⁷

In all fairness, a good number of the officers and sailors strove to maintain the quality of the old navy, but peacetime routines and a return to a Victorian-style social divide between the decks created challenges. Neither the Admiralty nor the naval educational institutions were devoting much time to systematically gathering, analysing and applying the lessons of WWI into the development of new and modified strategies, tactics or doctrines for the next conflict. An alarming number of deficiencies would be brought along into the opening stages of WWII and cost many lives.

Marine Nationale

The French Navy or Marine Nationale of the late 1930s was steeped in tradition, conservative in utilisation of new technologies and limited in individual opportunities. Still, it was large and modern, 200 ships being commissioned between 1920 and 1935, averaging around thirty thousand tons per year. After the collapse of the disarmament talks during the mid-1930s, the building accelerated even more. Except for five renovated capital ships, the oldest ship of the Marine Nationale was seventeen years old in 1939. At the outbreak of WWII the Marine Nationale was the fourth largest navy in the world, and in Europe it was second only to the Royal Navy. It could muster about 160,000 men and was far better prepared for war than either the French Army or the French Air Force.¹⁸

For most French naval officers, WWI had been spent escorting convoys to and from the colonies and lying in wait for the Austro-Hungarian fleet that never emerged from its anchorages. Little had come out of the alliance with Britain, and animosity towards the Royal Navy existed well into the 1930s. Students at the Naval Academy (École de Guerre Navale) learned that the Marine Nationale’s main task was to uphold and defend the ports and coastlines of France and its colonies and to protect the merchant routes. Unless absolute surprise and numerical dominance could be achieved, the fleet should not be deployed aggressively. The Washington Naval Treaty was seen as favouring Britain, the USA and Japan while curbing France and Italy, and its restrictions were taken lightly. The 1935 Anglo-German Naval Agreement underpinned the belief that Britain was hostile to France and the other Latin countries. The strategies and mentalities of the French Navy were not primed for cooperation with the Royal Navy.¹⁹

Vice-Amiral François Darlan, who took over as Chief of Staff on 1 January 1937, had a grudge against Britain in general and the Royal Navy in particular. Shy and reserved behind a brusque exterior, he was known for improvising frequently and not acting on advice. In June 1939, he was made Amiral de la Flotte, a rank created especially for him, and given command of the entire French Navy, including direct control of all operations in all theatres. As he was answerable directly to the government, it made him independent of general political support and to a large extent free from political control.

The 6,000-ton French cruiser Emile Bertin, which was commissioned in 1935. Her main armament consisted of three triple 15-cm turrets and she was reasonably well equipped with A/A guns. (Author’s collection)

There is no doubt that Darlan and most of his senior officers believed the Marine Nationale could match even the combined German and Italian navies if put to the test, without the support of the Royal Navy. Hence, there was virtually no exchange of plans or points of view between the Admiralty and the French Naval Staff prior to the outbreak of war, largely due to common mistrust and an absence of mentors advocating the need for a common strategy. Joint Anglo-French naval staff conferences were held in London on 31 March, 27 April and 3 May 1939, but these had little influence on the practicalities in either navy. On 23 August, the French naval reservists were called, all leave cancelled and men ordered to report back to their ships immediately. Plans for liaison with the Royal Navy were activated and French naval officers were sent to Malta, Gibraltar, Plymouth and Dover while similar British contingents arrived in Bizerte, Toulon, Brest and Dunkirk, in addition to large naval missions in London and Paris, respectively. On the 25th, a common signal code, prepared in utmost secrecy, was activated. Still, the cooperation between the Marine Nationale and the Royal Navy would never prosper, and by the summer of 1940 Admiral Darlan’s inability to develop a proper cooperation with the British virtually sidelined the Marine Nationale.²⁰

Starting to Rearm

In their annual review for 1933, the British Chiefs of Staff wrote: ‘Germany is not only starting to rearm, but she will continue this process until within a few years hence she will have to be reckoned as a formidable military power.’ The Baldwin cabinet responded by establishing a Defence Policy and Requirements Sub-Committee (DRC) under the Committee of Imperial Defence (CID) to assess ways of meeting the worst defence deficiencies and re-establishing a military force adequate for the situation.²¹ Later, a new ministerial appointment for the coordination of defence was also made to focus the efforts inside the cabinet.²²

The possibility of a three-sided conflict with Germany in Europe, Italy in the Mediterranean and Japan in the Far East emerged during the early 1930s, and the motivation of the Admiralty for the Anglo-German Naval Treaty of 1935 was the wish to keep German naval rearmament at a qualitative level where it could be matched by the existing Home Fleet. By allowing the Kriegsmarine to aim for a ‘balanced fleet’, the treaty meant that Germany would have to spread its resources and build many types of ships rather than focusing on those most dangerous for Britain.

The Royal Navy was not the service that was in the worst state, but the situation was sinister. Capital ships were largely obsolete and even if light cruisers, destroyers and submarines were relatively modern, their numbers were insufficient. In July 1934, the cabinet approved a modest five-year programme to try to mend some of the deficiencies of the naval forces. A prioritised modernisation of battleships and cruisers commenced, but the refits would take time and the ships undergoing the upgrading would be out of commission for years. It was February 1936 before political agreement for a factual expansion programme of the armed forces was reached and an accelerated warship-building programme initiated. From £53.5 million in 1933, the naval budget increased to £127.2 million in 1938. A significant part of this had to be used for upgrades and modernisations, though, and only a slow increase in building could be envisaged. As a stopgap measure, some of the older capital ships were taken to the yards for modernisation: Warspite, Renown and Malaya first. Armament, armour, fire-control systems and machinery were prioritised, together with A/A and torpedo protection. The ships were virtually rebuilt and the process took years. Still, they were back in commission before the war. Valiant and Queen Elizabeth were not, and further upgrades, including that of Hood, were cancelled. The County-class cruisers were also upgraded before the war with additional armour and A/A armament.

Unexpectedly, the lack of shipyards, skilled labour and a high-tech naval industry turned out to be a major challenge, creating a growing dependence on foreign deliveries. High-quality steel was in such short supply that some of the new cruisers and carriers had to use Czechoslovak armour. Likewise, Swedish Bofors and Swiss Oerlikon A/A guns had to be imported as such weapons could not be manufactured in Britain. Most serious was the fact that an inferior fire-control system for the A/A guns was chosen, largely due to incompetence and inability of British engineering firms to manufacture the precision instruments needed in the superior systems.

Nevertheless, construction of new ships commenced, and it was projected that at the end of 1940 the Royal Navy would have 15 capital ships, 8 carriers, 70 cruisers, some 145 destroyers and 55 submarines. As things turned out, however, the newbuilds would largely replace the losses inflicted by the war, rather than increase the fleet.²³

During the late 1930s, discussions within the Royal Navy arose as to where the main wartime anchorage for the Home Fleet should be: Rosyth or Scapa Flow. Many preferred the former, not least due to its less remote location. Eventually, during mid-1938, a decision was made in favour of the Orkneys, and during the Czech crisis in September 1938 the Home Fleet was assembled at Scapa Flow for the first time since 1919. It became instantly obvious that the anchorage was inadequately equipped and protected, vulnerable to both submarine and aircraft attacks. Hence, Loch Ewe, Clyde and Rosyth had to be used as well until adequate defences had been installed at Scapa Flow. This would take time, though, due to lack of priority and funds, and actual improvements at Scapa Flow between the Munich summit and the outbreak of the war were limited.²⁴

In April 1938 Admiral Roger Backhouse was appointed First Sea Lord, and Admiral Charles Forbes took his place as C-in-C of the Home Fleet. Forbes (aged fifty-eight) was an experienced sailor, both in the staff role and on the bridge, who strongly disliked publicity. His flag lieutenant from his later days in command, Godfrey Style, described him as ‘always calm, always the same, and always correctly dressed’.²⁵ In another subordinate’s view, he had ‘a fine brain and a tremendously powerful character’.²⁶

Backhouse died less than a year after becoming First Sea Lord, and his successor was Admiral Alfred Dudley Pound (aged sixty-two), recalled from his post as C-in-C of the Mediterranean Fleet in June 1939. Pound was a very experienced admiral indeed, but by many was considered ‘rugged and undistinguished, solidly middle-class . . . with a mind untroubled by large strategic visions’.²⁷ Not always good at detailing tasks to subordinates – or if he did, at trusting their assessments – Pound was to carry a heavy burden through the first part of the war. His capacity for work endeared him to Churchill and, after a rather cold start, a very special relationship developed between the two men. They were truly different in character, temper and competence but with an aligned belief in the Royal Navy as the senior service. Between Forbes and Pound, though, an unconstructive personal relationship developed that was to affect the Home Fleet’s operations in the first period of the war. Unlike the War Office and the Air Ministry, the Admiralty was an operational centre, and information was often available to the First Sea Lord before it reached the commanding officers at sea. This gave him an opportunity to interfere, which Pound often could not resist, to Forbes’ intense dislike.²⁸

The Naval Staff met daily to review the previous twenty-four hours, consider reports and decide matters on which immediate action was necessary. In mid-1939, the deputy chief of the Naval Staff (DCNS) was Rear Admiral Tom Phillips. The Second Sea Lord, Admiral Charles Little, was responsible for all matters concerning personnel, while the Third Sea Lord or Controller, Rear Admiral Bruce Fraser, oversaw design and construction of warships, including machinery, weapons and equipment. Fourth Sea Lord Rear Admiral Geoffrey Arbuthnot dealt with the procurement and distribution of stores and supplies, including fuel, and Fifth Sea Lord, Vice Admiral Alexander Ramsay – replaced by Vice Admiral Guy Royle in November 1939 – was responsible for all aspects of naval aviation.²⁹

Defence of the Fleet

During WWI, the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) developed from very small beginnings to a major service in its own right. Still, the navy to a large degree supported the establishment of an independent Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1918, accepting the argument that a single force would optimise aircraft and engine development and ensure effective operational control. An agreement was reached whereby the Royal Navy would operate the ships, while the RAF would provide the aircraft and the men to fly and service them, onboard or ashore. Maritime aviation was quickly sidelined within the RAF, however, creating a detrimental conflict between the Admiralty and the Air Ministry.

When Admiral Alfred Chatfield became First Sea Lord in 1933, he carried with him experience from the Mediterranean, where the carriers Glorious, Furious and Eagle had been part of his command. He lobbied extensively for an independent naval air force, arguing that such sophisticated services as operating and flying aircraft at sea needed dedicated involvement. Eventually, he was heard, and in 1937 the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) was moved from RAF to Admiralty control as a branch of the Royal Navy. Sulking, the RAF developed tactics to deal with the threat to seaborne trade at the source, bombing shipyards and naval bases, eliminating the need for a specialised anti-shipping strike force. Occasional bombing trials against maritime targets were considered satisfactory and only a limited number of reconnaissance and flying-boat squadrons were necessary for escort, anti-submarine patrols and reconnaissance. Long-distance navigation over the sea was brushed over, and few if any British aircrews had any training in this by September 1939.³⁰

In spite of the addition of a Fifth Sea Lord as Chief of the Naval Air Services to the Board of the Admiralty, the FAA was in a rather sorry state as war approached. Experience in the tactical use of carrier-based aircraft was limited, both in the Royal Navy and in the FAA itself, all the more so as the approximately 200 carrier-aircraft were largely obsolete – Swordfish, Skua, Roc and Sea Gladiators.³¹ Budgetary reasons must take a fair share of the blame for this, but traditionalist British naval officers also held that aircraft would never be a danger to capital ships at sea and were unwilling to spend resources on their development.

Contrary to the tactics developed during the later Norwegian campaign, where carrier task forces operated without capital ships, in the mid-1930s the British carriers were seen as scouts for the fleet, with defence of its own ships and attacking those of the enemy as secondary tasks. The offensive role, using bombs and torpedoes, was not ignored, but it was felt that this should only be considered under favourable conditions and then mainly to slow down enemy ships so that they could be brought to action. This concept of carrier deployment would dominate British naval thinking between the wars, leading to the building of heavily armoured carriers that would take fewer aircraft and preventing a dynamic development of their strategic and tactical deployment. By 1939, the doctrine had been modified somewhat, but reconnaissance and shadowing were still considered the primary roles for the FAA.

A few years after WWI, three carriers remained in service with the Royal Navy: Furious, Argus and Vindictive, in addition to the seaplane carrier Pegasus. Of these, only Argus had a through deck. Vindictive was reconverted to a cruiser in 1923, while Furious was rebuilt and upgraded, emerging as a flush-decked fleet carrier with two hangars and lifts capable of operating up to sixty-one aircraft. Hermes, the first Royal Navy carrier built from scratch, was no more than 11,000 tons. She was intended as a scout assisting the fleet’s cruisers and carried only twenty-five aircraft. Eagle had twice the displacement but barely any more aircraft.³² Courageous and Glorious, originally completed as ‘large light cruisers’, had hull sizes and speeds rendering them suitable for adaptation to carriers, and conversion work was started in 1923. When completed in 1928 and 1930, respectively, they could operate some thirty-five aircraft each and were satisfactory stopgap vessels.³³

When Ark Royal was completed in November 1938, several novel ideas were introduced, including arrester cables and compressed steam catapults, making limited deck space available for arming, fuelling and flight preparation.³⁴ The keel length was limited to 670 feet by dry-dock capacity in Gibraltar and Malta, but the flight deck was extended to 800 feet, with a pronounced overhang over bow and stern. As the two hangar decks were within the hull, the flight deck rose to some 65 feet above the waterline, giving the Ark a characteristic towering profile, unlike any other ship at the time. To save weight, welding was used where possible, while armour plating was limited to the belt, engine rooms and magazines.³⁵ For the same reason, the flight deck was not armoured, making the ship vulnerable to air attack, but increasing stability and operational endurance. Six boilers powered three turbines, one to each propeller, giving a maximum speed of over 31 knots – a necessity to operate safely and efficiently during flight operations without slowing down the fleet she was meant to accompany. A/A armament was limited, but the Ark was not meant to be alone. A screen of destroyers and cruisers would always be near, while she could concentrate on operating aircraft. That the companions had limited A/A capacity themselves was overlooked. With a theoretical capacity of seventy-two aircraft, Ark Royal rarely operated more than fifty aircraft in the beginning of the war, reflecting the lack of aircraft and pilots. Normally, during these times, two squadrons of Fairey Swordfish biplane reconnaissance torpedo bombers and two of Blackburn Skua dive-bombers were on board, the latter also taking on the interceptor and defensive fighter role.³⁶

Top, aircraft carrier Furious. (Sellicks) Below, aircraft carrier Ark Royal. (Valentines)

In 1939, Ark Royal entered service alongside Hermes, Eagle, Courageous and Glorious, while Furious and Argus were used for training purposes. Furious was recalled to active service shortly after the outbreak of war, while Argus remained in a training role.³⁷ Six new, fully armoured, 23,000-ton carriers of the Illustrious- and Implacable-classes had been laid down from 1937 but none of these would be operational until the end of 1940.

* * *

On 26 August 1939, Admiral Forbes took Nelson and the rest of the Home Fleet from Scapa Flow to patrol the Shetland–Bergen narrows. With four capital ships, one carrier, two cruisers and ten destroyers, it was but a fraction of the fleets Jellicoe and Beatty had commanded, but it would have to do. On 29 August, the order went out for a general mobilisation in Britain and at 16:38 the Admiralty issued a signal to all British Naval units to mobilise for ‘war with a European power’. Two days later, on the 31st, Admiral Forbes ordered his ships to: ‘complete fusing of all shells. Ship all warheads. Prepare for war.’³⁸