The U.S. Navy’s Big Bream: Merging a Battleship and Aircraft Carrier
Story by Brent M. Eastwood • Yesterday 3:39 PM
Imagine the combat power of a battleship combined with the flat-top of an aircraft carrier. This “
battle carrier” would have the speed to keep up with other carriers and the big guns to make it a formidable foe. That was the thinking between the world wars and during World War Two. Take the unfinished Iowa-class battleships, the USS Illinois and USS Kentucky, and convert them into aircraft carriers.
Japan Tried the Conversion First
The idea had potential and was not discarded immediately. The Japanese did their own battleship to carrier conversion with the Yamato-class battleship, the Shinano. This was the biggest carrier built during World War Two. Meanwhile, the Americans decided not to convert the Illinois and Kentucky. Yet the navy did create the Independence-class which were Cleveland-class light cruisers made into carriers.
The Soviets Had Their Own Aviation Cruiser
During the Cold War, the Soviets were building their own Kiev-class carrier and cruiser amalgam that entered service in 1975. The Kiev aviation cruiser was the first of the class and it had a crew of 1,600 sailors. It displaced almost 44,000 tons with a top speed of 32 knots. The Kiev had an aft flight deck for Yak-38 vertical take-off and landing fighters in addition to helicopters. The Soviets armed the Kiev to the brink. It came equipped with dozens of anti-ship and surface-to-air missiles, torpedoes, plus four 76mm guns.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/the-u-s-navy-s-big-bream-merging-a-battleship-and-aircraft-carrier/ar-AA14W18T?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=2ee27bb3d4dd45d0ac2129fc1f095eb8
