057 - Ship Shape: The Carrier Fleet

Capital Ships, Escorts, and Tenders

As the value of larger ships (known as Capital Ships) began to prove itself out during the First World War and Navies grew much larger, there was a need for different types of specialized ships within a fleet. 

The Aircraft Carriers and Battleships were large and bulky, so soon, they were escorted by slightly smaller but faster warships called Battle Cruisers (Cruisers for short). Then, much smaller and quicker attack boats called Torpedo Boats and Submarines came about. While Torpedo Boats attacked above water, Submarines attacked below the waterline. This posed a great threat to the Capital Ships.

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To counteract this, Navies created smaller escort vessels called Torpedo Boat Destroyers (Destroyers for short). They were responsible for protecting the Capital Ships in the fleet. The fleet would run in three to five lines, with the Carriers at the heart of the fleet. They’d be directly flanked by Battleships and Battle Cruisers, then Destroyers, Fuel Tenders, Escorts, and Submarines. Usually, the escorts were specialized ships that handled a variety of “housekeeping tasks” for the fleet, such as mechanics, mine-sweeping, or even providing extra kitchen and bed space for the cramped quarters of Destroyers and Submarines.

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The organization of the fleet provided not only more protection against Torpedo Boats and submarines, but also against attacking fighters, bombers, and torpedo planes overhead. This way, the entire fleet worked together, with the larger vessels providing massive firepower and airplane cover overhead, while the escort ships tended to the larger ships and protected from the smaller enemy craft whenever they lurked nearby.

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