HMTS Queen Elizabeth

C

Collin

Charter Member
In April 1942 a feasibility study was made to see if the QE could be converted into an aircraft carrier. Plans were drawn up which gave her a flight deck length of 730 ft (about 10ft less then the Illustrious class).

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View attachment 15275

But due to the requirement of men needing to be moved from the USA to Britain the idea was scrapped, besides, there were very few ports that could handle a carrier of over 1000ft length in those days.

She went on to shift 750,000 service personnel during her wartime career.:salute::icon29::icon29:

regards Collin:ernae:
 
Her turning circle was very good for such a large vessel, but her stability was a bit suspect. In winter months she wasn't permitted to carry more then 8000 souls per trip on the Atlantic run.
If converted, she might have ended up as a aircraft maintenance ship like the Unicorn and then a Nuclear test target like the Sara but at the Montebello Islands.

regards Collin:ernae:
 
I read a great book a while back, (the name escapes me )on the Brit Liners used to transport troops during the WW2. A million + military, civilian refugees, wounded combatants, and POWs were carried EACH way by 4 liners, that for the most part traveled with no or little escort through U boat infested waters.

The liners were another example of unsung heroes that never seem to get their due in that global conflict.

How would all of that transport been accomplished IF they were turned into aircraft carriers?
 
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