From Pleasure ships to ships of war Liner to Carrier

[kriegerfaust]

We all know many cases in which civilian ships have been in times of war converted into warships of varying quality.  Freighters were converted into q-ships and escort carriers.  Liners were used as troop ships and in the age of sail pirates often converted merchant ships into pirate warships.  But how effective would an ocean liner be as a carrier.  The use of two great lake freighters as training ships prove you can place a deck on one.  One of Few Example the Roma to Aquila was never finished.  Many liners used as q-ships were found to have poor handling and showed little resistance to their own guns.  A ship like the Malolo would have made a great escort carrier able to at least take a hit.

The Japanese aircraft carrier Taiyō (大鷹, "Big Eagle") was the lead ship of her class of three escort carriers. She was originally built as Kasuga Maru (春日丸), the last of three Nitta Maru class of passenger-cargo liners built in Japan during the late 1930s for NYK Line. The ship was requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in early 1941 and was converted into an escort carrier. Taiyō was initially used to transport aircraft to distant air bases and for training, but was later used to escort convoys of merchant ships between Japan and Singapore. The ship was torpedoed twice by American submarines with negligible to moderate damage before she was sunk in mid-1944 with heavy loss of life.

Hiyō (飛鷹, "Flying Hawk")^[1] was the name ship of her class of two aircraft carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). Originally planned as the ocean liner Izumo Maru (出雲丸) in 1939, she was purchased by the Navy Ministry in 1941 for conversion to an aircraft carrier. Completed shortly after the Battle of Midway in June 1942, she participated in the Guadalcanal campaign, but missed the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands in October because of an electrical generator fire.

Shin'yō (神鷹) "Divine Hawk") was an escort carrier operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy, converted from the German ocean liner Scharnhorst. The liner had been trapped in Kure, Japan following the outbreak of World War II in Europe, which prevented any attempt for the ship to return to Germany. The Japanese Navy then purchased the ship, and after the Battle of Midway in June 1942, decided to convert her into an aircraft carrier. Conversion work lasted from 1942 to late 1943, and Shin'yō was commissioned into the Japanese Navy in November 1943.

Other examples include the conversion of sea plane tenders into carriers as it became clear that airplanes were not only scouts but would play a part in the battle line.  Conversion of partially or fully built battleship, battle-heavy and light cruisers into carriers was done to bridge the gap before more purpose-built ships could be finished.  I have included a few examples of proposed conversions and actual conversions are there anymore that you know of if so include them below.  The Aquila is already in game would you like to see the Hiyo and Taiyo included or any of the opther proposal ships

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_aircraft_carrier_Aquila

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Taiyō

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Malolo

https://www.trovestar.com/generic/zoom.php?id=10768

http://asmrb.pbworks.com/w/page/9959044/Pulp XCV

https://www.meherbabatravels.com/ship-travels/roma/

https://www.shipsnostalgia.com/media/normandie-as-an-aircraft-carrier.436868/

http://asmrb.pbworks.com/w/page/9959044/Pulp XCV

 

 

Edited March 10 by kriegerfaust

[Lord_Slayer]

1 hour ago, kriegerfaust said:

 

OMG not the folding flight deck thing again.

I'm having flashbacks to those 'Battle Carrier' proposals of 'he who will not be named'

 

[Yedwy]

6 hours ago, Lord_Slayer said:

OMG not the folding flight deck thing again.

I'm having flashbacks to those 'Battle Carrier' proposals of 'he who will not be named'

 

Yeah any machine engeneer that saw this I think would run away full speed in the opposite direction...