WW II aircraft carrier tonnage

[Stephen Tashiro]

Here's a question about a passage from the Goolge book page http://books.google.com/books?id=sg8ivuKMD5cC&pg=PA71&lpg=PA71&dq=Roosevelt+escort+carriers&source=bl&ots=pDT8_QNxg4&sig=q9MysJ99jEPBTXfYnPyE4_el6kc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=8uxPUaWZIcjRyAG5noHIAg&ved=0CFoQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=Roosevelt%20escort%20carriers&f=false , page 71 of the book Carriers in Combat: The Air War at Sea by Chester Hearn.

A passage says President Roosevelt wanted to discuss (with Admiral King and Secretary Knox) the possiblity of building 45,000 ton aircraft carriers and the possibility of reducing tonnage from 27,000 ton carriers and applying it to carriers of 12-14,000 tons. Was a 45,000 ton aircraft carrier in the days of WWII a slightly smaller carrier than the fleet carriers being built? Or was it a larger carrier? (The book said Roosevelt didn't live to see such a carrier built.) It isn't clear to me whether the tonnage in this passage includes the "load" carried by the ship.

[Tom Giles]

A former carrier sailor here. Remember when talking tonnage that it's displacment tons not actual weight. If I remember correct 45,000 ton ship were the larger carriers of that time and I do think it includes the load of the ship.

Aircraft carriers today are twice the tonnage.

But I didn't research anything just answered off the top of my head.

[William Adams]

Pretty easy to research, just need to sort out units and fill in a bit and orde chronologically:

Yorktown-class:


19,800 tons standard
25,500 tons full load

From October 1943:


21,000 tons standard
32,060 tons full load


Lexington-class: 36,000 long tons(37,000 t) (standard)
47,700 long tons (48,500 t) (deep load)

Wasp: As built: 14,700 long tons (14,900 t) (standard)
19,116 long tons (19,423 t) (full load)

Midway-class: 45,000 tons

Independence-class: 11,000 tons (standard)

Casablanca-class escort carrier: 7,800 tons 10,902 tons full load

Essex-class: As built: 27,100 tons standard 36,380 tons full load

should serve as a start.

Excellent book to read, Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors

[Paul McGaha]

Love reading about this kind of stuff.

Admiral King is a person I greatly admire, Handpicked by FDR to run the Navy in World War II. Only person in US Navy history to simultaneously hold the positions of CNO and COMINCH. I've read a couple of books about him. The US Navy had some remarkable accomplishments during his watch.

The Essex class carriers, which started seeing service in late 1942:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essex-class_aircraft_carrier

PHM

[Lee Schierer]

Just to put things in perspective. The USS George Washington has 60,000 tons of steel and displaces 97,000 tons.

[Jim Laumann]

Midway-class: 45,000 tons



The Midway - lead ship of the class, put to sea prior to the Japanese surrender, but never saw combat in WWII.

[William Adams]

The Midway - lead ship of the class, put to sea prior to the Japanese surrender, but never saw combat in WWII.

Yes, I suspect it's the carrier class which F.D.R. never lived to see, hence its inclusion.