The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia
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| Tonnage |
10,850 tons standard |
| Dimensions | 600'1" by 72' by 30'6" 182.91m by 21.95m by 9.30m |
| Maximum speed | 26.2 knots |
| Complement | 664 |
| Aircraft | 580' (176.8m) flight deck 2 elevators 1 catapult 12 aircraft |
| Armament | 6 5.5"/50
guns 4 4"/45 AA guns 1x4 40mm/40 AA guns 5 20mm Oerlikon AA guns 2x4 0.50 machine guns |
| Protection | 3"
(76mm) belt 1" (25mm) deck over magazines and machinery |
| Machinery |
2-shaft Parsons geared turbine
(40,000 shp) 6 Yarrow small-tube boilers |
| Bunkerage | 2000 tons fuel oil 80,000 gallons (303,000 liters) aviation gasoline |
| Range | 2930 nautical miles (5430 km) at 18 knots |
The Hermes was the first aircraft carrier ever built as such, in 1923. She was designed to perform the same mission as light cruisers, namely, scouting for the battle fleet. Hence her armor protection, machinery, and other design characteristics were similar to those of a light cruiser.
Ugly and slow, she was relegated to secondary roles by the beginning of the war. She was undergoing repair at Durban when the war broke out, and was sunk on 9 April 1942 south of Ceylon by Japanese carrier aircraft.
References
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2007, 2010 by Kent G. Budge. Index
