Boat that services aircraft landing on water
French seaplane carrier
Foudre
HMS
Hermes
, which functioned as a seaplane carrier for two months in 1913
HMS
Ark Royal
about 1918
A
seaplane tender
is a
boat
or
ship
that supports the operation of
seaplanes
. Some of these vessels, known as
seaplane carriers
, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are regarded by some as the first
aircraft carriers
and appeared just before the
First World War
.
Terminology
[
edit
]
RAF seaplane tender 1502, in 2011
In maritime parlance a
tender
is a vessel that is used to support the operation of other vessels.
In British usage, the term tender was used for small craft, with the term
depot ship
being used for large seagoing vessels.
Flying boats
and
float planes
even when based at home in ports and harbour had a need for small support vessels to operate.
[1]
British tenders were small craft of
launch
to
pinnace
size. These were used to ferry crews, stores and supplies between shore and the aircraft, to maintain the buoys used to mark out "taxiways" and "runways" and to keep these clear of debris to prevent
foreign object damage
, and in the case of emergency to act as rescue craft and
airport crash tenders
.
[1]
All those functions that on land would require wheeled
ground support equipment
had a need for a watercraft equivalent.
When deploying flying boat squadrons, bases could rapidly be established in areas lacking infrastructure by sending flying boat depot ships in addition to small craft tenders. These ships could carry out the function of barracks, workshops and control towers, i.e. those functions which in a land based airfield would be fulfilled by buildings.
[1]
History
[
edit
]
Scoutplane being hoisted on board
USS
Philadelphia
The first seaplane carrier appeared in 1911 with the French Navy
La Foudre
, following the invention of the
seaplane
in 1910 with the French
Fabre Hydravion
.
La Foudre
carried float-equipped planes under hangars on the main deck, from where they were lowered on the sea with a crane.
La Foudre
was further modified in November 1913 with a 10 m (32 ft 10 in)-long flat deck to launch her seaplanes.
[2]
Another early seaplane carrier was
HMS
Hermes
, an old cruiser converted and commissioned with a flying-off deck in mid-1913. However,
HMS
Ark Royal
was the first ship in history designed and built as a seaplane carrier in 1914.
First World War
[
edit
]
The Japanese seaplane carrier
Wakamiya
conducted the world's first naval-launched air raids in September 1914.
In the
Battle of Tsingtao
, from 5 September 1914, the
Imperial Japanese Navy
seaplane carrier
Wakamiya
conducted the world's first naval-launched air raids
[3]
from
Kiaochow Bay
.
[4]
The four
Maurice Farman
seaplanes bombarded German-held land targets (communication centers and command centers) and damaged a German minelayer in the
Tsingtao
peninsula from September 6 November 1914, to when the Germans surrendered.
[3]
On Christmas Day 1914, the British carried out the
Cuxhaven Raid
; seaplanes carried within range of their targets attacked German naval targets in the
Heligoland Bight
.
These carriers had
hangars
for storing and maintaining the aircraft, but no
flight deck
as in a true aircraft carrier. Instead, they used cranes to lower the aircraft into the sea for takeoff and to recover them after landing. The ships were normally
converted merchant vessels
rather than specially constructed for the task. As aircraft improved, the problems of using seaplanes became more of a handicap. The aircraft could only be operated in a smooth sea and the ship had to stop for launching or recovery, both of which took around 20 minutes. The tender was often stationed 10
mi
(8.7
nmi
; 16
km
) or so in front of the main battle fleet with the
cruiser
screen so that it would not fall significantly behind when it launched its aircraft. Seaplanes also had poorer performance than other aircraft because of the drag and weight of the floats. Seaplane tenders had largely been superseded by aircraft carriers in the battle fleet by the end of the First World War, although aircraft were still of minor importance compared to the firepower of naval artillery.
The British
HMS
Ark Royal
was a seaplane tender with a flying-off deck. Seaplanes could be recovered while the ship was under way through the "Hein Mat" – a sheet towed behind the vessel, once the aircraft was on the mat it was effectively stationary with respect to the ship and could be hoisted aboard.
The Australian seaplane tender
HMAS
Albatross
with one of her aircraft overhead (AWM 300122)
In the inter-war years, it was common for
cruisers
and
battleships
to be equipped with
catapult
-launched
reconnaissance seaplanes
. A few navies – especially those without true aircraft carriers – also acquired catapult-equipped seaplane carriers for fleet reconnaissance.
World War II
[
edit
]
USS
Timbalier
with two
Martin PBM Mariner
flying boats
shortly after the Second World War
USS
Gannet
(AM-41)
During the
Second World War
, both the
American
and the
Japanese Navies
built a number of seaplane tenders to supplement their aircraft carrier fleets. However, these ships often had their catapults removed, and were used as support vessels that operated seaplanes from harbours rather than in a seaway. These aircraft were generally for long-range reconnaissance patrols. The tenders allowed the aircraft to be rapidly deployed to new bases because their runways did not have to be constructed, and support facilities were mobile much like
supply ships
for
submarines
or
destroyers
.
Nazi Germany
's
Kriegsmarine
, in the Second World War, did not operate any seaplane tenders. However, the
Luftwaffe
had nineteen seaplane tenders. These ships were mostly converted from existing civilian seaplane tenders, and were capable of carrying 1?3 seaplanes. The French and Italian Navies also had seaplane tenders.
Seaplane carriers became obsolete at the end of the Second World War. A few remained in service after the war but by the late 1950s most had been scrapped or converted to other uses such as
helicopter
repair ships.
List of examples
[
edit
]
Examples of seaplane tenders include:
- HMAS
Albatross
(Australia, 1928)
- Akitsushima
(Japan, served from 1942 until sunken in 1944)
- La Foudre
(France, converted into the world's first seaplane tender in 1911?13)
- Chitose
(Japan, 1936; she and sister ship
Chiyoda
converted to conventional
aircraft carriers
in 1943?1944)
- Commandant Teste
(France, 1932)
- Giuseppe Miraglia
(Italy, converted from merchant vessel
Citta de Messina
in 1927)
- Dedalo
(Spain, converted from the German merchant vessel
Neuenfels
in 1922)
- HMS
Ark Royal
(UK, 1914, renamed
Pegasus
in 1934)
- HMS
Ben-my-Chree
(UK, a ferry converted in 1915 used in WWI)
- HMS
Engadine
(UK, 1911, another converted ferry; present at the
Battle of Jutland
)
- HMS
Campania
(UK)
- HMS
Riviera
(UK, sister ship of
Engadine
)
- USS
Langley
(USA's first aircraft carrier; converted into a seaplane tender in 1937)
- USS
Mississippi
(USA, a
battleship
used as a seaplane tender in 1914)
- USS
Curtiss
(USA WWII Pearl Harbor to Okinawa)
- USS
Currituck
and
USS
Pine Island
(USA WWII-era seaplane tenders, both later participated in
Operation Highjump
, a 1947 mission to
Antarctica
)
- USS
Norton Sound
(Began service as
Currituck
-class seaplane tender AV-11, later converted to AVM-1 – first US guided-missile ship)
- HMAFV
Adastral
, ex HMS
Fife Ness
, a
Fort ship
, converted to a seaplane depot ship, and operated by the RAF between 1947 and 1953
- USS
Tangier
(USA, a cargo ship converted to a seaplane tender in 1940)
- USS
Timbalier
(tended
Martin PBM Mariner
flying boats
until 1954)
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Sutherland, Jon; Canwell, Diane (2010).
The RAF Air Sea Rescue Service 1918-1986
. Pen AMD Sword.
ISBN
978-184884303-5
.
p
- ^
Description
of
Foudre
- ^
a
b
War College, The U.S. Naval (2000).
"Winter 2000 Review"
.
Naval War College Review
.
53
(1): 67?70.
ISSN
0028-1484
. Retrieved
29 September
2023
.
- ^
"Sabre et pinceau", Christian Polak, p92