CV Aircraft Elevators

[davebender]

Deck mounted aircraft elevators have obvious drawbacks.
- Operating elevators disrupts landing / take off operations.
- A broken or combat damaged elevator has the potential to shut down flight operations until repairs can be accomplished.
- Three aircraft elevators (typically) occupy a considerable portion of hanger deck space. This forces a smaller CV airwing.

The USN experimented with a side mounted aircraft elevator on U.S.S. Wasp. Why did it take so long? I'm surprised Britain, Japan and the USA didn't make them standard CV equipment by the mid 1930s.

 

[model299]

It's my WAG that the primary reason had to do with engineering and design issues, probably related to the hydraulic and drive systems available in the day, and perhaps material issues as well.

In the 1930s, all nations building them were still in the learning stages when it came to carrer design. Look at the various nation's designs, and you'll see different ideas on how to do things.