Did ww2 aircraft carriers have wooden decks?

As a result of the kamikaze attacks during the Okinawa campaign, new carriers being built would have thick metal-armored flight decks beginning with the Midway class carriers. American carriers in World War II and Korea used wood due to its ease of repairability.

Why did ww2 ships have wood decks?

The practice for most Battleships was to have wooden planks laid on the steel decks. This protected the steel from the weather and made it easier for the crew to walk on the decks. It’s bad enough to try to walk on a slick steel deck. Add rain, snow or ice and you’re going to slip and slide.

Why was armor not used on aircraft carriers in WWII?

Armor at the flight deck level would protect the hangar deck and the aircraft stored there from most bombs, but it severely limited the aircraft capacity of the vessel. Armor was also often thinner than was really necessary for protection.

How did the British choose the best design for aircraft carriers?

The remainder of the IJN carrier force during World War II had unarmoured flight decks just like the Yorktown and Essex classes of the USN. In choosing the best design for their carriers, the British had to consider the advantages and disadvantages of hangar design. There was a choice between open or closed hangar and the position of the armour.

What are the different types of armoured decks on aircraft carriers?

The carriers that were built with armoured decks fall into two distinct types – those with armour at the flight deck level protecting the hangar and those that only had armour for the lower levels of the ship, typically the hangar deck. The different thickness of armour, and how they were distributed, are described in the table below.

How did the US Navy design the Midway-class aircraft carriers?

The USN designed the armoured flight decks of the Midway -class carriers based upon an analysis of the effectiveness of RN armoured flight decks.