Alight aircraft carrier, orlight fleet carrier, is anaircraft carrier smaller than thestandard carriers of anavy. The precise definition of the type varies by country; light carriers typically have a complement of aircraft only one-half to two-thirds the size of a full-sizedfleet carrier. A light carrier was similar in concept to anescort carrier in most respects; however, light carriers were intended for higher speeds to be deployed alongside fleet carriers, while escort carriers were typically relatively slow and usually defended equally slow convoys, as well as providing air support during amphibious operations.
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InWorld War II, theUnited States Navy produced a number of light carriers by convertingcruiser hulls. TheseIndependence-class aircraft carriers, converted fromCleveland-classlight cruisers, were unsatisfactory ships for aviation with their narrow, short decks and slender, high-sheer hulls; in virtually all respects theescort carriers were superior aviation vessels. These issues were superseded[clarification needed][how?] byIndependence-class ships' virtue of being available at a time when available carrier decks had been reduced toEnterprise andSaratoga in the Pacific andRanger in the Atlantic. In addition, they had enough speed to take part in fleet actions with the larger carriers while escort carriers did not. Late in the war, a follow on to theIndependence class, theSaipan class, was designed. Two vessels in this class—Saipan andWright—were completed after the war's end. After very brief lives as carriers, theSaipans were converted to command and communication ships.
By the start of World War II, theRoyal Navy'sHMS Hermes, the first purpose-built aircraft carrier (launched 1919, sunk 1942) was being considered as equivalent to a light aircraft carrier, due to her small size, small aircraft complement and lack of armour. TheBritish1942 Design Light Fleet Carrier, originally designated theColossus class, was a scaled-down version of theirIllustrious-class fleet carrier. The design could be built in a yard with little or no experience of warship construction. Although built to merchant standards, the design incorporated betterwatertight subdivision. Expected to have a lifetime of about three years, the last of the design was taken out of service in 2001. The first ten were built as theColossus class, though two of these were modified whilst under construction into aircraft maintenance carriers. An additional five carriers, none of which were completed in time for service in World War II, were built with revisions upgrading the design to handle larger and heavier aircraft, receiving the designationMajestic class. In the post-war period, theRoyal Navy operated a force of the tenColossus carriers, while the fiveMajestic carriers were sold, during construction, to Australia, Canada and India.[1] TheMajestics were followed, after the war, by the four light carriers of theCentaur class.
In the 1970s the Royal Navy introduced a new type of light carrier, designed to operate theV/STOLHawker Siddeley Harrier. Originally classed as "through-deck cruisers", the three-shipInvincible class served into the early 21st century; HMSInvincible was key to the British victory in theFalklands War.
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