CUS Woodrow Wilson (CVL-1944)
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The deficiencies of the Grant type light carriers were soon apparent. The quickness of the construction had led to some shoddy finishing which led to the type being susceptible to battle damage being terminal that most others should survive. The six of the Wilson class were taken over from members of the Augusta class heavy cruisers. The Wilson type were to be ships to keep, and their conversions took longer because of this. A full 556ft by 19ft hangar was fitted with the flight deck above that and an enclosed bow to improve seakeeping.
The six ships were designed to be able to act as command ships to the smaller task forces that did not include capital ships. This function made them very desirable to smaller navies that looked to purchase these ships to use as fleet flagships when they were made available for sale in the late 1950's. The armament was a basic set of quadrant mounted 4" of eight guns, with only 40mm being mounted for the close in AA armament as the 20mm had proved less than effective against the Kamikaze menace.
| Displacement | 17,400 tons std 21,200 tons full load |
| Length | 683 ft |
| Breadth | 76 ft hull |
| Draught | 28 ft |
| Machinery | 4 shaft steam turbines 125,000shp |
| Speed | 32 knots |
| Range | 10,000 miles at 15 knots |
| Armour | 3" Belt, 2.5" Deck |
| Armament | 8 x 4" (8x1) 36 x 40mm (6x4 6x2) |
| Aircraft | 48 |
| Torpedoes | nil |
| Complement | 1900 |
| Notes | CUS Woodrow Wilson |
Wilson class carrier showing wider hull compared to the Grant type, early jets put that photo to the late 40's post-war.