HMS Duke of Edinburgh (ADV-1908 (1931-mod))

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Britain had 4 of the big armoured cruisers left at the end of WW1. They were unable to be kept as cruisers in their original state as they were all over the new 10,000 ton limit. To keep the ships they would all need to be reduced to anciliary duties with much reduced armaments, armour etc. The 4 ships were used as training ships from 1921 through to 1928/29. Like most other ships these cruisers at 20 years old their fates were to be decided. The original decision was to scrap the ships, but with the Naval Treaties of 1930 not being attended and then ratified by all countries, these ships got a reprieve. They were to be converted to Area Defence Vessels. You may ask why these ships would not have been converted to aircraft carriers instead? They were certainly big enough. The answer of course is 'money'. Fitting a big box on the back end was very cheap compared to a hangar deck of 450 feet or so with a flight deck above that. The machinery of the ships was 'old' and the cost of renewal prohibitive. As aircraft carriers these ships would have been pushed hard and the natural consequences would have been mechanical breakdowns.

The Area Defence Vessel was conceived to be parked in a harbour at places where land based airpower was not available. Most small islands in the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean fell into this category and harbours along the coasts of Africa. The ships also became tenders to the larger Catalinas and Sunderlands which were used to help protect the merchantmen on their normal trade routes and as patrol aircraft. The ships guns would provide harbour defence and anti-aircraft defence. The ships were also fitted with extra accomodation so that the area commander had good command and control facilities.

During peacetime the ships could still be used in training ship roles as the large hangar could be split to provide accomodation for trainees with less aircraft aboard. These ships were also usefull for quelling those little insurrections that take place from time to time with the trainees accomodation being used for troops instead. The aircraft then being used as ground support.

With half a dozen aircraft of differing types, Walrus, Swordfish, Skua, Roc, Spitfire, the ships were able to undertake various missions. It would have been a shock to a German raiders Arado aircraft to encounter a floatplane Spitfire out in the middle of the South Atlantic!

The Area Defence Vessel concept used older ships and released more modern ships to more active theaters of war.

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