The Greenlandian Navy had four carriers in service for almost four years before laying down their first purpose built aircraft carrier. The Tanit was supposed to embody everything that the Greenland Navy designers had learnt from operations with the carrier fleet when they were wargamed against each other and friendly nations in training exercises. The new ship was to be big. Over 850 feet and a similar size to the Shacar class. The difference between the two was in the building of the hulls. Shacar had been built to battleship standards, everything heavy to take the large calibre guns, barbettes and armour. Not having the same need an aircraft carrier could have a lot smaller displacement to match the same dimensions as the Shacar conversion.
The original design showed eight of the new twin 5" dual purpose turrets, four being mounted on each side of the ships. But, the practical arrangements to get the turrets into a position where they could receive their ammunition from the magazine did not work well. There was too much interference into the hangar as well. The last killer was the overall weight of the mountings and their peripheral fittings. It was far more simple and both cost effective and weight effective to mount twelve single 5" dual purpose guns in sponsons, six a side. The new quad 40mm mountings were proving to be successful and more and more mountings were fitted. Replacing the 20mm weapons with 40mm and their predictors gave a much better knock down capability. The 20mm were yesterdays armaments. But the final removal of the 20mm to get the ship to looking like the drawing above took until late 1941, early 1942 to accomplish.
The Tanit was supposed to be the first of a class of four. Too much money was being spent on the battleships, and a smaller, simpler ship was designed, the Chemosh class. Tanit became a one ship class.
Joining the Fleet after acceptance trials in early 1935, the Tanit proudly raised the Flag of the Rear Admiral Flying Forces. A Flag it flew throughout its career. The ships first major operation in WW2 was the forcing of the Strait of Gibraltar in 1940 to reduce the Axis Fleet Central's major port on the Mediterannean coast, Cartagena, to rubble. Thus stopping the Axis from basing it ships there and forcing them further back into the Mediterannean, meaning they would be open to being spotted earlier trying to move into the Atlantic and letting the Allied forces intercept them. This occurred when the Axis Fleet Centre sortied in support of the Axis Fleet North's attack on the Allied Fleet guarding the Atlantic Strait. (see Battle of Scandinavia). Force H and the Greenlandian Navy inflicted a lesson on the Combined Fleets of the Mediterannean Axis Forces that cost them their aircraft carriers and damaged or sank the capital ships they could get to before the Fleet turned and ran. BUT, in taking those losses they did keep the Allied ships from heading North to reinforce the Home Fleet and to replace the losses of sunk and damaged ships.
Tanit, Shacar and Molloch, took local air supremacy wherever they were. Being able to put over 300 aircraft into the air at whatever target(s) were nominated gave the Allied Forces a large advantage in the battles to retake North Africa. The German Fliegerkorps X had been sent to Russia and was no longer harassing Allied shipping in the Mediterannean. Fg X would next be seen by the Allies in Norway trying to interdict the Russian Convoys, and making a pretty good job of it.
My next job is to start on designing and putting together a dozen or so different aircraft to populate the Air Fleets of the Greenlandian Navy. Wish me luck.
