In the end, the Malta-class was canceled in late 1945 before construction had started as part of austerity measures and on the basis that previous classes could still be modernized to accommodate the soon-to-be-ready jet aircraft. When it comes to its air group, the Malta-class was intended to carry a total of 108 modern aircraft. However, due to the experience of American and British carriers in the Pacific, an armored flight deck was considered but it was too late in development to heavily alter the design. An unarmored flight deck and an armored hangar deck were selected for the final design. Compared to previous designs, a partially open hangar was considered, allowing aircraft preparation before being brought on the flight deck. As such, a smaller design was presented called X1. Due to its size, the class wouldn’t have been able to fit in most British dockyards without expansion works being needed. The first design, design X, was actually larger than the Midway-class and even too large for its own good.
Navy in the Pacific, the design was revised on multiple occasions.ĭue to the increase in size and speed of the carrier-based aircraft as well as the increased importance of aircraft carriers as a whole, the new design was meant to be much larger than previous ships. However, based on the experience of the U.S. In total, four ships were ordered in 1943: Malta, Gibraltar, Africa, and New Zealand.
The Malta-class was a never built class of aircraft carriers from the Royal Navy.
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