【国家利益】盘点：史上最差的5艘航母 [美国媒体]

5 Worst Aircraft Carriers Ever Put to Sea

盘点：史上最差的5艘航母



Building an aircraft carrier is difficult business. Many of the world's great navies started by converting other ships into carriers, a practice that resulted in a few successes, and more than a few failures. Other navies worked their way up by experimentation. With China recently launching its first domestically built carrier, and Japan considering the conversion of its Izumos into fleet carriers, it's worth considering some of the more egregious failures in world aircraft carrier construction.

建造航空母舰是件困难的事。世界上，许多伟大海军的航母之路最初都是从将其他船只改建成航母开始的。这种尝试有些取得了成功，但也有很多国家经历过不止一次失败。还有的海军通过实践积累经验、取得进展、最终造出航母。最近，中国首艘国产航母即将完成舾装，日本则考虑将“出云号”改造成可起降固定翼战斗机的航空母舰。以此为背景，我们不妨回顾一些世界航母建设史上非常糟糕的失败之作，这将是很有意义的总结。

HMS Eagle

英国皇家海军舰艇“鹰”号航母

HMS Eagle, originally Almirante Cochrane, was designed as a battleship. Intended to fill out a battle squadron in the Chilean Navy, work on Almirante Cochrane ceased at the beginning of World War I. After the war, the Chileans no longer wanted the battleship, leaving a large hulk without much to go for it. The Royal Navy had already experimented with several conversions, and decided to use the battleship hull to construct another aircraft carrier.

英国的皇家海军舰艇“鹰”号航母，原名“无畏号”，起初被设计成战列舰。一开始准备用来填补智利海军战斗中队的水面作战能力，而科克伦海军上将级护卫舰在第一次世界大战开始时就停止工作了。一战结束后，智利人不再想要这艘战舰，因为留下战舰太大对智利人没有太多价值。皇家海军进行了几次改装试验，最后决定把她改造成一艘航空母舰。

The results were not particularly satisfactory. On a displacement of 23,000 tons, Eagle could make twenty-four knots and carry twenty-five aircraft. These specs left her uncompetitive with Japanese and American aircraft carriers, and even with the other conversions in the Royal Navy; the three Courageous-class carriers were faster and could carry more planes. Commissioned in 1924, she was updated during the interwar period, but not extensively reconstructed.

结果并不令人满意。“鹰”的排水量为23000吨，最大航速24节，可携带25架飞机。这样的参数使她在面对日本和美国的航空母舰时缺乏竞争力，甚至也无法和皇家海军的其他航母相比；三艘“勇敢”级航母（由英国“勇敢”号巡洋舰改造而来）速度更快，可以携带更多的飞机。1924年，“鹰”号航母服役，第二次世界大战前进行了升级，但没有进行大改。

Despite her drawbacks, HMS Eagle saw a great deal of service in the early years of World War II. She patrolled the Indian Ocean, and later participated in the Mediterranean campaign, where her slow speed was less of a drawback. But on August 11, 1942, she was hit by four torpedoes from U-73 while covering a resupply convoy to Malta. She sank in four minutes.

尽管有这样那样的缺点，但在第二次世界大战初期，“鹰”参与了大量的军事作业。她在广袤的印度洋上巡航，后来又参加了地中海战役，在战场上，速度太慢是一个致命缺点。1942年8月11日，“鹰”在进行前往马耳他的护航任务时被一艘德国U73号潜艇的四枚鱼雷击沉，她在四分钟内沉没。

Bearn

法国“贝亚恩”号航母

France's first effort at an aircraft carrier didn't go well. Converted in 1927 from an incomplete Normandie-class battleship, Bearn was quite large, displacing 28,000 tons full load. However, she could only reach about twenty-one knots, making it difficult to integrate her into the fleet. Bearn was equipped to carry about forty aircraft, although the slow development of French naval aviation meant that the planes were generally not competitive with foreign counterparts.

法国在建造航母上的首次尝试没有成功。1927年，“贝亚恩”号航母由一个不完整的“诺曼底”级战列舰进行改造。“贝亚恩”体积很大，满载排水量达到28000吨。然而，她的最大航速只能达到大约21节，很难将其纳入舰队进行编队。“贝亚恩”可搭载约四十架飞机。然而，法国海军航空部队发展缓慢，这意味着法国海军的飞机通常无法与外国同行们竞争。

The French navy expected to use Bearn in an experimental role, in anticipation of the construction of purpose-built carriers. However, austerity delayed the construction of those ships, and at the onset of war Bearn remained France's only aircraft carrier. She operated with a task forces that hunted German raiders, but never launched a combat sortie. In May 1940, she carried France's gold bullion to North America. On the return trip she was supposed to bring a load of combat aircraft, but France surrendered before Bearn arrived. She put in at Martinique, where she remained for much of the war.

法国海军决定把“贝亚恩”号航空母舰作为实验性质的研究对象，实现打造一款“理想航母”的最终目标。然而，财政上的紧缩延迟了目标航母的建造，战争爆发后，“贝恩”号成为法国唯一一艘航空母舰。她携带一只法国部队以猎杀德军为目标，却没有展开过一次攻击。1940年5月，她将法国的黄金运到北美。在返回途中，“贝亚恩”号本打算装载作战飞机，但船未抵达，法国就投降了。她在马提尼克呆了一段时间，在那里参加了大部分战争。

Bearn was turned over to the Free French in 1943. The United States saw little urgency in returning the big, slow carrier to service, but eventually got around to refitting Bearn in 1944. She served out the last days of World War II as an aircraft transport, a role she continued in the early stages of the Indochina Wars. She was scrapped in 1967, having never launched a sortie in anger.

1943年，“贝亚恩”号被移交给法国政府。这艘庞大、缓慢的航空母舰，于1944年开始整修。“贝亚恩”号被用作飞机运输服务一直到第二次世界大战结束前夕，后来在印支那半岛的战争初期，她继续扮演着这个角色。直到1967年被最终拆解，“贝亚恩”号从未进行过一次主动出击。

HIJMS Kaga

日本“加贺”号航母

Japan fully understood the limitations of battleship conversions, and had initially intended to convert the battlecruisers Akagi and Amagi, which were long and had high top speeds. Unfortunately, the Great Kanto earthquake badly damaged Amagi, forcing the Japanese to spare the incomplete battleship Kaga as a substitute. As originally constructed in 1928, Kaga was not suitable; she had three flight decks, weird funnel arrangements and a variety of other small problems. A reconstruction in the mid-1930s rectified some of these issues, but left Kaga with potentially serious damage control vulnerabilities, and a speed shy of the rest of the 1st Air Fleet (Kido Butai). In her final configuration, she displaced a massive 38,000 tons, but could make twenty-eight knots, and carry seventy-two aircraft.

日本非常了解使用战列舰改造航母的局限性，因此，他们一开始就打算把“赤城”和“天城”号两艘巡洋舰用于改造航母，这两艘巡洋舰不仅足够长、而且航速高。不幸的是，“天城”号在日本关东大地震中遭到了严重损害，迫使日本人把尚未完工的“加贺”号战列舰替代“天城”号进行改造。“加贺”号于1928年建成，她并不适合航母改造。“加贺”号采用三段式飞行甲板，构造奇特的烟囱，还有各种小毛病。30年代中期，日本人针对“加贺”号的各种问题进行了一系列改造工作，部分问题得以修复，但损管控制方面任然有缺陷，并且在航速上逊于其它第一航空舰队的军舰。在“加贺”号的最终设计方案中，其排水量达到38000吨，航速为28节，可搭载72架飞机。

Kaga was nevertheless an active participant in the Sino-Japanese War, and in the first six months of the Pacific War. She missed the Indian Ocean raid after suffering damage from an uncharted reef. She was back in service for the Battle of Midway, however. On June 4, 1942 four bombs dropped by U.S. Dauntless dive bombers struck Kaga. The limitations of her damage-control system soon became apparent, and fires engulfed the ship. Nine hours later, Kaga was scuttled by torpedoes from accompanying destroyers.

尽管问题多多，“加贺”号航空母舰在侵华战争和太平洋战争最初六个月里依然扮演了重要角色。“加贺”号因为触礁遭受损伤，错过了印度洋的突袭行动。中途岛战役爆发， “加贺”号重返战场，然而在1942年6月4日，被美国的“无畏”式轰炸机投下的4枚炸弹击中。此时，“加贺”号的损管控制系统的弊病很快暴露无遗，大火吞没了这艘船。九个小时后，“加贺”号被驱逐舰用鱼雷击沉。

USS Ranger

美国“突击者”号航母

USS Ranger was the first purpose-built U.S. aircraft carrier, and the fourth carrier to join the U.S. Navy (USN). After devoting an immense percentage of its treaty tonnage to the battlecruiser conversions USS Lexington and USS Saratoga, the USN hoped that it could create a formidable unit on a much smaller hull. As commissioned in 1934, Ranger displaced 14,000 tons, could make twenty-nine knots, and could operate seventy-six aircraft (although in practice fewer were carried).

美国的“突击者”号航母是美国海军史上第一艘专门设计的航母，也是第四艘服役美国海军的航母。美国海军旨在使用一艘体积较小的船体建造出一艘威力强大的军舰，因为当时条约所限，海军内由巡洋舰改造的“列克星敦”号和“萨拉托加”号航母已经占用了大部分吨位。1934年，“突击者”号航空母舰服役，排水量14000吨，航速29节，可以搭载76架飞机（尽管实际上舰载机数量达不到76架）。

Although capable of carrying a large number of aircraft, Ranger was lightly constructed. Problems with storage space meant that Ranger would carry no torpedo bombers, limiting her effectiveness in anti-ship roles. Poor sea keeping meant that she couldn't launch aircraft in even a moderate sea. Cramped space limited the speed with which she could launch aircraft, a deficiency that could have proven fatal in carrier battles against the Imperial Japanese Navy. Experience with Ranger effectively killed the idea of small, purpose-built carriers to be used for fleet purposes, although the later Independence-class conversions would accomplish much on roughly the same size hull.

“突击者”号航母虽然能够搭载大量飞机，但都是轻型飞机。储存空间不足的问题意味着“突击者”号无法携带鱼雷轰炸机，这就大大限制了她在反舰任务中的效能。糟糕的适航能力意味着“突击者”号即使在温和的海况下也无法起飞飞机。此外，狭小的空间限制了飞机起飞速度，这一缺陷在与日本海军航母舰队的战斗中被证明是致命的。正因为有了“突击者”号航母的教训，美国海军放弃了制造小型特制航母的想法，尽管后来又改造了一些与“突击者”号航母体积大致相同的“独立号”轻型航母。

Accordingly, the USN kept Ranger as far away from the Japanese as possible. She served with honor in the Atlantic, however, supporting Operation Torch and undertaking strikes against German positions in Norway. Even as the naval war in Europe wound down, U.S. commanders did not strongly consider subjecting Ranger to the rigors of the Pacific. She could not keep up with the latest USN carrier battle groups, and her light construction would have made her extremely vulnerable to kamikaze attacks. By 1944 she was relegated to training duties, despite the availability of a large number of escort carriers for such service. Placed in reserve after the war, she was scrapped in 1947.

正因为有这些缺陷，美国海军一直将“突击者”号部署在远离日本的海域。“突击者”号主要在大西洋服役，并且参与了“火炬计划”的行动，以及对德国在挪威的基地进行打击的任务。即便当欧洲战场的海上战争结束之后，美国指挥官依然没有下定决心把“突击者”号派遣到太平洋战场执行任务。“突击者”号当时已经无法跟上最新的美国海军航母战斗群，而轻型船身又极易被日本的神风攻击破坏。从1944年起，“突击者”号被用作训练舰，尽管她仍具有大量人员与军事物资运输的作用。“突击者”号二战后得以保存，并于1947年废弃。

Kuznetsov

俄罗斯“库兹涅佐夫元帅号”航母

Originally designed and built by the Soviet Union, Admiral Kuznetsov (as she was eventually called) was intended as a part of an evolutionary step to a modern fleet carrier. Her predecessors (the Kiev class) could only operate VSTOL (vertical and/or short take-off and landing) aircraft, but Kuznetsov possesses a ski-jump which enables her to launch conventional fighters. Intended primarily as a defensive carrier, Kuzentsov was supposed to give Soviet shipbuilders experience with modern carriers, while serving as a test-bed for the development of a conventional naval aviation wing.

俄罗斯“库兹涅佐夫元帅号”航母最初由苏联设计和建造，目的是为苏联建设现代化航母的进行探索和验证。“裤子”的前辈（基辅级航母）只能支持垂直/短距起降飞机，但库兹涅佐夫级航母拥有一个滑跃甲板，因此可以起降常规固定翼战斗机。“库兹涅佐夫元帅”号的定位是防御性的载机航母，作为一种传统的海军航空部队的发展平台，库舰为苏联建造现代航母提供了经验。

The collapse of the Soviet Union also meant the collapse of funding for the carrier project. Laid down in 1983, she was not finally commissioned until 1995. Displacing 58,000 tons, she can theoretically make twenty-nine knots, and carry about forty aircraft. In 1996 she suffered a major breakdown, and was in repairs until 1998. Assigned to the Northern Fleet, she has periodically deployed to the Mediterranean, usually with great fanfare. In November 2016 she conducted her first active military operations, launching strikes against Syrian rebels. During the operation she lost two aircraft (one MiG-29K, and one Su-33) to accidents.

苏联解体意味着航母项目资金断裂。库舰于1983年开工，直到1995年才正式服役。库舰排水量为58000吨，理论上航速可达29节，携带约40架飞机。1996年，库舰发生了一次严重故障，直到1998才修复完成。库舰被安排给北方舰队，常常被大张旗鼓地部署到地中海海域。2016年11月，库舰进行了第一次主动军事行动，对叙利亚反政府武装组织发动袭击，在这场军事行动中因故损失了两架飞机（一架米格-29K，一架苏-33）。

Whether because of poor construction or shoddy maintenance, Kuznetsov has struggled to remain in service, and has yet to make a meaningful military contribution to Russia's security. Bringing her up to the standards of her half-sisters Liaoning and CVA-001 would likely require more investment than Russia is currently prepared to make to its carrier fleet.

不管是因为建造太差还是维护不当，库兹涅佐夫都在努力维持服役，但目前还没有为俄罗斯的国家安全做出过有意义的军事贡献。如果要让库舰达到她的姊妹舰“辽宁”舰和中国国产航母001A号的标准，可能需要俄罗斯付出远超过目前正在为其航母舰队筹备的投资。

Conclusion

结论

Many of the carriers here were early efforts, although even these compared unfavorably to their competitors. Some (Kaga, Eagle) were sunk; others (Ranger, Bearn) were kept away from the main areas of fighting because of their obvious deficiencies. The navies that operated these ships, in most cases, learned a great deal and made an effort not to repeat the mistakes of their construction. The exception to this is the case of Admiral Kuzetsov, which remains in a kind of service, but has yet to produce offspring (in the Russian navy, at least).

本文选取的多数航母都属于早期探索的产物，尽管这些航母与同时代的竞争对手相比处于下风。一些航母（“加贺”号、“鹰”号）被击沉；另外的（“突击者”号，“贝亚恩”号）则是由于其明显缺陷不得不远离战争的核心领域。在大多数情况下，操纵这些航母的海军学到了丰富的经验，并努力避免了重复建造的错误。唯一例外的是“库兹涅佐夫元帅”号航母，这艘船仍然还在服役，并且尚未有下一代航母出现（至少在俄罗斯海军是这样）。

Robert Farley, a frequent contributor to TNI, is author of The Battleship Book. He serves as a Senior Lecturer at the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at the University of Kentucky. His work includes military doctrine, national security, and maritime affairs. He blogs at Lawyers, Guns and Money and Information Dissemination and The Diplomat.

本文作者罗伯特-法利，TNI撰稿人，美国肯塔基大学外交与国际商务学院教授。