When looking at the numerous naval warships that have traversed the oceans, there are few platforms that hold the prestige and power-projection ability of the aircraft carrier. But even with the storied past of the seafaring airbases, there are stories of disappointing giants—ships whose histories are tarnished by design errors, operational mistakes, or misfortunes. For this analysis, we explore the tales of five carriers that have become the epitome of disappointment in naval history.
The Imperial Japanese Navy’s (IJN) Shinano is a particularly tragic example. The Shinano, being built from a battleship into a supercarrier, was the sister of the powerful Yamato and Musashi. But her promising life was lost in sea trials off Yokosuka Naval Base in November 1944. Sunk by USS Archerfish (SS-331) after taking three torpedo hits, the destruction of the 69,000-ton ship and her crew is a harsh reminder of the vulnerability of even the strongest vessels.
Yet another sad case of crew ineptitude caused the destruction of the IJN Taihō on 19 June 1944. Even though it was the new flagship of Vice-Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa, one torpedo from the USS Albacore (SS-218) sealed its doom. A beginner’s move to spread gasoline vapors all over the ship’s air conditioning system turned the carrier into a flying bomb, causing a devastating explosion to seal its doom.
Looking to the European theater, the Graf Zeppelin represented the unrealized potential of the Kriegsmarine carrier fleet in World War II. Conceived as a technological wonder, its keel was laid down in December of 1936, but the onset of war frustrated its development. Under changes of leadership and strategic switch from carrier significance, the Graf Zeppelin never became combat operational. She was sunk by the Germans and then torpedoed as a target ship by the Soviets in 1947.
Throughout the decades and on into more modern times, Russia’s Admiral Kuznetsov has gained notoriety for its myriad of problems. Commissioned in 1990, the carrier’s troubles span from dependence upon Mazut fuel to a sunken dry dock and a catastrophic onboard fire in 2019. The limited patrols by the carrier since the collapse of the Soviet Union only serve to highlight the woes of Soviet-era naval design.
India’s INS Vikramaditya, formerly the Soviet Navy’s Admiral Gorshkov, is another that still has reliability issues. Purchased by India in 2004, the vessel has been marred by a leak of toxic gas, multiple fires, and operational problems that question the long-term potential of Soviet-designed carriers.
