Carrier-borne aircraft

An aircraft to be deployed on an aircraft carrier. Usually, this type is also called a carrier-based aircraft. Aircraft carriers were born at the end of World War I, and during World War II, they replaced battleships as the center of naval power, and carrier-based aircraft also developed significantly. The increase in size of aircraft carriers and the advancement of catapult launching methods have had a major impact on the performance of carrier-based aircraft. Modern carrier-based aircraft take off and land on flight decks that are much narrower than land runways, so they are launched using a towing bar attached to the front landing gear, which is attached to a catapult, and when landing, a hook on the underside of the tail is caught by a wire stretched horizontally on the deck to brake the aircraft. In addition to these takeoff and landing equipment, carrier-based aircraft are characterized by their sturdy landing gear to withstand rough landings at large angles of descent, and by the fact that they are fully protected against corrosion by salt water. Since the size of the elevators and hangars limits the size of the aircraft, many of them have foldable main wings and tail parts. Weight is limited by the catapult capacity and deck strength.

During World War II, aircraft carriers carried three types of aircraft: fighters, torpedo bombers, and dive bombers. However, today, large American aircraft carriers mainly carry multi-purpose fighters that can also be used for ground and anti-ship attacks, as well as early warning aircraft, electronic warfare aircraft, transport and liaison aircraft, and anti-submarine and rescue helicopters. Aircraft carriers equipped with such aircraft carriers have great offensive power, but due to the huge costs of building and operating them, the US Navy is the only one that currently has many of these large aircraft carriers. Other than these, Russia and France have slightly smaller aircraft carriers (China is also planning to build one), and several other countries have only small aircraft carriers. It is becoming more common for small aircraft carriers to carry combat and attack aircraft and helicopters that are capable of STOVL (Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing).

[Katsuhiro Fujita]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

空母（航空母艦）搭載用の航空機。ふつう、この種のものを艦載機ともいう。空母は第一次世界大戦の末期に生まれ、第二次世界大戦時には戦艦にかわる海上戦力の中心となったが、艦上機もそれに伴い大きく発展してきた。空母が大型化し、カタパルト発進方式が進歩したことが、艦上機の高性能化に大きく影響している。現代の艦上機は、陸上滑走路に比べてはるかに狭い飛行甲板で発着するため、前脚部に設けた牽引(けんいん)棒をカタパルトにかけて射出され、着艦時には甲板上で横に張ったワイヤに尾部下面のフックをひっかけて制動する。こうした発着艦用装備に加えて、大きな降下角での激しい着艦に耐えられるよう脚を頑丈にし、さらに塩水による腐食対策を十分に施してあるのが艦上機の特徴である。エレベーターや格納庫の大きさによって機体寸法が制限されるので、主翼や尾翼の一部を折り畳み式にしたものが多い。重量的にはカタパルトの能力と甲板強度によって制限が加えられている。

　第二次世界大戦時の空母が積んでいた艦上機は戦闘機、雷撃機、急降下爆撃機の3機種であったが、現在アメリカの大型空母は対地・対艦攻撃にも使える多用途戦闘機を主力とし、これに加えて早期警戒機、電子戦機、輸送・連絡機、対潜・救難ヘリコプターも搭載している。こうした艦上機群をそろえた空母は大きな攻撃力を備えているが、建造・運用の経費が巨額なため、現在このような大型空母を多数保有するのはアメリカ海軍だけで、ほかにはそれよりやや規模の小さい空母をロシアとフランスが備え（中国も建造計画を進めている）、いくつかの国が小型空母をもつにすぎない。小型空母にはSTOVL（ストーブル）（Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing、短距離離陸・垂直着陸）が可能な戦闘・攻撃兼用機とヘリコプターを搭載するのが一般化しつつある。

［藤田勝啓］

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