View source for Seaplane tender

{{Short description|Boat that services aircraft landing on water}}
[[Image:LeFoudre.jpg|thumb|{{ship|French seaplane carrier|Foudre}}]]
[[File:HMS Hermes Dar es Salaam1907-14.jpg|thumb|{{HMS|Hermes|1898|6}}, which functioned as a seaplane carrier for two months in 1913]]
[[File:Ark Royal NARA 45513193.jpg|thumb|{{HMS|Ark Royal|1914|6}} about 1918]]
A '''seaplane tender''' is a [[boat]] or [[ship]] that supports the operation of [[seaplane]]s. Some of these vessels, known as '''seaplane carriers''', could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are regarded by some as the first [[aircraft carrier]]s and appeared just before the [[First World War]].

==Terminology==
[[File:Seaplane Tender MkIA 1502 Portsmouth (5693855715).jpg|thumb|RAF seaplane tender 1502, in 2011]]
In maritime parlance a [[Ship's tender|tender]] is a vessel that is used to support the operation of other vessels.

In British usage, the term tender was used for small craft, with the term [[depot ship]] being used for large seagoing vessels. [[Flying boat]]s and [[float plane]]s even when based at home in ports and harbour had a need for small support vessels to operate.<ref name=RAFASRS1918-1986>{{cite book |last1=Sutherland |first1=Jon|last2=Canwell|first2=Diane|date=2010|title=The RAF Air Sea Rescue Service 1918-1986|publisher=Pen AMD Sword|isbn=978-184884303-5 }}p</ref>

British tenders were small craft of [[Launch (boat)|launch]] to [[pinnace (ship's boat)|pinnace]] size. These were used to ferry crews, stores and supplies between shore and the aircraft, to maintain the buoys used to mark out "taxiways" and "runways" and to keep these clear of debris to prevent [[foreign object damage]], and in the case of emergency to act as rescue craft and [[airport crash tender]]s.<ref name=RAFASRS1918-1986 />  All those functions that on land would require wheeled [[ground support equipment]] had a need for a watercraft equivalent.

When deploying flying boat squadrons, bases could rapidly be established in areas lacking infrastructure by sending flying boat depot ships in addition to small craft tenders. These ships could carry out the function of barracks, workshops and control towers, i.e. those functions which in a land based airfield would be fulfilled by buildings.<ref name=RAFASRS1918-1986 />

== History ==
[[Image:SOC scoutplane is hoisted on board, during recovery by USS Philadelphia (CL-41).jpg|thumb|Scoutplane being hoisted on board {{USS|Philadelphia|CL-41|6}}]]
The first seaplane carrier appeared in 1911 with the French Navy ''[[La Foudre]]'', following the invention of the [[seaplane]] in 1910 with the French [[Fabre Hydravion]]. ''La Foudre'' carried float-equipped planes under hangars on the main deck, from where they were lowered on the sea with a crane. ''La Foudre'' was further modified in November 1913 with a {{convert|10|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}}-long flat deck to launch her seaplanes.<ref>[http://www.hazegray.org/navhist/carriers/france.htm#foud Description] of ''Foudre''</ref> Another early seaplane carrier was {{HMS|Hermes|1898|6}}, an old cruiser converted and commissioned with a flying-off deck in mid-1913. However, [[HMS Ark Royal (1914)|HMS ''Ark Royal'']] was the first ship in history designed and built as a seaplane carrier in 1914.

===First World War===
[[Image:Wakamiya.jpg|thumb|The Japanese seaplane carrier {{Ship|Japanese seaplane carrier|Wakamiya||2}} conducted the world's first naval-launched air raids in September 1914.]]

In the [[Battle of Tsingtao]], from 5 September 1914, the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] seaplane carrier {{Ship|Japanese seaplane carrier|Wakamiya||2}} conducted the world's first naval-launched air raids<ref name="Saxon">{{cite journal |last1=War College |first1=The U.S. Naval |title=Winter 2000 Review |journal=Naval War College Review |date=2000 |volume=53 |issue=1 |pages=67–70 |url=https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol53/iss1/20/ |access-date=29 September 2023 |issn=0028-1484}}</ref> from [[Kiaochow Bay]].<ref>"Sabre et pinceau", Christian Polak, p92</ref> The four [[Maurice Farman]] seaplanes bombarded German-held land targets (communication centers and command centers) and damaged a German minelayer in the [[Qingdao|Tsingtao]] peninsula from September 1914 until that November, when the Germans surrendered.<ref name="Saxon"/>

On Christmas Day 1914, the British carried out the [[Cuxhaven Raid]]; seaplanes carried within range of their targets attacked German naval targets in the [[Heligoland Bight]].

These carriers had [[hangar]]s for storing and maintaining the aircraft, but no [[flight deck]] as in a true aircraft carrier. Instead, they used cranes to lower the aircraft into the sea for takeoff and to recover them after landing. The ships were normally [[armed merchantmen|converted merchant vessel]]s rather than specially constructed for the task. As aircraft improved, the problems of using seaplanes became more of a handicap. The aircraft could only be operated in a smooth sea and the ship had to stop for launching or recovery, both of which took around 20 minutes. The tender was often stationed {{convert|10|mi|nmi km|lk=on|abbr=on}} or so in front of the main battle fleet with the [[cruiser]] screen so that it would not fall significantly behind when it launched its aircraft. Seaplanes also had poorer performance than other aircraft because of the drag and weight of the floats. Seaplane tenders had largely been superseded by aircraft carriers in the battle fleet by the end of the First World War, although aircraft were still of minor importance compared to the firepower of naval artillery.

The British {{HMS|Ark Royal|1914|6}} was a seaplane tender with a flying-off deck. Seaplanes could be recovered while the ship was under way through the "Hein Mat"{{Snd}}a sheet towed behind the vessel, once the aircraft was on the mat it was effectively stationary with respect to the ship and could be hoisted aboard.[[Image:Albatross (AWM 300122).jpg|thumb|The Australian seaplane tender {{HMAS|Albatross|1928|6}} with one of her aircraft overhead (AWM 300122)]]

In the inter-war years, it was common for [[cruiser]]s and [[battleship]]s to be equipped with [[Aircraft catapult|catapult]]-launched [[Reconnaissance aircraft|reconnaissance seaplane]]s. A few navies{{Snd}}especially those without true aircraft carriers{{Snd}}also acquired catapult-equipped seaplane carriers for fleet reconnaissance.

=== World War II ===

[[Image:USS Timbalier (AVP-54).jpg|thumb|alt=USS Timbalier (AVP-54)|{{USS|Timbalier|AVP-54|6}} with two [[Martin PBM Mariner]] [[flying boat]]s shortly after the Second World War]]
[[File:Gannet (AVP8), formerly Minesweeper AM41. Small seaplane tender. Port bow, 05-04-1937 - NARA - 520820.tif|thumb|{{USS|Gannet|AM-41}}]]
During the [[World War II|Second World War]], both the [[United States Navy|American]] and the [[Imperial Japanese Navy|Japanese Navies]] built a number of seaplane tenders to supplement their aircraft carrier fleets. However, these ships often had their catapults removed, and were used as support vessels that operated seaplanes from harbours rather than in a seaway. These aircraft were generally for long-range reconnaissance patrols. The tenders allowed the aircraft to be rapidly deployed to new bases because their runways did not have to be constructed, and support facilities were mobile much like [[auxiliary ship|supply ship]]s for [[Submarine tender|submarine]]s or [[Destroyer tender|destroyer]]s.

[[Nazi Germany]]'s ''[[Kriegsmarine]]'', in the Second World War, did not operate any seaplane tenders. However, the ''[[Luftwaffe]]'' had nineteen seaplane tenders. These ships were mostly converted from existing civilian seaplane tenders, and were capable of carrying 1–3 seaplanes. The French and Italian Navies also had seaplane tenders.

Seaplane carriers became obsolete at the end of the Second World War. A few remained in service after the war but by the late 1950s most had been scrapped or converted to other uses such as [[helicopter]] repair ships.

== List of examples ==
{{Main|List of seaplane carriers by country}}

Examples of seaplane tenders include:

*{{HMAS|Albatross|1928|6}} (Australia, 1928)
* ''[[Japanese seaplane tender Akitsushima|Akitsushima]]'' (Japan, served from 1942 until sunken in 1944)
*''[[La Foudre]]'' (France, converted into the world's first seaplane tender in 1911–13)
*{{Ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Chitose||2}} (Japan, 1936; she and sister ship {{Ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Chiyoda||2}} converted to conventional [[aircraft carrier]]s in 1943–1944)
*{{Ship|French seaplane carrier|Commandant Teste||2}} (France, 1932)
*''[[Giuseppe Miraglia]]'' (Italy, converted from merchant vessel ''Citta de Messina'' in 1927)
*{{Ship|Spanish seaplane carrier|Dédalo||2}} (Spain, converted from the German merchant vessel ''Neuenfels'' in 1922)
*{{HMS|Ark Royal|1914|6}} (UK, 1914, renamed ''Pegasus'' in 1934)
*{{HMS|Ben-my-Chree||6}} (UK, a ferry converted in 1915 used in WWI)
*{{HMS|Engadine|1911|6}} (UK, 1911, another converted ferry; present at the [[Battle of Jutland]])
*{{HMS|Campania|1914|6}} (UK)
*{{HMS|Riviera||6}} (UK, sister ship of ''Engadine'')
*{{USS|Langley|CV-1|6}} (USA's first aircraft carrier; converted into a seaplane tender in 1937)
*{{USS|Mississippi|BB-23|6}} (USA, a [[battleship]] used as a seaplane tender in 1914)
*{{USS|Curtiss|AV-4|6}} (USA WWII Pearl Harbor to Okinawa)
*{{USS|Currituck|AV-7|6}} and {{USS|Pine Island|AV-12|6}} (USA WWII-era seaplane tenders, both later participated in [[Operation Highjump]], a 1947 mission to [[Antarctica]])
*{{USS|Norton Sound|AVM-1|6}} (Began service as ''Currituck''-class seaplane tender AV-11, later converted to AVM-1{{Snd}}first US guided-missile ship)
*HMAFV ''Adastral'', ex HMS ''Fife Ness'', a [[Fort ship]], converted to a seaplane depot ship, and operated by the RAF between 1947 and 1953
*{{USS|Tangier|AV-8|6}} (USA, a C3 cargo ship converted to a seaplane tender in 1940) Present at Pearl Harbor Attack December 7, 1941
*{{USS|Timbalier|AVP-54|6}} (tended [[Martin PBM Mariner]] [[flying boat]]s until 1954)

== See also ==

{{portal|Aviation}}
* [[List of aircraft carriers of World War II]]
* {{slink|List of auxiliaries of the United States Navy#Destroyer Seaplane Tenders (AVD)}}
* {{slink|List of auxiliaries of the United States Navy#Seaplane Tenders (AV)}}
* {{slink|List of auxiliaries of the United States Navy#Small Seaplane Tenders (AVP)}}
* [[List of seaplane bases in the United Kingdom]]
* [[List of seaplane operators]]
* [[List of ships of World War II]]
* [[Type C3-class ship]]

== Notes ==

{{Commons category|Seaplane tenders}}
{{Reflist}}

{{Warship types of the 19th & 20th centuries}}

[[Category:Seaplane tenders| ]]
[[Category:Aircraft carriers]]
[[Category:Aircraft carriers by type]]