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I agree that the catapult was not a permanent fitting. I think that the earlier date might have been in one of the Burt, British Battleships books. The catapult was put on the quarterdeck which was awash at full speed, even in relatively calm weather. The ship was overweight after fitting of extra armour post Jutland and she squatted down at the stern as as the speed increased. It seems that water was scooped up at the forward end of the deck and swirled around over the deck as the ship rolled, so there was no safe place for aircraft stowage. Previous Message
According to BRITISH BATTLESHIPS OF WORLD WAR II, by Raven and Roberts, VALIANT and RESOLUTION were the first British capital ships fitted with catapults in 1930. HOOD followed in 1931. All three had catapults installed on the quarterdeck, but on the two battleships they were later re-sited. HOOD’s catapult was subsequently removed and never replaced, so it was not permanent. Previous Message
These ships were the first capital ships in their respective navies to be fitted with a permanent catapult for operational service. Mississippi (1920), Hood (1922), Nagato (1922), and Lorraine (1921).
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