Mèrida Class Aircraft Carrier
After the cancellation of the last two Táchira battleships due to British and American pressure, the venezuelan navy was left with two semi completed hulls at the Puerto Cabello shipyards, after the cancellation they were towed to the nearby storage docks where they would remain until 1920 when it was decided by the Navy's high command that both ships would be finished not as battleships but as aircraft carriers. The new class was named Mérida and the first ship was ready by 1923 with the second following a year later becoming the Venezuelan Navy's first carriers.
Class overview:
Name: Mérida class aircraft carrier
Operators: Venezuelan Navy
Built: 1916–18 (as Táchira) 1921-24 (as carriers)
In service: 1925–45
Completed: 2
General characteristics:
Displacement: 36,500 tons (standard); 42,500 tons (laden)
Length: 234 m
Beam: 31.75 m
Draught: 9 m
Speed: 25 knots
Range: 7412km (4000nm) at 15 knots
Complement: 1,250
Armament:
4 × 5-inch
14 × 3.5-inch