# Flush deck

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{{Short description|Term in naval architecture}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{Original research|date =August 2021}}
{{More citations needed|date=August 2021}}
{{Globalize|US-centric article|date=April 2022}}
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thumb|right|{{USS|Langley|CV-1|6}} was a flush-deck aircraft carrier
In [naval architecture](/source/naval_architecture), a '''flush deck''' is a [ship deck](/source/Deck_(ship)) that is continuous from stem to [stern](/source/stern).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://docs.rwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2772&context=law_ma_jmlc |access-date=2026-02-02 |website=docs.rwu.edu|title=Compatibility of Greater Carrying Capacity with Safety of Life and Property|last=KUSHNER|first=LESTER|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Network |first=MI News |date=2021-06-10 |title=10 Types of Decks Every Seafarer Should Know |url=https://www.marineinsight.com/marine-navigation/10-types-of-decks-every-seafarer-should-know/ |access-date=2026-02-02 |website=Marine Insight |language=en-US}}</ref>

==History==
Flush decks have been in use since the times of the ancient Egyptians. Greco-Roman [trireme](/source/trireme) often had a flush deck but may have also had a fore and aft castle deck. Flush decks were also common on medieval and Renaissance [galleys](/source/galleys) but some also featured fore and aft castle decks. The medieval [brigantine](/source/brigantine) and later [brig](/source/brig_(ship)) and [snow](/source/Snow_(ship)) ships also featured flush decks.
[[File:The trireme Olympias on 23 February 2019.jpg|thumb|Greek ship ''[Olympias](/source/Olympias_(trireme))'' with a flush deck]]

==Two different meanings of "flush"==
{{Unreferenced section|date=October 2014}}
"Flush deck" with "flush" in its generic meaning of "even or level; forming an unbroken plane", is sometimes applied to vessels, as in describing yachts lacking a raised [pilothouse](/source/pilothouse) for instance. "Flush deck aircraft carrier" uses "flush deck" in this generic sense.

"Flush deck" in its more specific maritime-architecture sense signifies that the main deck runs the length of the ship and does not end before the stem (with a separate raised [forecastle](/source/forecastle) deck forward) or before the stern (with a separate raised or, as seen on many modern warships, lowered [quarterdeck](/source/quarterdeck) rearward). The flush decks are broken by masts, guns, funnels, and other structures and impediments, and are far from being unbroken planes.
{{Gallery
|align=center
|File:USS Sigourney (DD-81) at the Boston Naval Shipyard, Massachusetts (USA), on 9 February 1919 (NH 41809).jpg|The flush-deck {{USS|Sigourney|DD-81|6}} (later HMS ''Newport'') has no distinct forecastle or quarterdeck platform.
|File:USS Belknap official photo.jpg| {{USS|Belknap|CG-26|6}}, a non-flush-deck ship, has the main deck giving way to a lower quarterdeck towards the stern
}}

==Types==
Flush deck [aircraft carrier](/source/aircraft_carrier)s are those with no island [superstructure](/source/superstructure), so that the top deck of the vessel consists of only an unbroken [flight deck](/source/flight_deck).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://warshipprojects.com/2020/02/18/warship-projects-profile-jp201-amagi-class-carrier-conversions/ | title=Warship Projects Profile No.JP201 – Amagi class carrier conversions | date=18 February 2020 }}</ref>

"Flush deckers" is a common nickname for a series of American destroyers built in large quantities during or shortly after [World War I](/source/World_War_I) – the {{Sclass|Caldwell|destroyer|5}}, {{Sclass|Wickes|destroyer|5}}, and {{Sclass|Clemson|destroyer|5}} classes – so called because they lacked the raised [forecastle](/source/forecastle) of preceding American destroyers, thus the main deck was a flush deck.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://destroyerhistory.org/flushdeck/ |title=Flush Deckers |work=Destroyer History Foundation |access-date=October 20, 2014}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

Category:Shipbuilding
Category:Naval architecture

{{navy-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Flush deck](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flush_deck) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flush_deck?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.