 Nor was this the only field in which the Royal Navy was lagging in the 1930s . In the 1920s , Colonel the Master of Sempill led the semi @-@ official Sempill Mission to Japan to help the Imperial Japanese Navy establish an air arm . At the time the Royal Navy was the world leader in naval aviation . The Sempill mission taught advanced techniques such as carrier deck landing , conducted training with modern aircraft , and provided engines , ordnance and technical equipment . Within a decade , Japan had overtaken Britain . The Royal Navy pioneered the armoured flight deck , which enabled carriers to absorb damage , but resulted in limiting the number of aircraft that a carrier could operate . The Royal Navy had great faith in the ability of ships ' antiaircraft batteries , and so saw little need for high performance fighters . To maximise the benefit of the small numbers of aircraft that could be carried , the Royal Navy developed multi @-@ role aircraft such as the Blackburn Roc , Fairey Fulmar , Fairey Barracuda , Blackburn Skua and Fairey Swordfish . As a result , the Royal Navy 's aircraft were no match for their Japanese counterparts . 
