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Belt armor is a layer of heavy metal vehicle armor plated onto or within the outer hulls of , typically on battleships, battlecruisers and , and .
The belt armor is designed to prevent projectiles from penetrating to the heart of a warship. When struck by an artillery shell or underwater torpedo, the belt armor either absorbs the impact and explosion with its sheer thickness and strength, or else uses sloping to redirect the projectile and its blast downwards.
Typically, the main armor belt covers the warship from its main deck down to some distance below the waterline. If, instead of forming the outer hull, the armor belt is built inside the hull, it is installed at a sloped angle for improved protection, as described above.
A warship can be seriously damaged underwater not only by torpedoes, but also by heavy naval artillery shells that plunge into the ocean very close to the targeted ship. Such shells which are usually armor-piercing shells (AP shells) can pass through a short stretch of water and strike the warship some distance below the waterline. In 1914 typical AP shells were expected to punch a hole in the exterior plate and detonate there with a destructive effect similar to a torpedo. However by the 1940s, advances in AP shell technology incorporated delayed fuses which give AP shells deep penetration capability before exploding; such AP shells will typically make a smaller hole than a torpedo in breaching a ship's hull, but detonating beyond the belt in the hull can cause splinter damage to machinery spaces and secondary magazines, which in turn compromises watertight integrity and encourages progressive flooding. To improve protection against both shells and torpedoes, an air space can be added between the torpedo belt and the hull to increase the buoyancy of the warship.
Aircraft carriers typically had even thinner belt armor, despite being expected to face the threat of dive bombers and torpedo bombers more so than other warships. Unlike battleships and battlecruisers, aircraft carriers were not expected to face torpedoes and naval artillery from other surface ships, instead being deployed at a stand-off distance while being escorted by destroyers and cruisers. The British designed and constructed their carriers with armored flight decks, which did reduce their aircraft complement and its associated striking and combat air patrol capabilities, but the deck armor was a successful passive defense prior to the establishment of a successful fighter defenses (which required effective radar, high-speed monoplanes, and coordination).
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