Bloody Fossil
Well, thing is this, I'm writing this little Falklands alternate history thing, with the CVA-01
project going through and staying in service for a while, Ark Royal not converted for Phantoms and all. That'd mean no Sea Harriers and no Invincible-class, so no easy way to operate GR.3s down there. I reckoned I could keep Hermes in service as a helicopter carrier/AAS however and maybe someone comes up with the idea of putting Harriers on that. Not entirely sure how plausible/possible that is though.
...it's kind of specific, yeah.
A different shape every step I take A different mind every step of the line
V
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
What would be a replacement c.1980s for the Sea Vixen, though? The A-6?
Keep Rolling On
Night Clerk of the Apacalypse.
If we are talking USMC Gator Navy. IIR they use the Wasp Class Amphibious Assault Ship. It is more of a helicopter carrier then a proper carrier. Or are we talking more like Light Carriers
Who watches the watchmen?
V
So close, that the Buccaneer could have been sold to the US Navy; it wasn't seriously sold though (another fault of the British Aviation industry of the era).
Anyway, I meant the A-7, which even had versions powered by a licence-built Rolls-Royce Spey (the Allison TF41).
Bloody Fossil
Technically yes, Phantoms were to replace Sea Vixens as the main FAA's fighters, but I'm not entirely clear on whether the Sea Vixens on Ark Royal and Eagle were also supposed to be replaced by Phantoms or whether the Phantoms were only to fly from the new ships. You could probably fit Phantoms on Hermes, at least in terms of length, she's only nine metres shorter than the Audacious-class ships.
Might keep Ark and Eagle up to the late seventies/early eighties, with Sea Vixens or Phantoms, Hermes goes heli carrier and stays like that long enough for the Falklands. Harrier operations would probably be a spontaneous wartime thing though, not regular practice before as well.
A different shape every step I take A different mind every step of the line
Bloody Fossil
Smaller in weight compared to Ark and Eagle, though Hermes' Wikipedia article mentions a statement from 1964 saying that Phantoms were to operate from Hermes "after she has undergone her refit". As for Oriskany, part of the reason may be the larger fleet of larger ships the USN had, so smaller older carriers ended up not always having the newest aircraft (again also due to ship fleet size).
edited 1st Mar '12 11:42:00 AM by Catfish42
A different shape every step I take A different mind every step of the line
V
Something rather relevant for the readers of this thread:
Key Publishing Ltd Acquires Ian Allan Magazines
The purchase involves seven titles published by Ian Allan (Buses, Classic Aircraft, Combat Aircraft, Hornby, Modern Railways, Railways Illustrated, and Vintage Roadscene) together with a number of partworks and Annual publications and four Ian Allan owned franchise titles Bus and Coach Preservation, Classic Bus, Modern Locomotives Illustrated and Steam Days.
Key Publishing is delighted to announce the acquisition of the Ian Allan portfolio of magazines from Ian Allan Publishing Ltd. The purchase involves seven titles published by Ian Allan (Buses, Classic Aircraft, Combat Aircraft, Hornby, Modern Railways, Railways Illustrated, and Vintage Roadscene) together with a number of partworks and Annual publications and four Ian Allan owned franchise titles Bus and Coach Preservation, Classic Bus, Modern Locomotives Illustrated and Steam Days.
Commenting on the acquisition, Adrian Cox, Managing Director of Key Publishing said “We are very excited about the opportunities afforded by bringing Ian Allan’s portfolio of quality transport and modelling titles into the Key stable. Whilst some of the magazines are in sectors new to Key, there is a natural fit and synergy with our extensive range of specialist leisure titles. We are looking forward to building on the strong foundations that these magazines currently have by using the economies of scale that a larger organisation can bring to the party and are particularly pleased that all the staff working on the titles will continue with us.’’
David Allan, Chairman of Ian Allan Publishing said “We have been very happy with the development of our magazine portfolio over the years particularly recently but the time is right to sell. We are delighted that it has found a good home at Key Publishing where we are confident that the magazines and the people working on them will thrive.’’
The first issues to be produced by Key Publishing will be those cover dated April 2012 the first of which will be Combat Aircraft and Railways Illustrated on sale on 2 March 2012.
This means that every (almost) single magazine I regularly purchase will come from the same publisher. I'm not sure what to make of that.
Keep Rolling On
Dreams of Revenge
Hm... interesting. It seems their influence grows all the time.
Locking you up on radar since '09
V
That's true.
Three of my regulars are up there: Buses, Bus & Coach Preservation and Classic Bus, and I look at Railways Illustrated (which is basically the Trade Journal for the British Rail Industry) to see what's happening there.
It's certainly going to have an effect, that's for sure.
Keep Rolling On
Read "Flight from Winter's Shadow" all the way through and ask yourself if that thing from Boeing isn't son of Aurora.
Dreams of Revenge
Oooh, interesting... I hate to ask things like this, but what do you guys think it's actually doing?
Locking you up on radar since '09
Night Clerk of the Apacalypse.
Spying, gathering intel, other snoop and poop missions. :P What it was designed to do.
Who watches the watchmen?
Bloody Fossil
Sounds about right. The article mentioned the Chinese space station as well, and though they say it's going by too fast, I'd bet there's still some things you can find out that way.
A different shape every step I take A different mind every step of the line
V
Next Stop: VF-1!
Well, seriously, Boeing's plan for the X-37C included (or includes) a version that can carry passengers — it's not a Space Fighter, but it's a step in that direction...
Night Clerk of the Apacalypse.
V
Looks like sometimes the old things are the best — and just how many Vietnam-era planes are left in the USAF?
I know quite a few of the SOF Hercules were in Vietnam (especially two with "fake" IDs) were in 'nam. I can imagine there are some others...
Keep Rolling On
Board Certified Sorcerer
Most of the jets have been retired from US service. NASA still flies WB-57 Canberra's, the only other actual USAF aircraft I can think of for sure would be the B-52. Maybe some of the UH-1Ns that served in country are still pulling haul duties out in the Midwest somewhere?
(For the record, the DHC-4 was flown by Army aviation, along with the DHC-2 Beaver which I think they ended up keeping.)
edited 22nd Mar '12 2:43:34 AM by hotelkilo
Let God do His work, we will see to ours. Bring in the candles.
I'm freezing! Send help!
Hey, can we talk about skydiving here. Cause it looks like something I would like to have on my bucket list.
Dreams of Revenge
@Tuefel:
Huh, neat. I guess you can't beat the classics, eh?
@El Rigo:
Welcome aboard! That's acceptable, since it involves aviation to a lesser or greater extent.
I hope that reasoning makes sense.
Locking you up on radar since '09
The only country still flying tomcats is the 4 or so that Iran has still been able to keep operational. The Nimitz class also requires a massive number of crew (as much as most countries have in their entire navies) and the Tomcats are a maintenance nightmare to keep flying. I would much rather go the Hermies route with harriers.
Devypu's~ Big Pony :3