Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers - News and Discussion

[CarrierFan2006]

I wonder,did they need it very much or was it a simple case that having the COD capability it was easy for them to fly back and forth. The Med being their back yard means they do not have to worry so much about every small item they need,as it can easily be accessed from their land bases.

In fact I would suggest that if they needed a COD capability so near to home,and after only such a short duration of ops,then something is amiss with their planning. Either that or they have some very unreliable systems onboard,or their fleet train is not up to scratch.

I wonder how they would get on in a Falklands situation,we managed to support a whole task force without any COD and the nearest friendly base thousands of miles away. Food for thought there.

You make a very good final point there.

[QEC Eye in the SKY]

Frankly as things stand at the moment I will be happy if we get the 13 T26 currently envisaged,if we get more I will be over the moon. Please,don't you think it is time to put any thoughts of CATOBAR to bed,it really has been done to death. If we can get both CVF in service with a decent complement of F35B it will give us a capability that we haven't had for donkeys years,in reality years ahead of anything we have ever had.
As for MARS,the four fleet tankers we have on order will be a major asset for the RFA,the next order will be for the MARS SSS,so on the whole I don't think we are doing as bad as is made out.
6 x T45,yes it should have been more but at least we have them at sea. 13 x T26, 2 x CVF, 7 x Astute boats, ? x Successor boats,4 x MARS Tankers, ? x MARS SSS.

Please don't forget that France has cut its version of T45.the Horizon class from 6 to 2 units,and its FREM class frigates from around I believe 17 to 9, the decision on whether to build its PA2 carrier is beset by delay after delay,with no light at the end of the tunnel. The CDG cannot be considered a roaring success by any means,and I don't see the logic in building more of the Mistral class,to what ends.
In the cold light of day,we are doing as well as can be expected despite all the doomsayers.

As much as I disagree with you on some topics within this thread, I believe you are bang on point with the CVF Catobar argument. As sad as it is, we much now accept that we will probably never have a traditional cats n traps carrier at sea. Time to definitely move on. We should be thankful that we now have a Def Sec actually talking about having two carriers like QE & PoW either continuously or side by side at all. Least we not forget, John Nott was in favour of us having no carriers at all, so we should thank our lucky stars.


We should have some incredibly efficient and moreover very technologically advanced kit at sea within the next decade, and for that we need to now - as much as I'm saying this through gritted teeth - get behind what we will have, rather than what we won't. I for one, think there is no more beautiful sight that have an aircraft catapulted off the bow of an aircraft carrier, and then seeing it caught in the arrestor wires. We will have carriers with great aircraft upon them soon enough !


Right, now lets see LB04 slide into the dock behind SB03 ready for dock cycle C and have some cracking pictures before a great year of 2012 leaves us !

[cockneyjock1974]

As much as I disagree with you on some topics within this thread, I believe you are bang on point with the CVF Catobar argument. As sad as it is, we much now accept that we will probably never have a traditional cats n traps carrier at sea. Time to definitely move on. We should be thankful that we now have a Def Sec actually talking about having two carriers like QE & PoW either continuously or side by side at all. Least we not forget, John Nott was in favour of us having no carriers at all, so we should thank our lucky stars.


We should have some incredibly efficient and moreover very technologically advanced kit at sea within the next decade, and for that we need to now - as much as I'm saying this through gritted teeth - get behind what we will have, rather than what we won't. I for one, think there is no more beautiful sight that have an aircraft catapulted off the bow of an aircraft carrier, and then seeing it caught in the arrestor wires. We will have carriers with great aircraft upon them soon enough !


Right, now lets see LB04 slide into the dock behind SB03 ready for dock cycle C and have some cracking pictures before a great year of 2012 leaves us !

well said Sir

[jonas]

QEC Eye in the Sky,
You say 'As much as I disagree with you on some topics within the thread' Therein lies the whole crux of the matter. Surely threads of this nature are all about discussion and peoples varying opinions.If we all agreed on a subject matter,then there would be no need for discussion at all.

If I feel strongly about something I will say so,and I expect others to do the same. It does not mean I am arguing for arguments sake,simply that I believe in what I say.

As I have said, I am more than happy with what we have coming online. Yes we would all like more,but what we are getting in comparison with other European powers is in my opinion satisfactory. Lets face it there is no one better than the British at self denigration.

[QEC Eye in the SKY]

QEC Eye in the Sky,
You say 'As much as I disagree with you on some topics within the thread' Therein lies the whole crux of the matter. Surely threads of this nature are all about discussion and peoples varying opinions.If we all agreed on a subject matter,then there would be no need for discussion at all.

If I feel strongly about something I will say so,and I expect others to do the same. It does not mean I am arguing for arguments sake,simply that I believe in what I say.

As I have said, I am more than happy with what we have coming online. Yes we would all like more,but what we are getting in comparison with other European powers is in my opinion satisfactory. Lets face it there is no one better than the British at self denigration.

And I agree.......For once, dont think I always will because you can be assured I won't !

[QEC Eye in the SKY]

well said Sir

Keeping it real CJ, just keeping it real.


Now that you're back, any movement in the Rosyth basin this morning or any movement in the dock at all ?

[jonas]

And I agree.......For once, dont think I always will because you can be assured I won't !

Now that's more like it. !

[CarrierFan2006]

As much as I disagree with you on some topics within this thread, I believe you are bang on point with the CVF Catobar argument. As sad as it is, we much now accept that we will probably never have a traditional cats n traps carrier at sea. Time to definitely move on. We should be thankful that we now have a Def Sec actually talking about having two carriers like QE & PoW either continuously or side by side at all. Least we not forget, John Nott was in favour of us having no carriers at all, so we should thank our lucky stars.


We should have some incredibly efficient and moreover very technologically advanced kit at sea within the next decade, and for that we need to now - as much as I'm saying this through gritted teeth - get behind what we will have, rather than what we won't. I for one, think there is no more beautiful sight that have an aircraft catapulted off the bow of an aircraft carrier, and then seeing it caught in the arrestor wires. We will have carriers with great aircraft upon them soon enough !


Right, now lets see LB04 slide into the dock behind SB03 ready for dock cycle C and have some cracking pictures before a great year of 2012 leaves us !

Hear Hear!

[CarrierFan2006]

QEC Eye in the Sky,
You say 'As much as I disagree with you on some topics within the thread' Therein lies the whole crux of the matter. Surely threads of this nature are all about discussion and peoples varying opinions.If we all agreed on a subject matter,then there would be no need for discussion at all.

If I feel strongly about something I will say so,and I expect others to do the same. It does not mean I am arguing for arguments sake,simply that I believe in what I say.

As I have said, I am more than happy with what we have coming online. Yes we would all like more,but what we are getting in comparison with other European powers is in my opinion satisfactory. Lets face it there is no one better than the British at self denigration.

Indeed. We have the 4th largest defence budget in the world, and one of the most capable navies in the world. Our Fleet logistics arm is the largest in Europe, and of all the European nations, ours is the only one building large carriers, and maintaining anything like a credible Naval strength. Perhaps we need a bit of collective backslapping once in a while!

I for one am perfectly happy with what we are building. The fact is that the RN has always been an innovator, and the RN is NOT a clone of the USN - in fact historically speaking the reverse is true! The concept of the "traditional" carrier was invented by the RN, and now we have moved on!!

[cockneyjock1974]

Keeping it real CJ, just keeping it real.


Now that you're back, any movement in the Rosyth basin this morning or any movement in the dock at all ?

They are swarming over the barge just now.. according to the RN website they have to remove the sea fastenings first, so I would imagine a beast that big will take us into next week.

Here are some pics taken today the first is just prior to LB04 coming to show the 2 gantry towers at the front of the dry dock. Also you can see CB01 is nearly completed with its modules. Lastly everybody likes a cheeky wee pic of a Frigate and Minesweeper together Album link to expand pics..http://imgur.com/a/JoLnA

[QEC Eye in the SKY]

They are swarming over the barge just now.. according to the RN website they have to remove the sea fastenings first, so I would imagine a beast that big will take us into next week.

Here are some pics taken today the first is just prior to LB04 coming to show the 2 gantry towers at the front of the dry dock. Also you can see CB01 is nearly completed with its modules. Lastly everybody likes a cheeky wee pic of a Frigate and Minesweeper together Album link to expand pics..http://imgur.com/a/JoLnA

This is why it's great to have you back CJ, great pics as always !

[CarrierFan2006]

I like this one because you can see the front half of the ship and LB04 all in one shot.

http://i.imgur.com/ifLDL.jpg

Great to have you back CJ!

[Captain Thundebolt]

I wonder how they would get on in a Falklands situation,we managed to support a whole task force without any COD and the nearest friendly base thousands of miles away. Food for thought there.

In peacetime conditions it may not be as important, but in war times as you found out in the Falklands a long range COD aircraft with AAR is almost a necessity. During the Falkland’s campaign RAF C130 flying from Ascension air-dropped critical store to the Task Force,the aircraft also had to be refueled in flight. But a majority of store was moved by ship and supplied by RAS.

http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc...f&AD=ADA133333


From, Lessons of the Falklands summary report 1983

[bob1949]

I like this one because you can see the front half of the ship and LB04 all in one shot.

http://i.imgur.com/ifLDL.jpg

Great to have you back CJ!

Second the above and cant wait to see it safely glued together

[SDL]

Boo....

Sorry guys for the sudden silence.... Bit of a technical FUBAR going on ATM... Stuck on iPad from now till.... Who knows, so I'll be a bit quieter for a while.

LB04 looks amazing... And welcome back CJ