Aircraft Carriers III
- Thread starter Jeff Head
- Start date
One thing about the QE class. For the size of carrier (its about 170 ft shorter than the Nimitz class) it has a massively wide flight deck!
240 feet wide up there. The Nimitz is 252 feet...but the Royal Navy provided a very sufficiently wide deck for its aircraft to operate and sortie from.
240 feet wide up there. The Nimitz is 252 feet...but the Royal Navy provided a very sufficiently wide deck for its aircraft to operate and sortie from.
Sad to see her go, she had had plenty of hull life left in her, but needed an expensive overhaul of her systems, something Spain just couldn't justifiably afford in the current climate. Neither could a buyer be found, Brazil is in the market but compared to HMS Ocean she would be unattractive: The could buy this ship cheaper but then would have to pay for the refit, so it would be at least two years before she became operational. Once bitten, etc. Ocean will be almost a 'hot transfer', with probably a short refit before transfer, and is a much simpler i.e. cheaper to run ship. Also with no Harriers in service and no prospect of Lightnings, PdA's ski jump reduces the useable flight deck space available for helo ops which Brazil will likely be confined to for the foreseeable future.Thanks for the pictures Forbin
One that is coming and another one that goes.
A couple pictures of the SPS Príncipe de Asturias leaving Ferrol Harbour for an scrapping facility in Turkey
For this reason I've never been a fan of full width ski jumps on the flight deck; better to build the ramp as a superstructure on a flat deck (as with Hermes, the Invincibles, QEC) as it frees up deck space for deck parking and if you want to go 'all rotary' it can be removed easily. Changing a full width integral flight deck to a flat one would require a major expensive reconstruction. So farewell Amigo, You've earned your rest.
Once again I'm engaging 'PEDANT MODE', The ship and the class are NOT called 'Queen Elizabeth II', There is no numeral in her name. She is named for 'Good Queen Bess' and all the ships named in her honour, and also as she was built in Scotland (mostly) the current Monarch is officially Queen Elizabeth 1st north of the border. The previous Elizabeth was the last English monarch not to be sovereign over Scotland as well. Her successor was James VI of Scotland and James I of England, founding the Stuart Dynasty.
The only ship named 'QEII' is a rusting former liner currently rotting away in the middle east, if she hasn't been scrapped already...
...And she should properly be referred to as the 'QE2'.
Jura The idiot
General
Jura The idiot
General
inside Date and time for the arrival of HMS Queen Elizabeth in Portsmouth revealed
:
Fixed Wing Operations Officer Lieutenant Commander James Capps, a Royal Navy fixed wing pilot said:
“We are extremely fortunate. Being here on the George HW Bush has given us the opportunity to see where we are and what we need to achieve for our own UK carrier strike capability and to be here to see how the US does it has been fantastic preparation. They have been so welcoming and we are extremely grateful for the experience.”
you operate an empty deck, and you need fixed wing aircraft for your carrier strike capability, Officer
:
Fixed Wing Operations Officer Lieutenant Commander James Capps, a Royal Navy fixed wing pilot said:
“We are extremely fortunate. Being here on the George HW Bush has given us the opportunity to see where we are and what we need to achieve for our own UK carrier strike capability and to be here to see how the US does it has been fantastic preparation. They have been so welcoming and we are extremely grateful for the experience.”
you operate an empty deck, and you need fixed wing aircraft for your carrier strike capability, Officer
