CV-18 Fujian/003 CATOBAR carrier thread

Blitzo

Lieutenant General
Staff member
Super Moderator
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Actually, i think that it does matter. I think that the US prizes aircraft carriers a lot. Its a kind of national status. For example, an attack on the carriers is considered an attack on CONUS.

Not that i think that it will be longer, but if china was to make an aircraft carrier longer than any ship of the USN, even if it is conventional and with less displacement, there would be offended egos on the other side of the pacific. And more calls to make bigger ships and navy.

Would that make any difference to china if it happened, i dont think so.

The idea that the USN would seek to build a larger carrier just so it is longer than 003 out of spite is a bit silly.
If 003 is somehow a bit longer than Nimitz or Ford, it won't be by more than a few meters at most, and the overall ship will still displace less as well.


That's why I say whether the specifics of the length are a couple meters longer or shorter than Nimitz/Ford, it really shouldn't matter to us, unless one is obsessed with literal size comparisons and the bragging rights associated with it.


At this stage in 003's construction there are many things that are much more interesting to await than the specifics of what its length will be -- confirmation on the number of catapults, elevators, the configuration of the flight deck, the size of the island, etc.
 

para80

Junior Member
Registered Member
Very bemused that USN would have their egos shattered by *checks notes* one PLAN CATOBAR carrier vs the 10 or whatever the number is these days they operate. The only long term outcome of a further growing PLAN carrier force will be revisiting the number of carriers USN can or should be able to field, not some silly schoolyard contest about who got the longest one.
 

gelgoog

Brigadier
Registered Member
To be honest I think the Nimitz class is just too large for most uses.

I think something with the displacement of the Charles de Gaulle is clearly enough and at best something with the displacement of the Shandong would be quite enough. It just makes for a giant target. The CATOBAR configuration is a must because it increases sortie rates too much to be ignored but the extra airframes are kind of ridiculous.

What's the point in having way more aircraft than any of the airforces you are going to meet?

Since it will only be used against second tier nations (a first tier nation can simply nuke a carrier group if it is a attacked) what is the point? If you need more aircraft just use two carriers for that specific operation. It all seems a giant waste to me. I can understand this one being large because it is conventionally powered, but still. Plus if you use drones, which are typically smaller than fighter aircraft, it even makes less sense.
 

para80

Junior Member
Registered Member
To be honest I think the Nimitz class is just too large for most uses.

I think something with the displacement of the Charles de Gaulle is clearly enough and at best something with the displacement of the Shandong would be quite enough....

This is verging on OT here but I will just note the French very much disagree that CdG is "clearly enough", their next carrier will be rather similarly sized to Type 003, currently estimated at 75k tons+. There is no such thing as a carrier that is "too large" as far as deck and hangar space is concerned. The only limiting factors are berthing/docking capacity and the need to transfer through certain areas (Suez). The fact of the matter is pretty much all carrier navies would love to have something sized like a supercarrier, its a simple matter of cost which limits such pursuits.
 

Anlsvrthng

Captain
Registered Member
The fact of the matter is pretty much all carrier navies would love to have something sized like a supercarrier, its a simple matter of cost which limits such pursuits.

It is true for everything.

If you ask a distillation equipment designer then he will prefer the gold as equipment material, but due to cost considerations he can't afford it.


China has a military doctrine ,they created a detailed plan from it based on targets and available resources, an the carrier size /design dictated by it.

However we can assume it will be bigger than the first two, otherwise what could be the point to build a new design ?
 

UrsusMan

Just Hatched
Registered Member
Except there clearly is, the bigger your carrier is the slower and less flexible it becomes.
Not necessarily true for speed. The bigger a ship gets, the less horsepower per ton it needs to get to the same speed. An Arleigh Burke has 100k hp, a Nimitz has 260k hp, and they have similar speeds.
Container ships don't get huge for no reason.
 
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