OOC: The Challenge is simple. Make this scene possible. The Commonwealth Navy must include (at least) the naval units of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Bonus points if you can get other nations involved. BIG bonus points if the Commonwealth Navy includes the Indian Navy.
January 16, 1991
8:25 PM Local, 5:25 PM GMT
Abroad HMS Gibraltar (D06)
The deadline for Saddam Hussein was approaching, and everyone aboard HMS Africa knew it, even those who didn't much care about politics or the war in which they were now preparing to fight. To the men and women of HMS Africa, and indeed most of the rest of the Royal Navy, that was the reality to them.
Saddam Hussein, the thuggish, brutal, narrow-minded dictator of Iraq, had invaded his much smaller neighbor of Kuwait and was said to be preparing an invasion of Saudi Arabia. And now, there was a massive force, over a million men strong, that was gonna drive the Iraqi Army out of Kuwait.
Gibraltar, along with sister ship Malta and newer carriers Warspite and Duke of Edinburgh, were the long guns of the Royal Navy's naval forces. They were now in the Red Sea, while the Americans covered the Persian Gulf, ready to strike at Hussein. Each of the four carriers had escorts - usually one Type 82 and two Type 44 destroyers[1], and three Type 22 or Type 23 frigates - The new Type 24[2] wasn't ready to go yet, though in this case there wasn't much worry of submarine attack. There was also submarines in the area, but again, there wasn't much worry. Iraq's Navy was almost non-existent and what little there was was gonna be focused on the Gulf, and as such it was the Americans' problem.
The strikes were set to begin at about 3:00 AM, which meant takeoffs from Gibraltar had to start at about 1:00 AM. Knowing that, most of the pilots were snoozing, watching the TV or doing something to get rested, though the pilots were in some cases beginning to check over their aircraft. Gibraltar's air wing included the Hawker Siddeley AV-16 Harrier and Blackburn Buccaneer S.3A from Britain, but also used the F-4V Phantom II[3] and E-2C Hawkeye from America. The more powerful F-14E Tomcat[4] was used from Warspite, Duke of Edinburgh and the other Queen Elizabeth class carriers, but it was too big to fit easily on the Gibraltar class, and while the F-4 was a fat pig, thanks to engineering improvements made by the commonwealth, it was a fat pig that went like hell. Normally, the carriers also carried the Canadair CL-95 Poseidon[5], but with the Saudi Navy out in force and the Iraqis nowhere to be seen, they weren't needed, and the carriers needed all the deck space for the strike aircraft. While many were being armed below deck, others were being armed on the deck.
One of the RN Hawkeyes was airborne, as usual, over the area, watching for the Iraqis and not seeing much. The Saudis were fully spun up and so were the Israelis, so nothing was even getting close to the carriers in the Red Sea. On land, The RAF's Lockheed Tristar and Vickers VC10D[6] aerial refueling tankers were ready to fill their tanks on there and on the way home, allowing the strikers to easily make the 850-mile trip to Baghdad. The plan was massive - dozens of strikes would happen simultaneously. It was an organizational nightmare, but it was possible, as the allies were about to prove. History hadn't always been kind to the ships which now carried the nicknames "The Ageless Warriors", but here, things were different, and Gibraltar and her sisters were about to prove it, in the cool Arabian winter night......
[1] The Type 44 is the Canadian Iroquois class, with a different name.
[2] The Type 24 is the Canadian Halifax class frigate, though with a hull stretch, which is used to fit the Night Shark ASW rocket system, which is very similar to the American ASROC.
[3] The F-4V is a version with the Pratt and Whitney PW1120 turbofans, AIM-54 Phoenix capability and a host of electronic upgrades. First flies in 1982, used on the smaller Commonwealth Navy carriers which can't fit the Tomcat. Also used by some units of the RAF and RAAF.
[4] The F-14E is a Royal Navy variant of the Tomcat, built under license in Britain, using the same PW1120 engines as the F-4V. Also has multi-role capability.
[5] The CL-95 Poseidon is an ASW tiltwing based on the ideas of the CL-84 Dynavert, and is the standard ASW bird of vessels big enough to carry it. A smaller tilt-wing also serves as the primary heavy transport for Commonwealth Armies, and the United States Army Special Forces.
[6] The VC10D is VC10s refitted as tankers and transport aircraft, with the four RR Conways replaced with two RR RB211 engines, thus making for less noise, better fuel economy and more power.
January 16, 1991
8:25 PM Local, 5:25 PM GMT
Abroad HMS Gibraltar (D06)
The deadline for Saddam Hussein was approaching, and everyone aboard HMS Africa knew it, even those who didn't much care about politics or the war in which they were now preparing to fight. To the men and women of HMS Africa, and indeed most of the rest of the Royal Navy, that was the reality to them.
Saddam Hussein, the thuggish, brutal, narrow-minded dictator of Iraq, had invaded his much smaller neighbor of Kuwait and was said to be preparing an invasion of Saudi Arabia. And now, there was a massive force, over a million men strong, that was gonna drive the Iraqi Army out of Kuwait.
Gibraltar, along with sister ship Malta and newer carriers Warspite and Duke of Edinburgh, were the long guns of the Royal Navy's naval forces. They were now in the Red Sea, while the Americans covered the Persian Gulf, ready to strike at Hussein. Each of the four carriers had escorts - usually one Type 82 and two Type 44 destroyers[1], and three Type 22 or Type 23 frigates - The new Type 24[2] wasn't ready to go yet, though in this case there wasn't much worry of submarine attack. There was also submarines in the area, but again, there wasn't much worry. Iraq's Navy was almost non-existent and what little there was was gonna be focused on the Gulf, and as such it was the Americans' problem.
The strikes were set to begin at about 3:00 AM, which meant takeoffs from Gibraltar had to start at about 1:00 AM. Knowing that, most of the pilots were snoozing, watching the TV or doing something to get rested, though the pilots were in some cases beginning to check over their aircraft. Gibraltar's air wing included the Hawker Siddeley AV-16 Harrier and Blackburn Buccaneer S.3A from Britain, but also used the F-4V Phantom II[3] and E-2C Hawkeye from America. The more powerful F-14E Tomcat[4] was used from Warspite, Duke of Edinburgh and the other Queen Elizabeth class carriers, but it was too big to fit easily on the Gibraltar class, and while the F-4 was a fat pig, thanks to engineering improvements made by the commonwealth, it was a fat pig that went like hell. Normally, the carriers also carried the Canadair CL-95 Poseidon[5], but with the Saudi Navy out in force and the Iraqis nowhere to be seen, they weren't needed, and the carriers needed all the deck space for the strike aircraft. While many were being armed below deck, others were being armed on the deck.
One of the RN Hawkeyes was airborne, as usual, over the area, watching for the Iraqis and not seeing much. The Saudis were fully spun up and so were the Israelis, so nothing was even getting close to the carriers in the Red Sea. On land, The RAF's Lockheed Tristar and Vickers VC10D[6] aerial refueling tankers were ready to fill their tanks on there and on the way home, allowing the strikers to easily make the 850-mile trip to Baghdad. The plan was massive - dozens of strikes would happen simultaneously. It was an organizational nightmare, but it was possible, as the allies were about to prove. History hadn't always been kind to the ships which now carried the nicknames "The Ageless Warriors", but here, things were different, and Gibraltar and her sisters were about to prove it, in the cool Arabian winter night......
[1] The Type 44 is the Canadian Iroquois class, with a different name.
[2] The Type 24 is the Canadian Halifax class frigate, though with a hull stretch, which is used to fit the Night Shark ASW rocket system, which is very similar to the American ASROC.
[3] The F-4V is a version with the Pratt and Whitney PW1120 turbofans, AIM-54 Phoenix capability and a host of electronic upgrades. First flies in 1982, used on the smaller Commonwealth Navy carriers which can't fit the Tomcat. Also used by some units of the RAF and RAAF.
[4] The F-14E is a Royal Navy variant of the Tomcat, built under license in Britain, using the same PW1120 engines as the F-4V. Also has multi-role capability.
[5] The CL-95 Poseidon is an ASW tiltwing based on the ideas of the CL-84 Dynavert, and is the standard ASW bird of vessels big enough to carry it. A smaller tilt-wing also serves as the primary heavy transport for Commonwealth Armies, and the United States Army Special Forces.
[6] The VC10D is VC10s refitted as tankers and transport aircraft, with the four RR Conways replaced with two RR RB211 engines, thus making for less noise, better fuel economy and more power.
