AH Challenge: joint US/RCN-operated aircraft carrier?

Ming777

Monthly Donor
The challenge is assuming Robert Stanfield became PM in either 1968 or the following election, and possibly reversing the renaming of the Royal Canadian Air Force and Royal Canadian Navy, have Canada either:

a) jointly operate a US Navy carrier (ie, have at least a third of the air wing and part of the ship's crew being Canadian with the rest being American).

or

b) get a new carrier (aside the the previous scenarios of getting the HMS Eagle, though HMS Ark Royal is acceptable.)
 
OOC: Haven't we been here before? ;)

IC: Anyways, I figure the best bet with a Conservative government is that something convinces Canada that being a frigate Navy is not always a good thing, and that having power projection abilities is a good idea. I still think buying an ex-RN carrier would be the best option if Canada is gonna get back into the business of naval aviation, or if you are really pushy have the USN begin to build Elmo Zumwalt's medium carrier and have it cancelled after Reagan takes over in 1981, and have Canada buy it for a song and finish it themselves.
 
The CVV wasn't a Zumwalt invention. It was one of Mr. Carter's ideas, which never made it off the drawing boards.
 
I don't even think you need a Tory government, just a different Liberal leader. Most likely Bob Winters or Mitchell Sharp. That's quite easy to do, and even easier is a Tory government. Just have Stanfield not back down on that Feb. '68 money vote and force a dissolution.

On the OP: What TheMann said.
 
What about RCN manning aircraft on both USN and RN carriers? I imagine this as part of a NATO forming multinational forces. If not full NATO, then these three countries have some kind of joint forces for North Atlantic convoy duty.

The RCN aircraft don't need to be fighters or strike aircraft. ASW planes would be acceptable, I think. And if not full fledged USN CVs, then how about Essex-class carriers pulling ASW duty?
 

Ming777

Monthly Donor
One thing I would like to point out is that historically, Canadian Navy Aviators, especially ASW aircraft, would fly in sea states that the Americans would refuse to fly. HMCS Bonaventure's pilots often had far more flight hours than their equivalents on contemporary Essex Class carriers.
 
I don't even think you need a Tory government, just a different Liberal leader. Most likely Bob Winters or Mitchell Sharp. That's quite easy to do, and even easier is a Tory government. Just have Stanfield not back down on that Feb. '68 money vote and force a dissolution.

On the OP: What TheMann said.

You have a point there, but not having at least a bit of Trudeau has vast butterflies. While Pearson did tend to be a fairly progressive leader, it was Trudeau for better or for worse who shaped much of the current shape of Canada. That was why I had Trudeau fall to Stanfield in 1974 instead of 1968. By that point the setup of bilingualism was quite apparent and many of the Royal Commission's recommendations had been passed into law.

@ Matt Wiser: I had thought that the CVV was Zumwalt's idea, not Carter's. My mistake, but the point stands regardless. Canada buys the CVV when Reagan calls it in favor of more of the Nimitz class.
 
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