Carrier capable tornado

The other Euro option - is a Sea Grippen. Though how different that would be from the standard land version, and does it have the range?
 
P1216. It was very feasible. Plus Chickenhawk has done some impressive illustrations of it.

Oh latest Warships mag has an article by Sharkey Ward saying a conventional launch system should have been installed in CVF. His strike carrier wing would be 24 F18E/F, 10 F18 Growlers (no fannying around or pussy footing there) , 2 Greyhounds, although where he would get them from is anyone's guess plus 4 Hawkeyes and I presume some Merlins for SAR and ASW. The USMC wouldn't have liked it as they are seeing the supposedly UK CVF as their own F35 carrier... Oh and the RAF wouldn't have liked Sharkeys idea as the RN would then have nigh on the same number of combat effective aircraft as the RAF...
 
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Sharkey Ward is sadly a bit of a headcase these days who believes that the Chief of the Air Staff lives in a hollowed out volcano plotting the downfall of the RN while stroking his fluffy white cat.
 
While that's true he is right that CVF should have been CTOL, I agree that there's no point in the RN buying Greyhound or that many Growlers, if any, but we could have got a decent force of Super Hornets for less than what's being spent on the F-35B and the carrier wouldn't have been tied to that plane.
 
While that's true he is right that CVF should have been CTOL, I agree that there's no point in the RN buying Greyhound or that many Growlers, if any, but we could have got a decent force of Super Hornets for less than what's being spent on the F-35B and the carrier wouldn't have been tied to that plane.

I used to be of that opinion too, but since then I've read a fair bit of internet writing by people who know what they're talking about (which I don't) who think that STOVL may be the better option - easier for RAF pilots to use and far cheaper than maintaining CTOL currency for example.

There was also the magic plan of selling Queen Elizabeth, refitting Prince of Wales as a CTOL carrier and sharing capability with the French. That kind of fell over when it turned out that the F-35C is too heavy for the Charles de Gaulle, installing the electronics etc on the CdG would cost billions and the US would have an absolute shitfit about their shiny stealth fighters being left anywhere the French could get a proper look at them.
 
That was an absolute titanium plated cock up, it's incredulous that seemingly no one asked the French of the CdG could take the F-35 before agreeing to it. They might have regained some dignity if they'd just admitted "Look we thought the F-35B was going to be cancelled, we misread Capitol Hill."

I guess only time will tell if the right decisions were made!
 
Sharkey Ward is sadly a bit of a headcase these days who believes that the Chief of the Air Staff lives in a hollowed out volcano plotting the downfall of the RN while stroking his fluffy white cat.

You say this, but do you actually have any definitive proof that the RAF isn't a globe spanning supervillian organization dedicated to the humiliation of Her Majesty's Admiralty and bringing about the end of Britannia's rule of the waves?

I mean looking at the history, the RAF is formed in 1918, just as the Royal Navy peaks in size and importance. From then on its steady decline has correlated with the rise in prominence of the Air Force. No doubt all part of an intricate and long running conspiracy directed by the sky gangster Illuminati.
 
Sharkey Ward is sadly a bit of a headcase these days who believes that the Chief of the Air Staff IS a hollowed out volcano plotting the downfall of the RN while stroking a fluffy white cat.

For one glorious moment I thought this was what you said, and I was getting all excited...
 
Sharkey Ward is sadly a bit of a headcase these days who believes that the Chief of the Air Staff lives in a hollowed out volcano plotting the downfall of the RN while stroking his fluffy white cat.

Any organisation that can move Australia hundreds of miles closer to Singapore (if only in the minds of the bean counters) is already evil enough in my book........
 
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If the treasury had their way, this would be the Fleet Air Arm. To get more British fleet carriers post-WW2, you need to have the British government actually continue to care about the Royal Navy.

Still too expensive, you'd have to replace the jet with a 3rd hand micro lignt. Even then the treasury would still complain about the expence.
 
Back to the Sea Tonka, isn't the Tornado a descendant of the Vickers 583 part of who's original spec to fly off the CVA01? Whilst developing the ADV (long range maritime patrols) slip in a suggestion it might need to land/ take off from a US carrier employed in the gap:D then puts this through after '82 for our own real carrier. :)
 
Sharkey Ward is sadly a bit of a headcase these days who believes that the Chief of the Air Staff lives in a hollowed out volcano plotting the downfall of the RN while stroking his fluffy white cat.

Quite the contrary, Ward is quite well balanced in fact, with a chip on both shoulders :)
 
That's not surprising when you see that in the last century the Royal Navy has in effect been punished for every war it's won. The same is true of the Army and Royal Air Force as well, but the Navy had a lot further to fall.
 
It's interesting to think that if such vessels were built and were commissioned in the mid 90's you would probably see the Queen Elizabeth class (or close equivalent) coming online as per our time line in 2017/2020 when the carriers would be approaching the end of their lives.

Given that the carriers would have likely seen service in the Balkans, Sierra Leone, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq again plus the odd deployment to the South Atlantic to tell Argentina to get back in her box :D the government would probably be much more willing to spend money on the QE class than the were IOTL.
The only major difference with the QE's in this timeline would be its CATOBAR configuration. Nuclear power is still unlikely due to costs and lack of experience with operating nuclear reactors in surface ships (Unless the carriers built in the mid 90's are nukes, but again unlikely).
The airgroup is almost guaranteed to be comprised of F35 C's. Particularly if the FAA has spent the last 20 years operating the F/A-18/F-14. However it is possible that this far into an ATL some viable alternative may arise.

In this navy you would also likely see a replacement for fearless/intrepid. however in order to save money and meet the need for LPH capability without compromising carrier capability you would probably see 2 ships of a combined LPH/LPD type similar to the French Mistral class or Spanish Juan Carlos class.
 
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