More aircraft carriers, 1990s on

If the RN had sold off its carriers (as Thatcher had planned prior to the Falklands War), the RCN probably would've ended up picking up the slack on ASW in the North Sea, perhaps with one or two of those carriers.

There WAS a proposal in the 1980s for the Canadian Forces to be the primary ASW force supplier in the Atlantic, and the plan proposed by the Center for Military and Strategic Studies here proposed having three helicopter carriers, four nuclear subs, eight patrol vessels, four polar icebreakers and a lot of patrol planes and helicopters. Combine this with the proposals put forth by Brian Mulroney and Joe Clark in the 1970s and 1980s, and its possible that Canada could end up with the three Invincibles, six Trafalgar-class nuclear attack subs, probably some diesel-electric attack subs, four giant (50,000+ tons displacement) Polar 8 class Icebreakers, and a fleet of frigates and destroyers. Buying the three Invincibles would have forced Canada to upgrade some of its fleet escorts, too - they were focused on ASW. (Stupidly easy fix here - have Canada buy the four Kidd-class missile destroyers the Shah ordered. The US didn't really want them, they were offered to Australia and Greece for peanuts.) If you want to figure out how to get the Invincibles gone, sell the Ark Royal to Australia and move the other two to Canada. Mind you, if that had happened and Argentina subsequently took over the Falklands, Thatcher is in deep trouble. Though a Kinnock-led Labour Party might put Britain back into the aircraft carrier business. (Michael Foot sure as hell wasn't going to.)
 
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