Aircraft Carriers II (Closed to posting)

bd popeye said:

Check out the photos below to give you some Idea about berthing. It has not changed much in 60 years for the USN

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I think the San Antonios got the new sit-up berths.



Youtube video that doesn't identify the ship.



Some sites state that the Nimitz got them in one small compartment somewhere. The regular enlisted racks are real claustrophobic for me...got stuck in overflow berthing for a little while. The folks with the sit-up ones have it pretty good.

Thanks for posting that. I knew about new sit-up berthing but I was unaware of it being installed on any ship.

The regular enlisted racks are real claustrophobic for me

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I never had that problem. You just have to get use to it. And CVN's are not as crowed as they use to be. Basically because the airwings have shrunk two to three squadrons.

When I was on the USS America CV-66 in '81 I was with VS-33. We had over 300 men assigned. Now no CV(N) has any VS squadrons. See what you missed?.

If I can't get any RN fans to comment on these photos..I'm sunk!







Milestone for new carrier as bow ready to set sail

There were celebrations today in Devon as the programme to build Britain’s two largest and most powerful Royal Navy warships passed an important milestone.



The bow sections of one of the UK’s two new aircraft carriers, , are now completed and ready to set sail from Babcock’s Appledore shipyard in Devon. They will make a six day journey by barge to Rosyth in Scotland, where the ships will be assembled.
Shipyards throughout the UK are contributing their skills to the project – Glasgow, Rosyth, Newcastle, Portsmouth, Devon and Birkenhead – as well as a further 100 contracts throughout the supply chain.
Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, Quentin Davies, said:
“The progress we are making with the Queen Elizabeth Class carriers is not only good news for the Royal Navy – it is good news for defence and the UK defence industry. This national project will sustain thousands of jobs in shipyards and in the wider supply chain. The carriers will be a cornerstone of future defence policy and a key asset for our Armed Forces as a whole, providing four acres of sovereign territory which can be deployed to support operations anywhere in the world.”
The two sections will make up the bow of the ship, and together weigh about 400 tonnes. The larger of the two sections - called the bulbous bow - is similar in size and shape to a conventional submarine, yet only a tenth of the full length of the ship. It is designed to increase speed, fuel efficiency and stability - sitting just below the waterline to help the ship to cut cleanly through the water, reducing drag. The second section sits above, making up decks seven to five below the aircraft hangar.
Chief of Material Fleet Vice Admiral Andrew Mathews said:

“Seeing these sections, which are only a small part of the ship, makes the overall scale of the carriers clear. The transportation of the bow sections to Rosyth will be a key step in the construction of these hugely important ships. The two Aircraft Carriers of QE Class will provide the UK with a large, deployable airfield capable of projecting airpower globally - including fast jets, helicopters and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles – to support Joint Operations for up to 50 years.
“It was important from the start of the project to achieve maximum efficiency using new construction techniques. For example, the ‘block integration’ method has allowed us to build the ship in many locations simultaneously, reducing the time it takes to construct. It has the added advantage of spreading the economic benefits widely across the country.”
Babcock’s role in the Carrier build programme is worth around £1 BN, currently employing 292 at the Appledore shipyard and another 432 at Rosyth, including around 140 apprentices.
Significant progress has been made since manufacture began at Appledore shipyard in December 2008, and with major sections of the bow completed the Queen Elizabeth is visibly taking shape. Work now continues on the forward section of the ship, from the keel up to the flight deck.

Bulbous bow:

30.3 metres long (equal to 3.5 double decker buses)
10.8 metres wide
9.6 metres high (taller than five average men)
293 tonnes
Upper section of bow:
21.6 metres long
17.4 metres wide
6.2 metres high
141 tonnes

Six shipyards will construct the blocks that make up the hull:

i. BAE Systems, Glasgow
ii. Babcock, Appledore
iii. Babcock, Rosyth
iv. A&P, Newcastle
v. BAE Systems, Portsmouth
vi. Cammell Laird, Birkenhead
4. The Aircraft Carrier Alliance is a single integrated team in which MOD acts as both partner and client. Formed from MOD, BAE Systems, Babcock and Thales UK, it is responsible for delivering the Queen Elizabeth Class ships on time and to cost.

It's a beautiful sight, isn't it? One in the eye for all the naysayers who doubt that "they will be built at all" !!! At the rate the shipyards are proceeding with the various sections of both ships, they could well have a high percentage of the construction work completed before the election!

Took me a while to see that this is not a submarine, haha I always look at the picture first and read later, meh

It's kind of surreal to see a sailing bow.

The Kuznetsov is going into a five year refit in 2012 for extensive overhauls. Hopefully that goes smoother than the job for the Indians. Maybe the Russian industry learned at least someting from that one.
Looks like they are replacing the troubling engiens. There's also talk about removing the AShM and increasing hanger space, quite significant. And a new AAW suite.
There's further speculation, but DID sais the report can not yet be seen as confirmed.



Upgrading the Admiral: Russia’s Kuznetsov

08-Apr-2010 15:11

Russia’s “heavy aircraft-carrying cruisers” have received a lot of unfavorable attention from India’s snake-bit deal to refurbish the Admiral Gorshkov; in fairness, however, the Russians haven’t had much more luck with their own ship. Launched in 1985, it was not commissioned until 1995 – and since then, it has endured extremely long dockings and seen only limited deployment. When it’s operational, the The 55,000t Admiral Kuznetsov is a big step up from the smaller Kiev Class’ combination of Yak-38 Forger V/STOL (Vertical/Short Take Off and Landing) jets and naval helicopters, flying navalized SU-25 close air support fighters, multi-role SU-33s, or MiG-29K jets.

[...]

he program is reportedly set to begin with a docking in 2012, followed by refits that will last until her re-launch 2017. The hope is that the resulting ship would be fit for service until 2030 or so. Key components of the refit supposedly include:

* Replacement of the defective steam turbines and turbo-pressurized boilers. Source have mentioned both gas turbine and nuclear propulsion options. The expense, upkeep, and reliability issues that a nuclear refit would present, all serve to make it a very high-risk choice. In effect, the decision would turn the Kuznetsov into a technology demonstrator for Russia’s next aircraft carrier class, and raise the odds that the ship would never become a reliable fleet asset.

* Removal of the ship’s 3M45 P-700 Granit (SS-N-19 Shipwreck) supersonic, long-range anti-ship cruise-missiles

* Enlargement of the aircraft hangar, and possibly new aircraft. There are reports that the Russian Navy’s SU-33s could be replaced by smaller navalized MiG-29Ks. They would still be accompanied by Ka-27 anti-submarine helicopters, and radar-carrying Ka-31 AEW helicopters. The current SU-25 close support fighters have no naval counterpart or exact replacement; at present, their long-term fate remains a question mark.

* Upgraded air defenses. Existing 3K95 Kinzhal (SA-N-9 Gauntlet) vertically-launched medium-range missiles and Kashtan (SA-N-11 Grisom) short range gun/missile systems would be replaced with a more modern medium-range system, backstopped by a navalized 9M111 Pantsir-S1 (SA-22 Greyhound) gun-missile combination.

* New communications and combat system.


April 6/10: RIA Novosti breaks the news of Kuznetsov’s proposed modernization from 2012-2017. The report cannot yet be treated as fully confirmed.

Not that long ago I read a report that the Russian were planning to build six carriers.



Now they are saying they are planing a five year re-fit of the ADM"K"??? They can build a conventional CV in the same amount of time.

I'll believe either story when I see it!

Re: V/STOL Air Craft Carrier

akinkhoo said:

i seriously doubt a japanese carrier will affect chinese naval planning by much, it would be easy to use the same strategy against us carriers as japanese ones. PLAN would focus on developing a solid platform (eg. submarines and missiles) that can be successfully neutralized the enemies than engage in a costly crash program. the chinese carrier program will progress as fast as the space program... at a leisurely pace. :coffee:

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I agree! If you want to protect your shores from foreign attack, why not invest in a couple of squadrons of good attack aircraft (Tornado, F-18, SU-30 types) with a variety of anti-shipping missiles. This will not only take care of potential enemy carriers, but there support ships. Without support ships a carrier and invasion fleet are doomed.

Any new news ans photos of India's new carrier Vikrant and the other bought from Russia? I have seen that India is now standing up the MIG-29K Squadrons, and is now actively training its new pilots. I must say it is a better looking fighter than the SU-33. The Mig may be smaller, but its looks like this version belongs on carrier decks. SU-33's just look too big, clumsy, and improvised.