Aircraft Carriers II (Closed to posting)

Jeff Head said:

Having more of class will definitely help...but the crew is going to largely be new and have to learn and get acquainted with the vessel. Just seems fast to me.

For example, the US has a lot more Wasp class vessels (eight)...but I do not believe even the later ones ever were turned over then run through all quals and startup and commissioned in six months.

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That may be the key: the crew... I may be mistaken but I don't think the Marine National plans to deploy more than 2 Mistral class LHD at any given time as I don't Marine National has the manpower to man more than two.

This is not directly related but just as an example: In August, during Libya operations Tonnerre LHD went to replace Mistral LHD that was acting as a command center in addition to sending Helicopters missions at night.

Well the Tonnerre sailed there empty, and Mistral came back empty: All helicopters, plus the Chiefs of staffs (the commanders of the French mission) plus a part of the crew were all transferred from one ship to the other. 200 people in total. It needed 25 helicopters trips and 14 landing crafts trips.
It is explained here (in french)

edit: I asked on a forum where there are retired and active French sailors:
Each BPC (Mistral class) has a core crew of 178 people. This is enough to operate the ships in peace time. But there is a "rotating extra crew" that go from one ship to another depending on the need. Examples of this need:
Evacuation of French and allied citizens from Beyrouth, Lebanon a few years ago. Or war in Lybia obviously.

Popeye posted this somewhere esle

SAN DIEGO (Nov. 8, 2011) McWil Sport Surfaces employees begin construction on a basketball court aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70). Carl Vinson is preparing to host the Michigan State University Spartans and the University of North Carolina Tar Heels for the inaugural Quicken Loans Carrier Classic basketball game on Veteran's Day, Nov. 11. (U.S Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice George M. Bell/Released)

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Looks like they are not gonna play directly on the non skid surface

Looks like they are not gonna play directly on the non skid surface

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no I think they have laid down the court.

SAN DIEGO (Nov. 8, 2011) John Zemanovich, a civilian contractor, places the Coronado, Calif., stickers on the basketball court being set up on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70). Carl Vinson is preparing to host the Michigan State University Spartans and the University of North Carolina Tar Heels for the inaugural Quicken Loans Carrier Classic basketball game on Veteran's Day, Nov. 11. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Amanda

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[video=youtube;NYTMGMUbU-Q]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYTMGMUbU-Q[/video]

French Navy ship Tonnerre amphibious, projection and command ship (Mistral class) during NATO Operation Unified Protector in Lybia

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[video=youtube;_GDqhNi4gTI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GDqhNi4gTI[/video]

French Navy carrier battle-group during NATO Operation Unified Protector in Lybia

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navyreco said:

Popeye posted this somewhere esle

Looks like they are not gonna play directly on the non skid surface

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Now that's a special court experience a player can brag about for the rest of his life...

[video=youtube;P5kOa4aVjLw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=P5kOa4aVjLw[/video]

Back to the nineties ! Here is a very interesting video from the French TV show "Pegase". We are in November 1993 and the Rafale team has move to Lakehurst, USA, to perform the third catapult and arresting cable trials campaign with heavy loads. In the Video, we can see the Rafale M01 captapulted with 2 full 2000L external fuel tanks (total weight: 19.2 metric tons)

Lakehurst NAES, New jersey, is the only western facility equiped for land based catapult trials. The Rafale M01 did 3 trial campaigns at Lakehurst (one in 1992 and 2 in 1993). Then the M02 (2nd Rafale M prototype) started the sea trials on the Foch French aircraft carrier (now, Sao Paulo, in service in the Brazilian Navy)

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MwRYum said:

Now that's a special court experience a player can brag about for the rest of his life...

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GO SPARTANS (Michigan State that is)!!

navyreco said:
Lakehurst NAES, New Jersey, is the only western facility equipped for land based catapult trials. The Rafale M01 did 3 trial campaigns at Lakehurst (one in 1992 and 2 in 1993). Then the M02 (2nd Rafale M prototype) started the sea trials on the Foch French aircraft carrier (now, Sao Paulo, in service in the Brazilian Navy)

Indeed, but up until the end of the 1970s, the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Bedford UK was also equipped with a steam catapult and arresting gear for land based carrier dummy deck training. Sadly with the decommissioning of the Ark Royal R09 the facilities were also decommissioned and the airfield itself later closed. It's now used to store new cars from major manufacturers waiting to be sold.

Re: PLAN Carrier Operations..News, Videos & Photos

Jeff Head wrote:

In that time period we will also know what Europe produces in the new QE carriers, perhaps another French carrier, and again, depending on the success of the F-35B, significant improvements in the capabilities and projection power of the Italian and Spanish carriers as well.

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It is most unlikely that these European countries will find enough money to achieve significant improvements in capabilities and projections of power. They're broke.

Re: PLAN Carrier Operations..News, Videos & Photos

delft said:

Jeff Head wrote:

It is most unlikely that these European countries will find enough money to achieve significant improvements in capabilities and projections of power. They're broke.

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Several countries are already involved with and have spent money on the F-35 (JSF) program. If a successful F-35B is produced, that alone will significantly improve the capabilities of the Italian and Spanish carriers.

The QE's will embark the F-35C variant which will be a significant improvement for them as well over their historical harrier air arm, and the QEs themselves (of course) will be a huge improvement over thee older Invincible class. That was my meaning with the above statement.