Aircraft Carriers II (Closed to posting)

thunderchief said:

I noticed that Warship R33 has Flag Bhutan , and Warship A50 Flag Great Britain . What gives ?

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I think it depends on who entered the vessel into their data base. If you do a search for R33 in the search area, you will see two R33 warships, one for India and then the other...but they both point to the same ship.

You can search for all of them like that...R33, A50, F51, D61.

I found these videos on India air ops on the INS Viraat, this was made back in 2009. I can't find the second part of this report. What do you guys make of their air ops ?

[video=youtube;03GoukFXc8I]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03GoukFXc8I[/video]

[video=youtube;4St0dOIxj7k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4St0dOIxj7k[/video]

[video=youtube;o6umHg_zJqE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6umHg_zJqE[/video]

Franklin said:

I found these videos on India air ops on the INS Viraat, this was made back in 2009. I can't find the second part of this report. What do you guys make of their air ops ?

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Well , not bad . Don't expect high number of sorties or keeping constant CAP around carrier . These are relatively old aircraft on old ship , also Centaur-class is to small to effectively operate jets , even VTOL jets . They are more effective as helicopter carriers , and British preferred them in that role .

Interesting videos Franklin. Thanks for posting.

A few observations.

The Flight deck crew appeared to be very organized. I don't get the running out all in a line before a launch.. ..I'm not talking about FOD walkdown. Or the pilots marching to their aircraft. Maybe the pilots marching was part of the show.

I'd like to see how they re-fuel aircraft. Also I saw them using a tractor moving aircraft.. The tractor looked large and un-gainly. I missed any video of movement of aircraft in the hangar deck. I'd like to see how they do that. Hopefully not like the Russians.

I'd like to see how the IN conducts flight deck firefighting drills.

The flight deck officer stated they could launch all the aircraft in three minutes. I'm assuming if the aircraft are "turning and burning". It has to be.

I want my shipmate from Pri-Fly to weigh in on these videos. kwaigonegin, please post!

Over all the operation of the flight deck was very professional.

However...IMO There is a lack of safety gear.. such as Flight deck helmets..

GULF OF OMAN (Nov. 27, 2013) Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Handling) Airman Ericka Stewart, from Hinesville, Ga., attaches an MK 105 pendant to a cargo net on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) during a replenishment-at-sea. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Lyle H. Wilkie III/Released)

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And life vest..

SOUTH CHINA SEA (Nov. 5, 2013) Aviation Boatswain's (Handling) 3rd Class Michael Sauber, from Port St. Lucie, Fla., gives the signal to the pilot of an F/A-18 Super Hornet to receive signals from another flight deck aircraft director aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73). . (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Paolo Bayas/Released)

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...and I did not see any Female sailors on the flight deck.

U.S. 7TH FLEET AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (March 30, 2013) Aviation Structural Mechanic 3rd Class Holly Degroot directs an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter from the Eightballers of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 8 on the flight deck aboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74). John C. Stennis is deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility conducting maritime security operations, theater security cooperation efforts. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Ignacio D. Perez/Released)

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Do those sailors wear steel toe safety boots?

Once again, thanks for posting the videos Franklin!

and if they are missing those one wonders about fire resistant clothing.

bd popeye said:

...and I did not see any Female sailors on the flight deck.

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Women on ship bring bad luck

bd popeye said:

Do those sailors wear steel toe safety boots?

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For some reason or other , Indians prefer to be lightly equipped . I think those shirts and shoes are ordinary :

thunderchief said:

Well , not bad . Don't expect high number of sorties or keeping constant CAP around carrier . These are relatively old aircraft on old ship , also Centaur-class is to small to effectively operate jets , even VTOL jets . They are more effective as helicopter carriers , and British preferred them in that role .

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I'd have to disagree with you on that point, the Centaur class and especially Hermes are very capable when it comes to operating jets, but it depends on which jets we are talking about. The Harrier/Sea Harrier is a relatively small and compact jet, Hermes/Viraat is large enough to operate up to thirty of them as well as her helo complement. During the Falklands campaign she averaged an air group of twenty Sea Harriers, ten Harrier GR3s, a sqn of Sea Kings for ASW and served as homebase for a sqn of Sea King HC4s in addition to a couple of Lynx. Currently she has a reduced complement of SHARs simply because attrition has taken it's toll on the number of airframes available to the IN.

Certainly her half sisters were at a disadvantage in the 1960s, when the average British Naval jet was twice the size/weight of the Harrier and also had to come aboard at high speed rather than hovering alongside. In the circumstances it was understandable that Albion and Bulwark became LPHs, there was a requirement for such ships, the hulls were still new with plenty of life left in them and there were larger carriers in service which could handle the fixed wing duties. Remember Centaur herself remained in the CTOL role to the end, as the fleet's spare deck to cover for carriers in refit, and proved capable, albeit with reduced numbers of aircraft compared to the other RN CVs.

Franklin said:

I found these videos on India air ops on the INS Viraat, this was made back in 2009. I can't find the second part of this report. What do you guys make of their air ops ?

[video=youtube;03GoukFXc8I]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03GoukFXc8I[/video]

[video=youtube;4St0dOIxj7k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4St0dOIxj7k[/video]

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What the heck is the guy doing at about 6:50 on the 2nd video?!!?

and yes I agree with the flight deck tractors. They look like farm tractors and the operator sits very high up which means it probably won't clear the nose of the harriers. It's dangerous but also makes it less efficient because the tractor has to be directly in front and difficult to maneuver not to mention the driver HAS to be always 100% aware of where everything is otherwise he may lose his head! literally!

thunderchief said:

Women on ship bring bad luck



For some reason or other , Indians prefer to be lightly equipped . I think those shirts and shoes are ordinary :

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Is this for real? Just regular pants and shirts?