Aircraft Carriers II (Closed to posting)

Jeff Head said:

Well, the F-84 Sabre was purely a US Air Force design, and it came first, before the FJ-2 Fury. At the time, the US Navy was waiting for the F-7U Cutlass and the F-9F Cougar, but they were some time away from being ready for production, so as an interim measure the Navy decided to create a US Navy version of the F-84 and it was ultimately designated the FJ-2 Fury. Upgrades to that design were called the FJ-3 Fury.

The F-4 Phantom II was a US Navy design that entered service for the US Navy in 1960. The US Air Force liked what they saw and they adopted it, not requiring as heavy a landing carriage or arrestor hook. In USAF service the F-4 was initially called the F-110 Spectre. But in 1962, the US Military adoped the United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system, which changed the designation back to the F-4. The USAF F-4 design ultimately became the largest user of the Phantom II, with the F-4C, D, and E versions for Air Force use. The first full production aircraft entered service in 1964 for the US Air Force.

An interesting note about the F-4 Phantom II is that the US and Germany ultimately sent a total of 192 aircraft to Turkey who still operates many of them today, in 2014. One of the Turkish Recon F-4 Phantom IIs was the aircraft that was shot dwon in the Syrian conflict last year.

The A-7 Corsair II was a US Navy attack aircraft design with very good manueverability dog-fighting capabilites, and able to carry a lot of weight and loiter for long periods over the battle field. It was introduced into US Navy service in early 1967. It was another design that the US Air Force liked and adopted, the US Air Force version, the A-7D entered US Air Force service in 1970.

The US Air Force A-7D differed from the Navy's Corsair II in several ways. The Air Force wanted significantly more power for A-7D and selected the Allison TF41-A-1 turbofan engine, which was a license-built version of the Rolls-Royce Spey. It offered a thrust of 14,500 pounds, which was over 2000 pounds more than the TF30 engine that the Navy's Corsair IIs used. Other changes included a heads-up display, a new avionics package, a M61 rotary cannon in place of the two single-barreled 20-mm cannon, and a computerized navigation/weapons delivery system with AN/APQ-126 radar. In turn, the Navy liked and adopted the US Air Force improvements and the follow-on US Navy aircraft orders, which also had the strenghtened undercarriage, the arrestor hook, and the refueling probe, became the A-7E aircraft that were the main stay A-7 Corsaitrs for the US Navy.

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The South Korean Navy said Wednesday it will tow a 14,000-ton amphibious assault ship whose engines were disabled by a fire to a main base in the south-eastern region for repair while continuing efforts to restore the vessel.

The generator room on the Dokdo-class amphibious assault ship caught fire while the ship was sailing off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula Tuesday morning, causing a duty officer to suffer a second-degree burn.

Among the two generators on the ship, the burnt one broke down while the other stopped after sea water flowed in during the process of extinguishing the fire.

“Officers worked through the night to restore the engine damaged by fire, but it doesn’t operate. So, the Navy decided to take it to Jinhae,” a Navy official said, referring to a main naval base located about 410 kilometres south of Seoul.

A 2,600-ton salvage and rescue ship will soon be deployed to near the western port of Gunsan to deliver the carrier to Jinhae, which is expected to take about three days, the official said.

The ship was sailing to support a war memorial event slated for this weekend in the western port of Inchon, but its role will be replaced by an Aegis destroyer, officials said.

Named after the easternmost islets of Dokdo in the East Sea, the lead ship in its class was built by Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co. in 2005 and commissioned to the South Korean Navy in 2007. It is the largest vessel in the South Korean navy and is 199 metres long and 31 metres wide with a maximum speed of 23 knots.

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Air Force Brat said:

The FJ-2/3 Fury's were not particularly successful as carrier aircraft, in fact all the FJ-2s were Marine aircraft, North American completely redesigned the FJ-4, which seemed to make a very good airplane, with more internal fuel in a redesigned fuselage, and a high lift wing with full span leading and trailing edge flaps, and mid wing control surfaces, which also helped it at high speeds....

The F-4 had no internal gun, and was never the A2A bird that it could have been, the F-8 was a handful on board the carrier, but the lovely little A-7 was all that and a bag of chips, the Air Force liked it so much, that they wanted one of their own, it was also the "safest" of the 2nd-3rd gen birds and was dubbed the "gunfighter", the migs in Vietnam had finally met their match. The dissatisfaction with the F-4 as a "gunfighter" was the genesis of both the Navy's lovely F-14, and the Air Forces F-15.

As we have all noted the "all around airplane" is a nebulous concept, and the F-35 has its share of skeptics, I must confess, that I too, had my doubts, but the A, B, and C were envisioned in "conceptus", and with the hard work and engineering, and plenty of cold hard cash, I'm putting my money, and yours on the F-35, it will be an amazing airplane, and so much more, and the F-18, the Rafeal, and even the Harrier aren't done yet, as the Air Force Brat I loved Top Gun, and I loved seeing the F-14 in Air Show action, and the Blues,,,,, well they have a great air show mount, the F-18 is just a much "happier" airplane than the F-16, the Grumman Bearcat, and the lovely Hawker Sea Fury are just beautiful airplanes, that had their reigns cut short by the "jet-age". So the J-15 will distinguish itself as a great carrier bird, as will the Rafael, the F-18, and the F-35..... its all exciting, and I think we're finally getting this idea "up to speed"....

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bd popeye said:

I was looking around on line and found this to be very interesting. the fire happened back in September 2013. Any word on if the ship has returned to sea?

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SEOUL — The South Korean Navy believes it can deploy two light aircraft carriers by 2036 and expand its blue-water force to cope with the rapid naval buildups of China and Japan, according to a Navy source.

The service has been exploring ways of securing light aircraft carriers based on an interim feasibility study, the source said.

“It’s a hope,” the Navy source said on condition of anonymity. “There are no fixed requirements at the moment, but we’ve been studying ways of launching light aircraft carriers over the next two decades.”

Rep. Chung Hee-soo of the ruling Saenuri Party revealed the contents of a program in a feasibility report last week.

“To cope with potential maritime disputes with neighboring countries, we need to secure aircraft carriers as soon as possible,” Chung, a member of the National Assembly’s Defense Committee, said during a confirmation hearing Oct. 11 for Adm. Choi Yoon-hee, new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “For more active international peacekeeping operations, our Navy should have carriers.”

According to Chung, the Navy envisions three phases:

■The first is to equip the second ship of the Dokdo-class landing platform helicopter ship (LPH) with a ski ramp to operate short-range or vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft.

The flight surface of the landing ship is already sprayed with urethane, which can withstand the heat created by the aircraft during operations.

Dokdo, with the addition of a ski ramp, could be deployed before 2019, according to the report, which suggests the Navy procure used VTOL jets from the US, UK and Spain if needed.

■Second, the Navy could build an amphibious assault ship, similar to the Spanish Navy’s Juan Carlos, before 2019.

■Finally, the service aims to build two 30,000-ton light aircraft carriers between 2028 and 2036, the report said. The carrier is to have specifications similar to the Italian aircraft carrier Cavour, which can support about 30 aircraft.

“We should have capabilities to deter North Korea, and at the same time, we need minimal capabilities to respond to potential threats from neighboring countries,” Choi replied to Chung, apparently referring to the naval buildups of China and Japan.

China commissioned its first aircraft carrier last year, with three more carriers planned. Japan, whose Navy is classed as a self-defense force, has controversially unveiled a 20,000-ton helicopter destroyer akin to a small aircraft carrier.

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Jura said:

[In front, one of the Andrea Doria class (two Oto Melara 76/62 mm at the bow are unusual, aren't they) -- in Photoshop, I was able to read the last digit of the pennant number (the first two are 55, which doesn't help, as Andrea Doria has 553, while Caio Duilio: 554 and it's "4". Then the Cavour (550), but what about the last one, "small, in the background"? I think I know, but I goofed last week (#4176 here) so please you tell me, thanks!

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Jeff Head said:

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The one traveling with the two Italian ships in the back is an Oliver Hazard Perry class FFG that was transferred to Greece in April 1999 and is now the Gökçeada (F 494).

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Royal Australian Navy Daily said:

NUSHIP Canberra, the first of two Landing Helicopter Dock ships being built for the Australian Defence Force, sailed yesterday for the first time under her own propulsion as part of the sea trials and testing program.

Canberra departed the BAE Systems dockyard at Williamstown where the ship will undergo a series of tests to prove systems and equipment prior to being handed over to Navy.

LHD Project Manager, Captain Craig Bourke, said the trials will test a variety of systems in different conditions.

"The trials will be conducted in various locations so systems and equipment can be tested at different depths and different speeds for example,” Captain Bourke said.

“How the ship handles and moves in different conditions, how long it takes to stop the ship at different speeds, and how much fuel the ship uses at different speeds and configurations are all examples of trials that will be undertaken during this period.

“The very basic system operations will also be tested – like testing the ship’s alarm system for example,” he said.

Along with Project staff from BAE Systems and Defence Materiel Organisation, a significant number of Canberra’s ship's company also sailed in Canberra for sea trials.

Commanding Officer of NUSHIP Canberra, Captain Jonathan Sadleir AM, said it was an important familiarisation opportunity for the ship's company.

"Some of our technical personnel are involved in assisting with observing the trials. This provides an excellent opportunity for our people to build on their training so far and further familiarise themselves with the systems and equipment onboard, so they are ready to take responsibility for those systems when the ship is handed over to Navy,” Captain Sadleir said.

“To have the opportunity to see the ship operate at sea ahead of taking responsibility for her is a valuable learning experience.

"We also have some of our chefs embarked, preparing the meals for everyone onboard during the sea trials program – again a great way to get to know their brand new working environment,” he said.

Yesterday marked the start of the first ‘at sea’ trial which will see the ship operate within Port Phillip Bay and in various areas off the Victorian and New South Wales Coast including near Eden and in Jervis Bay. The first sea trial will culminate after approximately 12 days with the ship entering Sydney Harbour for the first time.

The ship is scheduled to enter the dry dock at Fleet Base East, where the size and scale of the LHD platform will be readily apparent. Canberra is scheduled to receive a hull clean in the dock before proceeding to sea and returning to Williamstown to commence the final phase of sea trials involving communications and combat systems.

Both LHDs will be home-ported at Fleet Base East, Sydney.

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