PART 2:
Having dealt with the bigger carriers, I'll turn to the four Centaur class. Hermes as said above stays on as a ctol carrier until the mid 70s when the Sea Vixens are finally withdrawn, then swithces to ASW operations. Albion and Bulwark continue with LPH ops as they had been all through the 70s and into the eighties. Centaur... weel she was last heard of in reserve and acting as an accomodation ship for other carriers in refit. Despite her small size, she was a relatively young ship with only ten years sea time. Her radar fit is as up to date as most of the RN at the time and she has two steam catapults. In 1968 the Dutch Karel Doorman suffered a boiler room fire and is withdrawn from service. With the RN staying in the carrier club, the Dutch decide to stay in too and negotiations begin to aquire Centaur. She is transferred in 1969 and refitted in Holland, gaining new Dutch radars and a fully angled deck as well as bridle catchers for her catapults. As she is a larger ship then her predecessor, consideration is given to adding a third (fighter) sqn to her air group, and second hand Skyhawks are bought from the US. She remains in service into the 80s.
Harrier trials begin as historically with a view to operating them at sea, not as a replacement for the Phantoms and Buccaneers, but to supplement them. A plan is devised and gradually modifeied throughout the 70s to operate Harriers in the CAS role from the Commando carriers, mirroring the USMC's use of the Harrier at the same time. Although the early sqns are RAF, one is allocated a number of RN pilots to gain experience of the aircraft and ease shipboard operations. Plans for a 'Sea Harrier' are put forward in the early 70s, alongside plans for the 'Escort Cruiser' that was part of the CVA-01 scheme from the early 60s. This evolves into a three ship program to replace (in order) Bulwark, Albion and Hermes. The new Invincible class is ordered in 1973, and from this time the Commando Carriers begin to operate more frequently as ASW Helo carriers when not on ambhibious ops (they always had this capability from the early 60s). Bulwark pays off in 1979 as Invincible begins her sea trials. Albion pays off 1983 as Illustrious enters service and Hermes pays off 1985 as Indomitable is commissioned. Albion is fitted with a 12 degree ski jump in 1980, and operates a Sea Harrier sqn from then on. Bulwark remains flat topped until the end. The Invincibles enter service as dual role ASW/Commando carriers, with one tasked for each role at any given time. India buys Albion, having already bought SHARs for Vikrant and more are bought for the new carrier. Hermes, still a ctol carrier, is overhauled and sold to ... well that's a whole new thread right there. My bet would be Australia, who after being offered the ship back in 82 agree to keep Melbourne running for a few more years to cover the gap. Hermes as a ctol carrier raises Austrlia's capability to another level, and allows more aircraft types to potentially deploy from her decks. Again, another whole thread debating that right there...
