The USN experimented with a
That was in OCT 1963 aboard Forrestal. The aircraft was deemed too large for carrier life.
Exactly my point.
Once a C-130 is On on the deck what then? You can't land anything other than a Helicopter or Tiltrotors nor can you launch anything because it's the elephant in the subway car. And you can't move it off the deck or under the deck. It's just to big all you can do is fly it off.
That's why they built the C1Trader , C2 Greyhound and are moving to CMV22 smaller cargo birds able to operate on the deck and in the hangers. The same for Bombers the Navy tried to have a dedicated bomber it also proved there largest tanker to 21,000 lbs of fuel, but the KA3 and A3 were at the very edge of practical and rational.
Because of the requirements of the hanger and deck you cannot have a carrier tanker able to compete with a runway launched tanker. There will always be a smaller fuel load for the carrier tanker unless you go and build a floating airbase but the later is almost as impractical as a Helicarrier.
This floats into of course the problem with conventional carrier air wings having inherent range limitations and air wing size limitations preventing longer range bomber types off the decks both mean that the Air force is never out of the job.
However with advances in access denial that means that tankers like the new KC46 face the potential of being locked out of potential operations and limiting the ability of the air wing to operate with impunity.
This is an issue also shared with USAF aircraft and the reason why the USAF is looking into the potential of stealthy tankers. It would allow for operations of carrier and airbase launched fighters and attackers to engage in operations in threat airspace at longer ranges well maintaining survival of tankers and potential future AEW assets with acceptable margins of risk.
