Koko, CV-24 Inuwashi
Discussions regarding what would later become Koko's first 'supercarrier' first began in 1966, shortly after CV-23 Sekirei's deployment to Vietnam, as shortcomings regarding the current roster of Kokoan carrier-based planes (a mix of license built F-11 super-tigers and A-4 skyhawks) began to appear.
Without too many expectations Koko Kaijou started putting into papers some studies regarding new types of aircrafts to be procured and a possible third carrier suited to operate them. For a while, those were left as they were.
However, the Tora-kai (Kokoan name for the super tigers) and Skyhawks approaching obsolescence became more glaring once Kokoan ground forces got involved with the conflict, with 50.000 men deployed in Vietnam by early 1968. Performance and effectiveness of the two aircrafts was deemed unsatisfactory even in the limited
support and target of opportunity roles they served. The percieved need to upgrade and revise both Kokoan military equipment and doctrines grew larger after North-Vietnamese forces launched what would be later known as the Tet Offensive. Plus, how Thiaria -a nation which had been in amicable relations with Koko for over 40 years-
had been slowly descending into Communism during the last few years, made up just another event that fueled a growing and widespread Soviet-scare.
Under such conditions, studies for a new carrier kept popping up more frequently and the idea slowly started to gain some traction.
While all leading parties Koko had seen since its post-WWII return to democracy were willing to fund the armed forces to a significand extent in a defensive anti-Soviet way (even the the left-leaning ones), the newly installed centre-right government -winner of the 1968 elections- went one step ahead of that and even further
than anyone else before it. Quickly, the Diet started to pass with large margins a series of bills that eventually led the percentage of national GDP devoted to its armed forces to double by the mid 70s. This marked the start of a shift from purely self-defense doctrines with limited extraterritorial capabilities to more offensive ones
based on regional power projection.
The Naval Staff, on its part, was quick to make some moves. The program for a supersonic carrier-based attack aircraft -which had been started together with the Thiarians in the early 60s and was killed when they started going Communist- was revived in 1969.
An order for Grumman's A-6 intruders was also considered as to augment the type in replacing the A-4s.
As for the fighter and interceptor role, the Navy was quick to reject the F-4 phantom despite the type had been introduced with the Kokoan Air Force in 1966. The Naval Staff was adamant in pointing out that the F-4 design was more than 10 years old by that point, and how they wanted someting cutting-edge.
This as first seemed like a problem, as what they were initially eyeing for, the F-111B, had just been scrapped. To their luck, Grumman was powering-through the developement of another air-superiority fighter for the US Navy they could look upon: the F-14 Tomcat.
The Naval Staff seemed to fall in love with it even before it had made its first flight.
An F-14 procurement -like an F-111B after all- had its major drawback though. Both existing Kokoan Carriers were definitely not suited for such a plane:
Tsugumi was basically the last Kokoan evolution of the Japanese Shokaku class design, albeit heavily reworked when the ship was finally finished in 1953 after sitting incomplete since the end of WWII. She was still of an old concept, small, cramped and with low clearance two-level hangars.
Sekirei was larger, newer and of a fresh design, much more suited to grow and operate more modern aircrafts, but still too small to handle Grumman's oncoming big fighter.
Thus, papers and studies for a third Kokoan carrier were dusted off once again and further revised: In order to be capable of operating the planned aircrafts and the required equipment the ship needed to be at least 50% larger then Sekirei in displacement. Designers skipped ahead as fast as Grumman was doing with the F-14,
and by late summer 1970 they had a finished design in their hands: at over 300m in length and 72.000T full load the planned carrier surpassed the WWII-era Yashima class Battleships as the largest ship ever designed in Koko up to that point. She sported a 200m long hangar, three elevators, a 10° angled deck, three steam catapults
(two C-13s in bow position and one longer C-13-1 in waist position) and could, on paper, carry as much as 80 planes split between her hangar and flight deck.
Engine-wise she was to be fitted with eight boilers generating a total of 264.000 shp, powering four turbines, driving four shafts and pushing the ship to a planned top speed of 34 knots, with enough excess steam still going to the catapults. Finally, for close range defence she was to recieve three octuple launchers for RIM-7 missiles.
Recieving the name Inuwashi (sea Eagle), the carrier was laid down at Toumachi Navy Yard in December 1970, the same month the F-14 made its first flight.
The roadmap was finalized as follow: Once Inuwashi had entered service Sekirei would be drydocked for a major reconstruction, allowing her to operate heavier planes. To this end Tokuda was also asked to develop a smaller carrier-borne fighter that fitted Sekirei specs and could also complement the Tomcat.
Once Sekirei had completed her rebuild the older Tsugumi would have been eventually retired. Initial hope was to have Inuwashi and her new planes help in Vietnam, but by late 1970 it was already clear the United States were disengaging and this was just wishful thinking at the highest level.
Nevertheless Koko Kaijou pressed on, even more committed on its project in light of the bleaching situation in Vietnam. Had the Soviets decided to act again, for whatever wild reason, they would have been ready. In 1972, the same year Inuwashi was launched, Koko officially ordered 50 F-14s, 60 A-6s and even 30 E-2s
for aerial early warning. At the same time the domestic supersonic aircraft program had also seen a commitment of 80 aircrafts, recieving the A8T1 Umiwashi denomination.
1973 saw the incumbent coalition win the election with a large margin. During the next year the government issued new procurements that led to more changes. A second carrier of the Inuwashi design was funded, not to replace Sekirei as anyone would have guessed, but to effectively turn Koko Kaijou in to a three-carrier Navy.
1975 saw said carrier, Tanchozuru (red-crowned crane) being laid down, orders for Tomcats and Hawkeyes doubled, and nearly 50 S-3 Viking ASW planes added to the tally, continuing Koko's rampant armed forces expansion that would keep going until the end of the Cold War.
Inuwashi was finally commissioned in October 1975, becoming Koko Kaijou's flagship as Sekirei headed to the yards for rebuild. Ironically, the ship had outpaced all the aircrafts she was supposed to recieve. The first Tomcats, Hawkeyes and Intruders had been delivered from the US that year, and the Umiwashi had first flown as well,
but none were in enough numbers to form a shipborne squadron. Thus for her first year she carried the very same Tora-kai and Skyhawks that were supposed to have been retired from carrier-borne service by the time she commissioned. The E2 was the first to reach IOC in 1976, followed by the F14, A6 and A8 in 1977.
This mixed interim phase of the airwing eventually ended by 1979.
One hiccup that emerged during this time was that the full 78-plane airwing, once all aircraft were of the newer and larger models, made flight operations slightly cramped, albeit still perfectly doable. Eventually, by the late 80's the number was reduced to 68 machines, which seemed to made operations smoother.
Overall, Inuwashi served long and well with its Navy, going through multiple upgrades and deployments until her retirement in 2014.
Inuwashi Specifications as of 1977:
-Displacement: 62.147 t standard, 72.264 t full load
-Length, extremes (bridles): 314,07m (1031ft, 5'')
-Length, waterline: 294,28m (966ft, 6'')
-width, extremes (platforms and antenna trusses): 80,23m (24ft, 5'')
-beam, waterline: 36,39m (119ft, 7'')
-mean draft: 10,2m (33ft, 6'')
-Machinery: 8x Oil firing boilers, 4x geared steam turbines, 264.000 shp, 4 shafts
-Speed: 34 kts
-Range: 12.000nm at 18 kts
-Armour: flight, hangar, lower deck 51+76+51mm (2+3+2''), magazine boxes 152mm (6''), torpedo and vertical bulkheads 25+76+25+25+25mm (1+3+1+1+1'')
-Armament and decoys: 3x Mk.25 launchers (8x3, 24 RIM-7E), 8x Mk.36 SRBOC
-Electronics: AN/SPS-43 2D air search radar, AN/SPS-48 3D air search radar, KMS-3 surface search radar, KMS-6 surface and navigation radar, AN/SPN-43 air search aircraft approach control radar, AN/SPN-42 aircraft approach control radar (2x1), AN/SPN-44 airspeed indicator,
AN/SPN-41 instrument carrier landing system (1x azimuth, 1x elevation), Mk.115 illuminator (3x1), AN/ULQ-6 ECM, TACAN, URD-4 RDF, AN/SMQ-6 weather satellite antenna, OE-82/WSC-1 satcom (2x1), Phasor 90 ship to air radio antenna (12x1), AS-1018 (6x1), AS-3226 (2x1), AS-177 (2x1), AS-2815 (2x1), AS-3078 (2x1),
AN/WLR-1 ECM suite (2x1 AS-616, AS-899), AN/SPR-4 ECM suite (4x1 CAGW-66131, CAGW-66132), Discone/Cage ANT, twin whip ANT (4x1), single whip ANT (11x1)
-Complement: 4237
Flight deck, hangar and airwing:
-Flight deck length: 308,14m (1012ft, 1'')
-Flight deck width: 71,71m (235ft, 6'')
-Equipment: 4x arrestor wires, 1x crash barrier, 2x C-13, 1x C-13-1 steam catapults
-Hangar: 207,05m (680ft) long, 19,64/29,08m (64ft, 6''/95ft, 5'') wide, 7,61m (24ft, 11'') tall
-Elevators: 20,25/23,29m x 16,44m (66ft, 6''/76ft, 6'' x 53ft, 11'')
-Airwing: 78 (12x F11T2 Tora-Kai fighter, 12x F14G1 Tomcat interceptor/air superiority fighter, 12x A4I5 Skyhawk light attack, 12x A6G5 Intruder attack, 12x A8T1 Umiwashi attack, 10x S2G1 Tracker ASW, 4x E2G3 Hawkeye AEW, 4x SH11S Sea King ASW and SAR)
