Altrenate Carrier for the 80's RN

[gkm]

The Buccaneer also operated off the HMS Hermes, a modified Centaur class light carrier. That was a plane about the size of an A-6 Intruder.

[shippy2013]

I also recall that the RN either tested or considered testing a Phantom of of Hermes......

But back to my design I think I have solved my solution of Refuelling based on my idea of an opening or removable lift using some cutaway drawings of a Trafalgar class sub to determine Reactor compartment size required, once I've tracked down the dimensions of a PWR1 or PWR2 reactor I can work around this.

[gkm]

That would have been the proposed F-4L.

[Thiel]

It's worth pointing that while they did consider it, they decided that the required conversion was too expensive and the resulting carrier wouldn't have enough capabilities to be worth it. Remember, the FAA was still flying Swordfish when the design was drawn up and any design derived from it is going to suffer from it, a ship with the same hull even more so.
Hangar height is probably going to be the worst area closely followed by deck strength.
Hermes have a hangarheight of 16 or 17.5ft, enough perhaps for a the compact Sea Harrier, but nowhere near enough for any sort of successor plane, especially if you want CATOBAR to be a future option.
Similarly I believe Hermes' deck was strengthened to take 40,000lb class aircraft. ANy serious successor aircraft is going to be in the 60,000lb class.

In the end you can't get around the act that with all the design changes you're going to need (Some of which I'm not at all convinced are even possible) you're going to end up with a ship that has very little in common with the original Hermes design, at which point you might as well start over from scratch and get a ship that's actually going to work.

And even if you manage to overcome all that you're still left with a not so great carrier with little to no room for future growth operating not so great jets that are well on their way towards the end of their development cycle by the time the ship enters service.

[shippy2013]

I am now working on a completely new design and will post when ready but I have started from scratch so this could take a bit, still hoping for 250m or less, between 32,000 and 40,000 tonns, 2 PWR reactors and it will be STOVL but with an angled deck but no cats and traps' these will be catered for but not fitted. As I still want the future option to convert to CATOBAR.
The carrier must be deigned for the 1980,s RN, The harrier is the primary aircraft with Helecopters but as. No successor to the Harrier as yet been thought of. The carrier must be designed so that if the FAA decide to purchase F18 of a navalised version of the Typhoon or even the Rafale in the 1990-early 2000,s. bearing in mind the carriers won't commission till 1991 onwards if built from 1985....

[Blackbuck]

250m really is the minimum you want to go, take CdG and Clemenceau as examples. Especially if you want to convert it to CATOBAR...

[acelanceloet]

yeah. modern aircraft catapults are 75 meters minimum, and 100 optimal. landing decks are 200 meters roughly if you want to operate anything else then fighters from it. an hangar for 20 fighters (small ones) is 30 meters wide and 100 meters long minimal. (excluding elevators, workshops and moving places, so purely parking spots) and you want 20 fighters and more. your hangar can't be wider then your beam.
for an carrier following british practise but operating hornets and similar sized aircraft, I myself estimated 280-310 meters optimal.

[shippy2013]

These are the aircraft I want to cater for so this is we're I'm starting. The carrier would be designed to accommodate larger aircraft so that it would be future proof, expected commission is gonna be between 40 and 50 years inc several refits I would think.....

1980's to 1990's possible early 2000's, not all Helecopters would be deployed together my time frame includes certain models of Seaking being replaced by Merlins.

RN/RAF Harrier FA.2 and GR5,7 and 9, upto 28.
Seaking HAS, SAR, AEW and ASW, upto 10.
Merlin ASW and HC.3' upto 10.
Ability to operate Chinook possibly hangar them but don't think that would be completely necessary. Upto 4.

Early 2000's onwards.

RN F18 probably initially C's or D's but later E's and F's. Upto 20.
or
RN Navalised Typoon wing fold would probably reduce span by 1/3. Upto 20.
or
RN Rafalle M. Upto 20.
or
RN/RAF F35C of carrier is converted to CATOBAR F35B in retains STOVL. Upto 20 or 25 depending on model.
Merlin HC.3, ASW AEW. Upto 10.
Chinook again deployable but not necessarily hanger. Upto 4
V.22 Osprey maybe an AEW or Tanker variant ability to hangar would need to find out how they are folded for stowage. Possibly 3 or 4.

[Blackbuck]

I figure I'll post these as they might be helpful. I was working on a minimum(ish) CATOBAR carrier a while back but like most of my other drawings failed to complete it.
Click me, and me, and me too.

[shippy2013]

do you mind if i borrow a few elements of your drawings, might be able to work with something here, i'm trying to use inspiration of CVA-01 and The invincibles too as i'm trying to make this a very say British style of ship.. also been looking at CDG and Foch....