Moving on from air assets and back to the Navy. I've begun to rewrite some of my AU's Carrier history and now instead of the Ocean class CV's I have gone for the Ocean Class vessels being LPH's but fitted with a Ski Jump to enable Harriers to be Launched and New Cromer wont be taking Frances Place on the CVF project instead back in 1988 New Cromer was working on it's own Carrier design with the Help of the French and the US for a Nuclear Powered CVN. about the size of the CDG. I remembered I had drawn this a while back and found it while going through my files, I did a bit of tweeking and here's the back story.
in 1987 the Navy was looking for new Carriers to replace it's Centaur class carriers built in the late 1960's. after a number of years of searching for replacement aircraft for its hard worked and clapped out Buccaneer's and Vixen's the size of the Centaurs proved a severe limiting factor, so in 1988 plans were drawn up with France and the US to design and built two new carriers. powered by reactors based on the British submarine reactors but boasting much higher outputs. problems and delays meant the ships would not be ready anytime soon and as the Buccaneer's and Vixen's were worn out the two Centaur class carriers would be re built as STOVL carriers to operate the Harrier until the new carriers were ready hopefully by 1999.
further delays to the project and a serious fire on board the Centaur Class Victoria leading to its decommissioning in 1991 led to only Cromer being rebuilt. at the time the Navy was also looking for two LPH class ships and had seen preliminary design's for Britain's HMS Ocean, New Cromer ordered 2 ships to a slightly modified design able to operate the Harrier as these would have to fill in for the two new CVN's till they were ready. these to ran into delays and would not join the fleet till 2002 further design problems and delays also hit the CVN's and a service date for these was still no were to be seen steel was finally cut in 1999, all this meant the Centaur class Cromer would have to soldier on for longer.
The Centaur Class Cromer re entered service in 1994 to it's new STOVL design and would be New Cromer's sole carrier till 2002 when the two Oceanic Class CV/LPH became operational. by which time the Centaur Class Cromer was suffering from regular machinery failures and was deemed by some of her crew dangerous to operate and a serious accident waiting to happen.
in 2002 the CV/LPH's were ready and the very worn out NCNS Cromer was retired the two CV/LPH's taking over the Harrier operations until the new CVN's and there as yet undecided aircraft would be ready. in 1999 the new and then being tested Boeing McDonald F/A18 E and F Hornet was chosen as the aircraft of choice for the navy and an order was placed. The First Carrier finally entered service in 2006 and was followed in 2008 by the second. in the meantime Pilots from New Cromer had gone over to the US on training to fly the F/A18 and as well as training in the US had seen deployments on US Carrier's to better there skills. the F/A18G was ordered in 2012 and these should be delivered in 2015. the carriers will operate with an air wing of 12xF/A18E, 12xF/A18F, 2 or 3xF/A18G, 2xCV-22 HC.3, 2xKCV-22 KC.1, 3xECV-22 AEW.1, 4xEH101 HAS.3 and 4xEH101 SAR.3
The F/A18's will be built locally form Kits supplied by Boeing but will be powered by locally built licenced versions of the EJ220 engine which has 27,000lb thrust over the GE F414's 22,000lb.
apologies for image size but i'm still tinkering...