Well, with the holiday break finally here, I was able to get around to starting the successors to the Troy class CVs. Here it is, the Cairo class:
The third class of carriers of the Centennial Navy, the Cairo class was built in 1946 in Centennia's–and the world's–largest shipyard in Conroy. The ship was built as an enlarged, evolved version of the previous Troy class of the 30's-40's, but with lessons learned from carrier battles in the Atlantic and Pacific (To be explained eventually). The largest carriers in the world, the Cairo class was to participate in Pacific operations that would require many aircraft per raid. The ships were different from previous vessels in that they didn't have any large caliber guns. With mostly 3" and 40mm guns, the Cairo class was to be escorted by vessels carrying long range AA guns. Also, with storage available for numerous JATO rockets, a long flight deck, and 3massive deck-edge elevators, the Cairo class was given the versatility to operate modified medium bombers and transport aircraft. Essentially designed to compensate for the lack of carriers in the Centennial fleet, two of the three planned vessels were completed by 1946, with the third being cancelled.
Also introduced with the Cairo class were a series of new, upgraded weapons. Twin automatic 3"/50s were improved and placed in new gunhouses. On the same platform, in order to ensure uniform design and ease of construction, new 20mm and 40mm guns were adopted. Firing the same rounds as the Bofors and Oerlikon guns, only form belts rather than magazines. Based around the design of the French 20mm Hispano, both designs were able to fire notably faster than their respective foreign counterparts. A twin mounting was developed for the 40mm guns and a triple mounting was developed for the 20mm guns. The mounts were designed to compete with foreign vessels in terms of armament, yet take up less room than said equivalents.
Oh, and the two sextuple mounts have still to be replaced. The break is wrapping up, so I haven't gotten around to fixing it. But, I do need help placing 7 single 20mm guns around the ship as point defense and last-ditch AA guns. Any advice on where to put them? I already know three are going on the superstructure, but I still need to place 4 more in strategic locations.
Centennia, Cairo class:
Armament:
20 3"/50 (10x2)
30 40mm (15x2)
37 20mm (10x3, 8x1)
Air Component:
Republic F-5 Hunter x 32
Grumman F-3 Hellcat (Nightfighters) x 18
Vought A-2 Horizon x 32
Douglas TB-3 Skypirate x 18-24