Following the
cancellation of HMS Queen Elizabeth (CVA-01) in February 1966 the RN looked at
options to stay in the fixed-wing game. Eagle was to be refitted, and would
serve alongside Ark Royal into the 70s, and future V/STOL designs were already
being studied. A study was made to examine the feasibility of purchasing 2-4 ex-USN
Essex class carriers, but this was ruled out.
This changed following the 1968 Hong Kong crisis, when Britain realized that it
would be in the national interest to maintain a viable carrier fleet. In
February 1970, four years to the day from the cancellation of CVA-01, the
contract was signed to purchase the Essex-class carriers USS Oriskany and USS
Shangri-La. These two boats were the most modernized of the Essex carriers, and
following refit to RN standard the first ship delivered, the Shangri-La entered
service with the Royal Navy in August 1973 as HMS Invincible, to be followed in
June 1974 by her sister ship HMS Illustrious.
As the new carriers were too small to accommodate the Phantoms now flying from
HMS Eagle and Ark Royal, so the air wings of the Invincible class would be made
up of Sea Jaguar FR.3s for fleet defense and reconnaisance, Skyhawk FG.1s for
attack, Gannett AEW.3s for AEW, and Sea Kings for SAR/planeguard duties.
In peacetime the air wings of the two carriers comprised 10 Sea Jaguars, 12
Skyhawks, 2 Gannets, and 5 Sea Kings. In wartime this could increase to 34 fast
jets (in the 1982 Falklands war Invincible carried 16 Sea Jaguars, and 18
Skyhawks), and up to 8 helicopters.
This rennaisance for RN carrier operations was followed by the refitting of
Eagle and Ark Royal for continued operations into the 1990s (when they were
replaced by the carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth and Duke Of Edinburgh), as well as
the construction of three strike carriers of 22,000 tons each to operate the new
Sea Harrier FRS.1 aircraft. It was two of these carriers (Colossus and Albion)
that made such an impact in the Falklands war as they were able to operate their
Harriers in the harsh South Atlantic weather that made operation impossible from
Invincible for much of the war.
When the Commando carriers Hermes and Bulwark were retired in the early 1980s
they were replaced by the LPHs Ocean and Magnificent. This gave the Royal Navy
of the 1990s a capable and respected carrier force of two fleet carriers (QE
& DoE), two escort carriers (Invincible and Illustrious), three strike
carriers (Colossus, Albion, and Centaur) and two helicopter carriers (Ocean and
Magnificent).
This large carrier fleet has helped Britain in conflicts from Kosovo to Iraq,
and has acted as a deterrent in times of tension across the globe.
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This is the
Hobbycraft A-4C "Falklands War" kit with some additions. The
avionics hump in the kit (but not used on the "B" was added and a few
bits and bobs were grafted onto the nose to represent an LRMTS and IR tracker.
The left gun was removed and a ventilation scoop added under the fuselage in its
place. The right gun was replaced with an Aden cannon mounted in a
semi-external pod similar to the Israeli DEFA installation (scratchbuilt from
part of a 1/48 refueling probe and a 1/72 T-38 tip tank). An air scoop was
also added on the left fuselage for the new engine.
The Matra rocket
pods came from an Academy Hunter F.6 kit and the decals are from the Airfix 1/48
Sea Harrier FRS.1. I prefer the look of Extra Dark Sea Grey over Sky
better than over white, so a retro-scheme for the Queen's Silver Jubilee was
born.
Nick
Click on
images below to see larger images
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