Originally Posted by
FODPlod
I can understand some cause for bitterness. Given that the RAF assumed the mantle of air defence of the Fleet following the decommissioning of HMS Ark Royal in 1979 and the cancellation of her replacement, CVA-01, something seems to have gone wrong during the Falklands conflict. That’s how many baffled South Atlantic Medal holders see it, anyway. Unlike Dunkirk, RAF fighter cover wasn’t merely operating out of sight of the dark blue jobs and PBI either.
The Harrier carriers were designed as platforms for ASW helicopters and one can only surmise how much worse things would have been without their lash-up conversion, albeit without AEW.
The Invincible class CVS was designed and built from the start of construction to be able to embark Harriers, the decision to proceed with V/STOL aircraft capability in the Ships design was actually made by Denis Healey in January 1970 . The original Naval Staff Requirement (NSR 6451) for the Sea Harrier was formally drafted in early 1972, before the construction of HMS Invincible was approved. The Aircraft turned out to be very close to what was proposed, bar the carriage of Anti Radiation Martel which was in the original draft of the NSR (which would have been a godsend in 1982). Defence Sales were in fact all for the aircraft being developed as they could see at least 5 other Navies being interested in buying a Maritime Harrier and its one of the major reasons that the project survived. (of those five, one actually bought it and another had its Air Forces decimated by it). Fun Fact, when the Navy were trying to push through the start of construction for Invincible in 1972 at the Chiefs of Staff Committee, they had suggested that operations in the South Atlantic were an ideal reason for the ship to be built. The main resistance to this idea came from the Army, not the RAF.