Originally Posted by
NutLoose
Not anti carrier, but come on, 15 jets. So how many does it take to form an effective CAP to protect the fleet, one assumes you need spares on standby on deck to take over when fuel is low etc. Plus say a couple on maintenance... It does not leave much of those 15 jets to be effective. say two in the air on CAP, two on the deck as back up replacements, 2 on maintenance, your down to 9.
BTW just guesstimate figures.
Wasn't the Illustrious a bit of a self licking lollipop, it carried enough SHAR's to protect itself, so the reason the carrier was there was effectively to provide protection for itself?
Yet strangely, dets of 4-6 aircraft on BALTAP or Shader are somehow seen as perfectly acceptable. How strange.
The fleet does not exist solely to protect the carrier, in the same way that the carrier does not exist solely to protect the fleet. The entity as a whole provides both offensive and defensive capabilities over land and sea and under the water. The fleet can deny use of the sea and littoral land areas (and airspace above it) for the oppo and enable use of the sea for us and allies.
Given that Illustrious was never designed to be a proper aircraft carrier, rather an ASW helicopter carrier that was able to add a few jets, you may begin to discern the reason behind the much bigger QEC. The currently embarked 15 jets could be more than doubled if necessary (albeit subject to the current build-up of of the UK Lightning force which is a strictly temporary effect), something which you couldn't do with the old CVS because she was too small to be a carrier. The huge increase in deck area on QEC also means you can launch and recover more aircraft as a package, hold more aircraft at alert and do it all more efficiently. That ship can operate 30+ jets, plus rotary without breaking sweat and can move around the globe with all supporting people, spares etc, without needing to ask permission.
It's almost as if someone had thought this through.......