Originally Posted by
Not_a_boffin
It goes for back enough that even Kitty Hawk, Enterprise and JFK had a tour. Plus Vinson, Stennis, Charles de Gaulle, Reagan. I think most of the USN CVN had a period on line during the last couple of decades.
As post 35 suggests, our CVS / Harrier combo didn't have the legs to contribute meaningfully, although both Illustrious and Ocean supported Op Veritas in the early stages - not with f/w though.
That's a bit tenuous, as none of the carriers you list have anything to do with the original point of the RN sidelining CGRM, denigrating amphibious capability, and splurging the family silver on CVFs (which contributed nothing to CAS on Herrick).