Autobit please do not get me wrong, I deliberately used the words I did as we sometimes unfortunately lost the odd aircraft due to the very nature of the beast but during my time at sea I cannot recall the type of incident I have outlined.
To me the carrier is the ultimate weapon if a nation wants to 'project power' and being able to launch and more important..... recover aircraft during 'inclement' weather is a must have skill that has to be taught and then maintained. It is no good only operating in ideal conditions as one day that will catch you out. I note that ship had been operational for five months and sadly some of those pilots appeared to lack a certain degree of confidence... As the saying goes... It is not about the size of the man in the fight, it is all about the size of the fight in the man.
Nice video but what a huge ship... Centaur was one fifth the size and I guess we could all shoot the breeze regarding sea stories
I think I saw the documentary that your video relates to and the night landings proved to be 'interesting'. Eventually did the boss go up in a tanker to give out that much needed to fuel as a number of pilots struggled to get back onto the deck? That was also his very last flight and thankfully he got back at the first attempt and caught the third wire?
Night landings on a carrier at sea in rough weather must surely be one of the ultimate skills required of a Navy pilot? RESPECT and now do it on a tiny little Centaur class carrier... We sailed close to the Enterprise and we felt like one of her liberty boats!!
Can Great Britain afford to operate a fixed wing carrier? I have no idea but if we want to play the game then we should play in a professional manner with the right ball and the correct kit.