During the reign of the Audacious Class Carriers, Ark Royal and Eagle, all the Tactical fixed-wing stuff relied on Tanking, both Sea Vixen and Scimitar could Buddy Buddy refuel and the mark 1 Buccaneers relied on a retained Flight of Scimitars to keep them going over s sufficient range from the carrier. I understand the reason being so that the carrier could stand off as far away as possible, especially if the Scimitar/Buccaneer was carrying a Free Fall/ Toss Nuclear Explosive Device. This process lost out in an argument with the R.A.F. who maintained even once the TSR2/F111 future had been abandoned that they could still reach anywhere in the Globe!
Personally, I think it was a poor day for U.K. Defence Policy, if we purport today as then to have a Global air strike function we're best off not trying to force an argument between the F.A.A. and the R.A.F. as to who should have sole responsibility, the carrier has its moments and sometimes its more convenient to deploy a land-based squadron, quickly.
FB
