Here's a thought:

Not so long ago we decided to put both Sea Harriers and Harrier GR7s aboard the CVS, embarking up to 16 or so fixed wing aircraft at one, helping build up flight deck management and other skills prior to CVF arriving.

Then Sea Harrier got binned, meaning that only a single sqaudron of GR7/9s could be embarked. The demands of the operation commitment to Afghanistan meant that having Harriers embarked was rare. The Harrier's commitment to Afghan operations ended this year, and once again we could start rebuilding the base of skills and expertise that had started to fade.

Then, this month, a squadron was deleted from Joint Force Harrier, which has to have implications for having jets embarked at sea and the skills of flight deck crews and others. What makes it worse is that the carriers were delayed for political reasons, despite the fact in drives overall costs up significantly.

Perhaps we should consider using the Sea Harriers sent to Culdrose/stored to help build experience of embarking a larger number of aircraft...?

Anyway, HMS Invincible achieved a record in December 2003 by launching 17 Sea Harriers/Harriers within minutes in 13 minutes - as reported here by Navy News.

Following the successful NATO Exercise Northern Light in the autumn, Invincible continued her work-up period by embarking eight GR7 Harriers of 3(F) Squadron RAF – 18 pilots and 112 additional personnel joining the ship with the aircraft.

Also on board were nine FA2 Sea Harriers of both 800 and 801 Naval Air Squadrons, adding to the organisational challenge – not least in how to arrange 17 Harriers on the flight deck and in the hangar.

And...

Invincible at one point put seven RAF Harriers and nine Sea Harriers into the air in the space of 13 minutes, believed to be a record for the class of carrier. All but two of the jets were returning to their respective home bases after the intensive three-week operational period.

I bet nobody thought to make a video of this mass launch. Busy flight decks are exciting as this video of the USS Theodore Roosevelt shows:

Carrier Deck Action

At least the RN did involved in the video of Jam Side Down. If only they had kept the Status Quo!

Originally Posted by spoiltb

Some video footage of Phantoms and Buccaneers landing on the Ark Royal during the 1970s

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5l...yal-traps_tech

Good video.

My grandmothers partner (90) served on Ark Royal in WW2 as Fleet Air Arm. I could listen to him all day.

Bring back the Swordfish! Biplanes rule!

Actually this thread is an opportunity to talk about one of the most amazing stories I've ever heard about WWII. Not of bravery or fierce fighting or of amazing technical advances. Instead it's a story which explains why some men get very very rich and the rest of us don't. My source for it is a book called "Bring Back My Stringbag" by Lord Kilbracken. 'Stringbag' was the affectionate name given to the Swordfish by its crews because it could carry just about anything. But there was one cargo they carried which none of you -- I bet -- would ever have thought of.

During part of his service Kilbracken (or John Godley as he was in those days) served aboard MAC ships on Atlantic Convoys. MAC stood for merchant aircraft carrier. A tanker or grain ship with a flight deck above the regular deck and with three of four Swordfish parked permanently on the flight deck to provide air cover for each convoy a MAC ship traveled with. No lifts, no hangars but good enough to do the job and each MAC ship could also continue to carry a full cargo.

So, and this is the essential point, when the carrier reached Canada or the USA the Swordfish were flown ashore for a week or so while the MAC was loaded and another convoy was assembled. On return to the UK, it was the same procedure. Once in home waters the Stringbags flew off to their base, which like all FAA airfields was in a place nobody had ever heard of. The one used by MAC planes was some God forsaken bog hole in Northern Ireland -- where custom officers were never seen!

So think about it: wartime Britain, every kind of luxury virtually rationed out of existence and yet those Navy air crew aircrew were able to fly in just about whatever they liked.

In those circumstances, what could you bring in in which would really pay off in terms of pounds cash per pound of weight? Crates of whiskey, packets of nylons, American cigarettes?

The answer which one crew came up with far exceeded all those things in profit. They flew in sacks of bird seed!

I kid you not. The Ministry of Food had taken the stuff off the market and all over the UK little old ladies were delighted to put down serious money for a few ounces of seed to keep their pet budgies cheerful and chirping. But what amazes me is trying to imagine the mindset of the man who spotted a marker opportunity like that. Business acumen amounting to genius is how I'd describe it. It's no surprise to learn that the Navy bird man did very well for himself after the war -- very well indeed.

And if you don't believe me, ladies and gentlemen, just ask yourselves why a certain very well well known area in the financial heart of London is called Canary Wharf.

Wasn't there a Gannet at Dryad? IIRC it used to be near the armoury, or was it the car park? I believe there used to be another plane there at some time, until some lads came back from a run ashore and pulled the chocks away.

I remember the old Ark Royal, when we were doing our seamanship training from Jupiter Point we used to anchor in her lee side overnight. It felt terrible having watched the series "Sailor" seeing her there knowing what her fate was.

Don't know if anyone here remembers HMS Dryad, SMOPS, Simple Minded Officers Playschool :D

Originally Posted by Magic_Mushroom

In the event that CVF operated cat/trap aircraft, I suspect that we'd send aircrew to the US for trg on the T-45 Goshawk. All French aircrew destined for Rafale M, E-2C and SUE have followed this route for some time although I suspect that the French have a dummy deck painted somewhere, most likely Landeviseau (SP?) or Istres.

I believe that the Argentinians and Brazilians may also have sent some aircrew to the US for similar trg.

The Argentine Fleet Air Arm "borrow" the Brazilian Carrier Sao Paulo - the former French carrier Foch - every year for Carrier Quals in the few Super Etendards and S2 Trackers they have left.

The Septics used the Forrestal until 1993 specifically as a training carrier to Carrier Qual their pilots.

Originally Posted by littlejim

Bring back the Swordfish! Biplanes rule!

And if you don't believe me, ladies and gentlemen, just ask yourselves why a certain very well well known area in the financial heart of London is called Canary Wharf.

Beautiful story but Canary Wharf derives from the days when that area of the docks disgorged yellow bananas more than anything else.

I think some madman once landed a Hercules C130 on a carrier?
regards
J

Originally Posted by yeahrite

I think some madman once landed a Hercules C130 on a carrier?
regards
J

The Youtube evidence is already on here, somewhere . . . .

Edited to add:

Originally Posted by gaijin

Originally Posted by the_boy_syrup

Didn't the USN (USS Forrestal before the fire) land and launch a C 130 ?

Yes. There is video of it here:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...90308129405896

Also on Youtube - but I can't access that from work so can't post a link

There are YouTube videos as well - like this one.

However, this sort of STOL operation of such a large aircraft would have been risky, and incompatible with normal carrier operations. Hence the C2 Greyhound was developed.

I believe some American Engineering students did a project to design as STOL COD aircraft recently.

Recently I came across these two images taken in Aden of HMS Bulwark by my Father,
as he was on his way to Mombassa circa 1962-63, that might be of interest.



I'd certainly appreciate any info on the aviation hardware parked-up on top.
One looks like a early variant of the Gannet[?] with Vampires aft.
Was there a sea variant of the Hunter?