By: Obi Wan Russell - 12th July 2009 at 15:09
ROFLMAO. They already have 2 or 3 Kiev class carriers on top of Varyag don’t they?
Kiev herself and Minsk were both sold to China to become tourist attractions in the 90s. Novorossiysk, the third ship was scrapped in 97 in South Korea and the fourth has been sold to India…
There were reports that the Reagan administration in the early 80s offered two Essex class to the PRC, during the period when America was hoping to use China for leverage against the USSR. The deal fell through when inspections of the proposed ships showed they had deteriorated seriously after ten or more years in reserve, and they had been extensively stripped for parts to keep USS Lexington in service. A great ‘what if’ though…
By: echonine - 12th July 2009 at 06:50
We all know what a “Chinese casino” really is 🙂
By: StevoJH - 12th July 2009 at 02:40
Don’t tell me the Chinese (PRC) have purchased a decommissioned Essex Class, to which it is to be converted to a floating hotel/casino???:diablo:
Regards
Pioneer
ROFLMAO. They already have 2 or 3 Kiev class carriers on top of Varyag don’t they?
By: Pioneer - 12th July 2009 at 01:47
Don’t tell me the Chinese (PRC) have purchased a decommissioned Essex Class, to which it is to be converted to a floating hotel/casino???:diablo:
Regards
Pioneer
By: StevoJH - 10th July 2009 at 18:49
1) Probably, they started building a Nimitz sized CVN in the 1980’s.
2) Why are you asking? they don’t exist in service anymore so it is irrelevant.
Probably not though, even before strengthening for catapult operations they weigh almost double the weight of the F8 crusaders that operated from the essex’s towards the end of their service lives.
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July 10, 2009 at 3:31 pm