If it’s CTOL, why not get E-2? Flies higher, further, faster, with a much better radar than a V-22 can lift. The only reason I can think of for buying an AEW V-22 would be to operate off a STOVL carrier, LPH, LHD, etc.

Good point, or maybe if it was feasible we could dust off the plans for the AEW aircraft that was being developed back in the 60s to fly from the CVA-01s.

I was always under the impression from interviews with pilots in books and documentaries that the Lightning was a good dogfighter and that with the introduction of the Typhoon the RAF was getting back to single-seat dogfighters after a 20 year absense.

Anyone else think it ironic that it was a Russian ship that transported the parts.

Latest video, it’s the one where all of those cool pics were taken from:

http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-events/rn-live/all-news/queen-elizabeth-class/*/changeNav/6568

Did anyone else notice in the end credits reference to a narrator but during the presentation all I noticed was music. Did anyone else here narration? Oh and by the way, the ships were rather cool, just a pity they weren’t being called Eagle and Ark Royal. Who do we write to about trying to get their names changed or could we start an online petition?

Those are great images. Some of the shots even looked real, a pity they couldn’t work up a few of CVA-01, I’d love to see what that would have looked like in the flesh so to speak. I do have a question though, what are those displays on the islands? They look like the electronic timetables you get in railway and some bus stations?

CVA-01 was designed, as with all RN carriers, to strike its entire airgroup below decks. We dont operate with permanent deck parks as is USN policy.

Actually Jonesy I don’t wish to divert the thread too much but I’m not sure about all of the airwing being struck down below in CVA-01’s hanger. It was certainly true in the propeller and early jet age that British carrier airwings could be accommodated in the hanger(s), but by the 1970s According to Chapter 13 page 154 of Michael Burns F-4K and F-4M Phantom II Osprey Air Combat, Ark Royal’s hangers contained – Upper: 8 Phantoms, 6 Sea Kings & 3 Gannets Lower: 8 Buccaneers. The remaining 6 Buccaneers, 4 Phantoms and a Gannet generally the servicable ones had to be parked on Deck.
According to Chapter 16 page 343 column 2 of Norman Freidman’s British Carrier Aviation the dimensions of CVA-01’s Hanger were 660 ft x 80 ft x 18ft. From various sources the ships would have carried 41 planes and 6-8 helos ie 18 Phantoms, 18 Buccaneers, 4-5 AEW/COD aircraft plus the Helos. Accordint to the 1968/69 edition of Jane’s All The World’s Aircraft the folded length and width of a Buccaneer was 52ft x 20ft. The Phantom’s according to Michael Burns’ aforementioned book was 51.5ft x 27ft. Bearing in mind that the aircraft couldn’t be parked so that they were physically touching so that they could be worked on and moved about, I estimate that depending on the combination of aircraft you could perhaps store all 18 buccaneers (parked in 6 rows of 3) plus a couple of Phantoms or Helos or AEW/COD. I would guess you could have 24-30 aircraft in the hanger at any given time.