Have enjoyed reading the thread so I hope you don’t mind me adding my two pence worth.

I think that although the cost and manpower issues during the 70 were very real they would not have prevented the RN running fleet carriers during that time. I have a naval review dated from the end of the 70s that lists the RN as 67,770 regular service personnel with 29,100 regular reserve and 6,500 volunteer reserve. If the 7,770 were to say man 3 fleet carriers that still leaves 60,000 to do the rest of the work, which must surely be possible if sensible decisions are made.

In fact more realistic decision making really is at the heart of avoiding the carrier crisis. If in the early 60s consideration had been given to value for money and sustainability rather than trying and failing to keep up with the USN then a different chain of event could have emerged.

The Phantom is the biggest problem as it could not fly from any existing carrier, even the biggest and most recently refitted Eagle, without major modification of the aircraft and the carriers. Some of which such as the relatively new Hermes would never be able to operate it. At the same time the buy of the Sea Vixen continued till 1966! How can this be value for money? How can such waste be sustainable? If the sea Vixen by dint of necessity is the fighter for the 70s the updates that were offered for it, new engines and a new radar becomes sensible spending and will keep it basically viable.

The deadly necessity to urgently replace the current carriers is deferred and limited investment in the Sea Vixen and Buccaneer is all that is necessary during the financial crisis of the late sixties. It allows a breathing space to react to the fact that the age of empire is over and a new NATO centric defence situation is arising.

If the carrier force stays at the heart of the navy then they draw in money and manpower and get allocated roles within NATO, North Atlantic, Arctic and the reinforcement of Norway. Expensive manpower intensive frigates like Type 22 don’t get built as the need for lower manning lower cost ships more more akin to Type 23 is required. Replace the Counties hull for hull with an 8 ship programme with something in between the Type 82 and 42. Perhaps rather like the later Type 43 with all gas turbines.

Also when trying to work out what was possible it is perhaps sensible to remember what was actually maintained during this period. Air stations like Lossiemouth and Yeovilton stayed on the MOD books and maritime attack Buccaneer squadrons were also maintained, albeit light blue manned. The RAF also probably had funding for fighters with which they claimed to be defending the fleet! Funding that in an alternate history could have been RN.