I suspect CR would prefer to have had a swept-wing jet-powered Belfast being produced in his/her home area instead – and is still holding a grudge.

They could have called it the Short SC545. 😉

Well; it would be very off topic but;

Why most efficient? 1-Kuznetsov weighs 64% of Nimitz, provide 59% airwing, defend itself as well as a US CVBG, yet require less than half crew of Nimitz alone to operate. <- this is efficient. 2- Kuznetsov provides antishipping capabilities of two squadrons of F-18s. So given a modern airwing, Kuznetsov can provide same air superiority as Nimitz, as its airwing won’t be divided for fleet protection or antishipping. <- This is efficient, as it can perform some of its tasks just as 56% heavier Nimitz class. 3- For a combined land strike;
That is my opinion though, anyone can feel free to disagree.

Hangar capacity does not equal air wing size.

The Nimitz class can, and has, operated 5 squadrons of fighter & attack aircraft PLUS a squadron of fixed-wing ASW aircraft PLUS 4 ECM aircraft to accompany the fighter & attack aircraft, PLUS 4 AEW aircraft to control the airspace, PLUS 6 ASW helocopters.

Remember that – they operated >80 aircraft per ship in the 1980s, and can do so any time the aircraft are assigned.

Kuz operates a maximum of ~45 aircraft (normally 35-40) – HALF the maximum of a Nimitz!

So that’s 50% of the air wing on 64% of the displacement.

I don’t call that more efficient.

As for the SAM outfit – Kuz needs them because it doesn’t carry enough aircraft to keep enemy aircraft & ships away from it while doing anything else useful.

Yes – add in small vessels, ferries, and hospital ships as part of the combat fleet to hide the actual size of the USN.

– Known salty env. behavior (F404 as opposed to Kfir’s J79)

And how many J79s served aboard the USN’s aircraft carriers in Navy/Marine F-4B/J/N/S Phantoms and USN A-5A/RA-5C Vigilantes (both aircraft used two J79s)?

Those ports in the wingroots are for the four .50 cal. guns…

That’s always what I’ve read…perhaps I’m wrong?

Looking at a couple of sources, they agree that there were 4x.50mg in the outer intake structure.

You learn something new every day!

In my defense, the RF-84F nose in the Hill museum does seem to be strikingly lacking in intakes and wings.

Turkey has operated subs continuously since the 1920s.

Starting in 1948 she operated a fleet of ex-USN fleet subs, as many as 10 at one time, with the last decommissioning in 2004.

Starting in 1975 they began replacing them with Type 209/1200 & 209/1400. The first 3 were built in Germany, but the other 11 were license-built in Turkey, with the first of those commissioning in 1981 and the most recent in 2007.

All 14 are still officially in commission, and at least 6 type 214s are under construction or planned, with the first due to complete in 2015.

I visited the Hill Aerospace Museum today (just 20 miles from where I live), and took these pics:

RF-84F cockpit & nose, painted in dual colors:

F-84F:

I vaguely recall that the Lancaster had a problem at one point with wing skins coming off due to rivets popping and the problem was traced to “tolerance build-up”. Hopefully someone more au-fait with that than me can explain it – I can’t bring it to mind at the mo.

Adrian

Simply put, it is a case where each part has a specific tolerance, and the overall assembly has a tolerance, but if all the parts are at the same side of the allowance tolerance (all on the “plus” side for example) the total of all the actual variances from the “ideal specification” exceeds the overall allowable variance.

I’ve seen it with avionics equipment where two circuit boards worked fine in different assemblies, and passed bench tests individually, but if both were put in the same unit the unit wouldn’t work.

A rivet which is at the smallest allowable shaft length/diameter & head size, installed in a hole drilled to the maximum allowable size, in a rib that is at the thickest allowed, might result in the rivet head/shaft being stressed past the breaking point – especially after a number of flights with the rivet moving around in the hole (and the wing skin shifting in relation to the rib) and wearing a grove in the shaft.

Have a series of such small rivets/large holes in the same rib and the whole section is susceptible to the whole string of rivets failing under stress.