Tribal Crewing

Hi Entropy
Thanks for the pics., the crewing fascillities look reasonably OK,how do they compare with the Tribals. In an interview with a Canadian Captain? that I read recently he lauded the Command & Control features of the Huron & intimated that there was more room on the older ships for these features because that less room was used for crew fascillities in older designs, is this true. I will try and find the article or link, just interested thats all.

The ship in question was HMCS Algonquin & the captain was Capt. Ron lloyd, the article appeared in Warshipsifr Feb & March 2007 issues.My interest stemmed from the fact that there are few pics. of the internals of warships as against plenty of good pics taken at sea.Unfortunately not many warships pull into Canberra so I havent seen over a modern one for about 30 years.

Google Earth Navy

Very interesting Planeman,now the obvious question ,how long did it take you to collect and put all this information together? let alone do the drawings?
Cheers
Tiddles

Triton

Jonesy asked what the situ was with Triton ,the best info I have got is that it arrived in January & went into service with the Australian Customs Service in Northern waters soon after. I am not sure wether Gardline is operating it under contract or the ACS themselves.

Hi Jonesy
Were you thinking of somthing like the French “Floreal” class frigate when you mentioned a second class vessel solution. The French Navy use them quite a bit in the South Pacific where they do the job perfectly well & probably a lot cheaper than a Cassard or LaFayette class.
At about 2900 tons full load they are too big to be classed as an OPV but with similar crewing ,about 80 including the Air Group. With 100mm gun,2-Excocet & 2-20mm, it has enough punch for most “constabulary “situations

The Type 23 was originally designed mainly for anti submarine ops.,supposedly to work with the powerful Merlin Helo. The end of the cold war has seen it used in a more multi purpose role, it certainly has a strong anti surface armament. The Sea Wolf has its limitations because of its short range but was designed to react quickly to pop-up missiles from Submarines,a job it is well suited for. What advantage would the Aster provide, not enough to make a change worthwhile IMHO.

Short prices

Bet No.1:I bet this thread will have to continue for a loooooong time before any decision is made.:rolleyes:

Bet no. 2:Rafale.

Hi Rayrubik- Bet No. 1 would have the shortest priced favorite in history, we could be debating this for ,as you said ,a looooooooooong time.
Bet No.2 No hope , good plane but IMO they will eventually get a cheapish Russian plane ,MIG-35.

When I suggested Oz pilots giving US pilots a rest I was not thinking of using RAAF Hornets, no mate, I was thinking of our pilots greedily logging up hours & burning up fuel in USN Super Hornets, good training for when our own SHs arrive. Ah well ,there goes the concerned ally theory . Seriously I think the E2s would work out OK but I think the FN only has a small number [9] Rafales F1 in carrier operation, they have no A2G capability, I could stand to be corrected on this.The Super Etendard would be a waste of time. It would be a great experience for the French pilots but would probably diminish the US Carriers grunt. Still I think your idea has merit. Storage and movement of weapons would have to be sorted out as the FN planes have a different weapon fit to USN planes. In fact the non Nato/US weapons fit & its “different’ Human Machine Interface” cockpit, different to all its current competitors until the JSF comes on line, have been a big factor in its failure to get an export sale according to some OZ Forum “experts”.Anyhow thats another story.

Overworked???

With the FNS Charles de Gaulle going in for a refit shortly. What do the members think of a small detachment of Rafales and/or Hawkeyes operating from a US Carrier? Clearly, both types can operate from American ships the the advantages are obvious. The French would of course keep there pilots proficient in Carrier Operations. On the otherhand the French aircraft would ease the pressure and flight hours of overworked USN Aircraft and Pilots. Sounds like a win-win……….Maybe even add a couple Brits and/or Indian Naval Pilots on exchange duty to the mix? Any thoughts……………:cool:

Lets not confuse USN carrier pilots & planes with overworked US Army & Marines on the ground , I doubt that the USN pilots would want to give up any flying time to French,Indian or British pilots. In fact if they really needed relief for their pilots surely a close ally like OZ or Spain would fit the bill as we both fly the Hornet.The carrier planes are probably not flying any more hours than they ever did. Having said all that I think your idea has merit although it has its problems eg. Command ,language, communication integration, weapons fit etc.