This new stand alone release based on the legendary War in the Pacific from 2 by 3 Games adds significant improvements and changes to enhance game play, improve realism, and increase historical accuracy. With dozens of new features, new art, and engine improvements, War in the Pacific: Admiral's Edition brings you the most realistic and immersive WWII Pacific Theater wargame ever!
As Fishbed says they are still going ahead with the CVs. I heard that the issues concerning the F-35 wasn't so much cost as it was simply the fact they would not be ready so they'd use Harriers and whatnot until they were available. There are also rumors of ditching the F-35B STOVL for the conventional F-35C CATOBAR as it would save roughly £2.2 billion and also give greater capabilities in range and payload. If they do finally decide to go with the F-35C, the class might not have the ski jump and will have an EMALS catapult and arrestor gear.
Reckon they are a General Election and a Defence Review away from cancellation. Cheaper to pay off Thales/Corus etc than to complete an aircraft carrier that:
We cannot arm
We cannot maintain over it's lifespan
We cannot get aircrews for (we can't get sufficient crews for the existing carriers - check out the Navy Air ads, in reality more than half the airwing comes from the RAF)
We cannot defend - we are buying 9 too few Type 45's to provide availability for CVBG's
We have adopted the wrong propulsion system
Biggest money magnet in defence is 'kit' and they don't come much bigger than a CV!
The problem with fuel explosions is not the amount of fuel, but the amount of available fuel in the right format and the amount of air.
So RN carriers with smaller bunkerage for AVGAS would be just as likely to explode if the right conditions were met as would a US/IJN carrier with larger fuel stores. Taiho and Shokaku were both lost due to poor ventilation and a fuel vapour rich environment (doubt in the great scheme of things it was very much fuel, take the US Daisy Cutter for example - a mate of mine was convinced that Gulf 1 started with a Nuke when he heard/saw his first Daisy Cutter being used - that's around a 1000 Gals of fuel turned into vapour and ignited).
The point about armoured decks is that the deck has to be penetrated to put the ship in mortal danger from that type of attack.
The point about post war use is moot. They had served their purpose, so if they are warped and twisted, then they could be scrapped, after all, what purpose (post war) did they serve when the enemy was a nuclear armed USSR. Even the mighty USN did not have a true answer to this until the advent of the CVA's of the Forrestal class and beyond, so these CV's were an anathema the RN could no longer truly afford.
As Fishbed says they are still going ahead with the CVs. I heard that the issues concerning the F-35 wasn't so much cost as it was simply the fact they would not be ready so they'd use Harriers and whatnot until they were available. There are also rumors of ditching the F-35B STOVL for the conventional F-35C CATOBAR as it would save roughly £2.2 billion and also give greater capabilities in range and payload. If they do finally decide to go with the F-35C, the class might not have the ski jump and will have an EMALS catapult and arrestor gear.
Reckon they are a General Election and a Defence Review away from cancellation. Cheaper to pay off Thales/Corus etc than to complete an aircraft carrier that:
We cannot arm
We cannot maintain over it's lifespan
We cannot get aircrews for (we can't get sufficient crews for the existing carriers - check out the Navy Air ads, in reality more than half the airwing comes from the RAF)
We cannot defend - we are buying 9 too few Type 45's to provide availability for CVBG's
We have adopted the wrong propulsion system
Biggest money magnet in defence is 'kit' and they don't come much bigger than a CV!
Labour regards Government primarily as a jobs programme, and defence, research, infrastructure investment, carbon emissions reduction, etc., are secondary to that. The CVs are still on, but we're currently seeing some strange decisions (the research councils have dropped their grant approval rate to below 10%, NHS has been told to reduce medical research to fund old-age care, there are rumblings that the post-92 universities will be wound up, military cut-backs in Afghanistan). If the CVs survive to the Tory Government, they'll probably get built, but I suspect Labour is currently shopping them around to 'friends' of the West like China.
Harry Erwin
"For a number to make sense in the game, someone has to calibrate it and program code. There are too many significant numbers that behave non-linearly to expect that. It's just a game. Enjoy it." herwin@btinternet.com
Re the Fulmar, yes it was a big aircraft with a slow rate of climb but it had good endurance & ammo which was the main requirement for the RN/FAA specification. It also performed very well in the Med & was very popular with its pilots and maintance crews. Apparently they even had a song for it, nicknaming it 'Old Iron' or somehting like that.
Re the two new RN carriers, Queen Elizabeth & Prince of Wales, yes the original specification was to a Japanese /Nippon Steel submitted design - I should know as I was involved in one of the companies involved in it! Absolutely ludicrous as the Japanese hadn't built a modern carrier since WWII, and afte all didn't Britain even help develop the things in the first place?
Re the French 'interference', yeah there was a lot of talk & wasted effort about incorporating some French/Thales ideas into the design which I believe are being put into the second of the two ships (but not the first) in the hope that it will save some money. Ridiculous as it will only end up costing more (as we have advised the parliamentary group) but apparently it is good to pander to the EEC every so often... The project is already ludicrously over budget and the keel of the first has only just been laid...
Yes, it is true that the second ship (which has a slightlyd ifferent design anyway) might be modified more (mainly in order to save costs under the government slogan 'cheaper and better', hence it will cost more & be useless) but also as there is no money in the kitty left for decent modern aircraft it might only operate helicopters plus the odd future-Harrier. Still doesn't answer the question re what to equip the first with - no money for JSF, no moeny for F-35... Navalised concept of the Eurofighter has also been scrapped to save money...
Agreed that we will probably still build them (generates lots of jobs, particularly amongst the mandarins of Whitehall), but then flog them off dirt cheap to somebody like China(!). Pity really, at one time Britain could actually build, arm and maintain a decent CV... [:(]
Double-proof of how short the RN is for funds - we can only afford to operate two of the through-deck cruisers so the third (think it is the Invincible) is currently mothballed althogh kept at 'readiness reserve' although the deadline is fast approaching to decide what to do with it - sell or scrap (a return to full active duty has already been ruled out, the refit & systems upgrade even for a short time is prohibitively expensive. However 'decision time' is just after the next General Election...)
At the risk of starting an argument I believe that Italian cuisine is superior to French cuisine.
No doubt about that!
Ick, they are olive oil crazy down there! They even put it in the bread! nasty.
Hate to say it but a kebab covered with nuclear strength chilli sauce enjoyed in the pouring rain while mildly inebriated after some ales (served warm of course) is a most enjoyable thing. [:'(][:D]
Totally off point but I believe that there are some serious concerns being raised about the F-35 as a carrier aircraft - it seems the heat from the massive single downward thrust engine is very likely to melt the (see there is a connection!) armoured decks of the US carriers!
Well to be honest even if the ship-board version of the F35 is ready in time (which I doubt) it will be far too expensive for the FAA to procur or operate. Also they have to train up pilots to fly it, and right now the FAA doesn't have either any supersonic strike or fighter aircraft, nor any facilities to train new pilots (the only fixed wing plane they operate on carriers are the new Harriers, and precious few of them)
At the risk of starting an argument I believe that Italian cuisine is superior to French cuisine.
No doubt about that!
Ick, they are olive oil crazy down there! They even put it in the bread! nasty.
Hate to say it but a kebab covered with nuclear strength chilli sauce enjoyed in the pouring rain while mildly inebriated after some ales (served warm of course) is a most enjoyable thing. [:'(][:D]
<- savage
ouch! Only a British can think like that... [;)]
Are you guys still putting everything into the fryer? [:D]
