V/STOL airwing (will be F35 when available) and two thousand Marines.
Just another of America's wonderful ways to say:
"DON'T F*CK WITH US!!!!"
Posted on 10/07/2009 7:16:55 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
Italy's newest aircraft carrier like a son-captain
By Jo Winterbottom
LA SPEZIA, Italy (Reuters Life!) - Italy's newest aircraft carrier is a pretty big baby. But the Cavour's captain sees his ship as exactly that: a son growing up before his eyes.
"I saw the ship growing day by day. So I feel it's like a son," Captain Gianluigi Reversi told Reuters in a recent interview aboard the 27,500 tonne ship.
The Cavour is docked at La Spezia while it undergoes maintenance following a year of tests, before it goes into full service probably some time in 2010.
Reversi became captain in 2005, when the ship started to be built, and will hand over to a successor next year.
"I have followed each step and I know every part, all the hidden angles," he said. He also had the 545 strong crew to train on the new ship.
"I will give the captain who follows me not only a body but a body with a heart and a brain," Reversi said.
Last week, that body was flexing its muscles to move journalists on board for the launch of Fiat's Punto Evo model.
The press conference was raised en bloc from the hangar to the 220 meter (yards) long runway deck by the massive lifting platform that normally hoists aircraft or helicopters.
The Punto Evos then showed off their turning circles on the deck, which is 34 meters wide, and came to a halt facing journalists with headlights on under a star-struck sky.
Dinner in a marquee pitched on the deck was followed by an overnight stay in one of the carrier's cabins, which usually sleep four crew but hosted just one reporter each.
The slimmed down staffing -- Italy's only other aircraft carrier, the 30-year-old Garibaldi, has up to 800
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Not bad. Roughly the size of the WWII-era Enterprise and fine for the Med.
The latest Nimitz-class, the George Bush, cost $6.2 billion, carries 90 aircraft, and has a crew of 3,200, plus an air wing crew of 2,480.
For the price and operating cost of a Nimitz, you can get at least four Cavour-class carriers, and get a lot more flexibility.
;^) LOL!!!
We could damn near cut in quarters and end up with the same tonnage...
The Cavour is intended to operate with an air wing of supersonic F-35B Joint Strike Fighters.
Historically, though, the reason for the ramps (and the limitations they reveal) are as stated.
When Romans turned into Italians. One of History’s great mysteries.
Quarter carriers.
A fleet of 30 small carriers would be an interesting idea, each carrying 22 jets or such. More targets for the bad guys to worry about.
Things the the Italian carrier would be useful in scenarios where we would want aircraft on station, but don't need a full-size supercarrier.
The US Marines have small carriers
The dorky ramps are good enough to start F-35Bs.
The steam launchers somtimes tend to be broken. Especialy when they’re needed the most. I’ve never seen a ramp with a jamed slingshot :-)
But, as the Falklands conflict showed, they can project power against enemies who themselves do not have a strong navy, particularly that do not have a strong air arm. They performed admirably in that role, though tere wer some significant UK naval losses to frigates and destroyers.
The Italians now have two such carriers, as do the Spanish.
France will utlimately have two larger carriers, and England has already started building their QE II class (of which they will build two), which will displace 65,000 tons and though at first a jump jet design, will also be designed from the keel up to allow for later cat installation if necessary.
V/STOL airwing (will be F35 when available) and two thousand Marines.
Just another of America's wonderful ways to say:
"DON'T F*CK WITH US!!!!"
Because we’re the United States Navy. We don’t need no steeenking launch ramps. Those are for wusses. NOT US!
One of the problems of late-stage Empires is that they lose their best people.
If you are smart and ambitious, but not "connected" to the central elite, then you have an incentive to move to the edges of the Empire, where you can escape much of the center's corruption, and are allowed to use your talents to prosper. After a while, all that's left in the center are the wealthy elites, and the welfare underclass (Bread and Circuses) crowd.
Early Italian/Roman civilization itself got its start when Greece, at the height of its civilization, started planting colonies in Italy and elsewhere. Then Roman civilization expanded, and planted colonies of civilization in Britain and across Europe. British Civilization planted colonies in America, which provided a place for non-noblemen of ambition to go. And it goes on.
Waterproof concrete - built an empire. The Aqueducts engineering was staggering. It had to descend from the mountains it a specific slope or it would not work. The laid out most of the roads in Europe.
The Romans were so far ahead it was amazing. The Dark Ages occurred when Rome fell. Europe came out of it under the Holy Roman Empire.
The nice thing about Italy and most of Europe do not elect muslims to run their country.
Yep, I had overlooked the Marines Tarawa, Wasp, and new America-class ships. With the ability to carry F-35B's and Osprey, it will have good reach.
Because ramp launching consume the entire flight deck, aircraft are launched at a slower rate than a catapult equipped carrier. Also, ramp equipped ships cannot launch fully fueled, fully armed strike aircraft. Typically, they launch with weapons and low fuel. This requires them to take on fuel once airborne. All this makes it very difficult to assemble a strike package of aircraft on a ramp equipped carrier.
A US Navy catapult equipped carrier can launch a fully fueled, fully armed strike package very efficiently. No other navy can match it.
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