Quote:
Originally Posted by MRM
This is one time that Tabs is completely correct on all points. You need carriers to project power into far corners of the globe. Nothing else can project power like a carrier. The Falklans war would never have happened if the Brits still had a full-sized carrier in their inventory. They fixed that problem.
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There is a very real doubt that even if Ark Royal had remained in service that a single deck blue water expeditionary force could/ would have been mounted....admittedly the USN may have found itself in the area at the time, with a carrier group
You have to remember that the deployment methods of the RN and USN were different and operations in such conditions were not by any stretch routine. Certainly Ark Royal's potential have detered...however the reality may have been different.
I think it was the proposed sale of Invincible in Feb '82, allied to the proposed decommissioning of Hermes that set off the invasion.. with no carriers...no recapture. I do think however that this serves to illustrate the carrier's role and an on going one. Until '82 only CTOL carriers had seen action.. but in the future carriers may all be UAV STOL carriers and submersible.... but they will be carriers....