Author: Yuri does not take revenge today, and it is forbidden to reprint without permission
November 27 is a day that looks ordinary. But these two days, on social media, many British military fans, especially the history of the Royal Navy, have expressed a lot of emotions, because on this day 43 years ago, Britain's last catapult fleet aircraft carrier, the Royal Ark (R09), the carrier aircraft stopped operating.
On november 27, 1978, on the Mediterranean Sea, an F-4K Phantom FG.1 carrier-based fighter aircraft with the aircraft number XT870 belonging to the Royal Navy's 892nd Squadron took off for the last time from the catapult on the inclined deck of the aircraft carrier. The Corsair S2 carrier-based attack aircraft also ejected and left the carrier, and for 43 years, no carrier-based aircraft could take off from the British aircraft carrier.
Image: Last ejection
As the No. 2 ship of the two "Bold" class fleet large aircraft carriers designed by the United Kingdom at the end of World War II and built after World War II, the "Royal Ark" was launched in 1950 and commissioned in 1955, with an initial full load displacement of 36,000 tons, roughly similar to the "Essex" class in the United States, but the 2 "Bold" class underwent a lot of modifications in the 50s and 60s, the inclined deck, catapult enhancement, etc., the displacement increased to more than 50,000 tons, and both ships can use an ugly but practical fixed-wing carrier-based early warning aircraft ——" Gannet "AEW3.
Image: Late photos of the Ark Royal, F-4K and the Corsair carrier-based aircraft
The "Royal Ark" is larger than the first ship "Eagle" (R05), in the late 60s ushered in the American-origin, British special F-4K "Ghost" carrier-based fighter, it uses not the standard General Electric J79 turbojet engine, but Rolls-Royce's "Spey" MK202 turbofan engine, we know the "Flying Leopard" engine, from here, the 892 Squadron's "Spy Ghosts" has a Greek letter "Ω" on the tail (Omega, The last of the 24 Greek letters) also happened to be the last of Britain's supersonic carrier-based fighters capable of catapulting and taking off.
Image: The "Spbey Ghost" front landing gear is high
During the service of the two large aircraft carriers, Britain's national strength declined seriously, and the colonies became independent.
In this case, the Eagle was the first to be decommissioned in 1972, only 21 years after its service in 1951, and after the departure of the last carrier-based aircraft, the "Royal Ark" was decommissioned in February 1979, and the service was only 24 years, in fact, the large fleet aircraft carrier served for 30 to 40 years without any problems, and the same "Centaur" class light aircraft carrier "Athletic" built after the war, entered service in 1959, sold to India in 1986, renamed "Villatt". The number remained in service until 2017.
Photo: Ark Royal and Nimitz on the eve of their retirement in 1978
But three years after the Ark Royal was decommissioned, Britain suffered a bitter lesson. In the Falklands War that broke out in April 1982, the light carriers Athletic and Invincible, carrying Harrier subsonic vertical take-off and landing carrier-based fighters, completely lacked fleet early warning capabilities, resulting in the sinking of a large number of capital ships and important auxiliary ships, including two Type 42 guided missile destroyers Sheffield and Coventry, two Type 21 female frigates, and other important military auxiliary ships.
Image: The sunken Sheffield
Many British experts said that if the "Royal Ark" was not decommissioned at that time, the range and medium-range air combat capabilities were completely exploded "Sea Harrier" "Spey Ghost" and "Gannet" AEW3 early warning aircraft, which could greatly improve the air defense of the task force.
Image: "Gannet" AEW3 carrier-based early warning aircraft
Today, 2 "Queen Elizabeth" class, although the tonnage is 2 times larger, but still a ski-jumping, vertical landing aircraft carrier, also lack of fixed-wing carrier-based early warning aircraft such as "Hawkeye", can only rely on the "Crow's Nest" ("GrayBack Falcon" platform, but use the old "water search" radar) such a carrier-based early warning helicopter to charge, in order to save money, the United Kingdom even rejected loma to equip it with a phased array early warning radar proposal.
Picture: "Crow's Nest" early warning helicopter, "water search" radar is an old product
It should be said that behind the large aircraft carrier involves a series of technical and economic problems, to put it bluntly, it is a money word, in the 60s of the last century, the United Kingdom also cancelled the new CVA-01 fleet aircraft carrier plan, but history does not assume that a good economy can support a strong navy.