Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 4:07:09-4:08:19

How long might four CVA-01 carriers have served?

Four CVA-01s could be approaching retirement by the time of the broadcast, with Queen Elizabeth-class ships taking over their role.

Aircraft CarriersAlternate HistoryCVA-01Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft CarriersShip Service Life
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Question

If Britain had built four CVA-01 carriers, could they still be serving and how would they affect Queen Elizabeth?

Short answer

Four CVA-01s could be approaching retirement by the time of the broadcast, with Queen Elizabeth-class ships taking over their role.

Notes

The scenario assumes construction beginning in the later 1960s and entry into service during the 1970s. Nimitz supplies a rough contemporary comparison for a long carrier career. Some CVA-01s could therefore remain in service around the time of the broadcast, while approaching retirement. Queen Elizabeth becomes the replacement class in this scenario, but no revised design is specified.