Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:15:36-1:18:10

Replacing six Invincible-class carriers

A six-ship Invincible fleet would make a two-carrier replacement politically and operationally harder, likely preserving at least three large carrier hulls.

Aircraft CarriersAW101 MerlinCombat Air PatrolF-35 Lightning IIForce StructureInvincible Class Aircraft CarriersQueen Elizabeth Class Aircraft CarriersRoyal Navy
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Question

Would two 65,000-ton carriers make sense as replacements for six Invincible-class ships?

Short answer

Probably not; starting from six operational hulls would make dropping below three large carriers very difficult.

Notes

Six Invincible-class carriers, Ocean, and Argus would leave eight aviation ships to replace, making a reduction to fewer than three large carriers politically difficult. The expected mission also changed: the Invincibles began with an anti-submarine role and gained an escort-carrier role with Harrier, while the Queen Elizabeth class was designed around strike operations. The stated air-group calculation assigns 18 F-35s to maintaining four aircraft continuously airborne for air defense. Another 18 would support a continuing sequence of four-aircraft strike missions. A possible combination of 36 F-35s and 24 Merlin helicopters illustrates the space and deck-operation requirements behind the larger ships.