If you are up for a little YouTubing: The BB New Jersey channel did a video about this a few months ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcxYQBA7Uus

Good insight. It sounds like trying to return the Midway- and most other floating museum ships, for that matter- to active service would be a case of diminishing returns, if I'm using that term correctly.

If it took 9 years to build the Ford, I wonder how quickly a supercarrier could be constructed in a total war scenario. It's crazy to think that Essex class carriers could be built in a year or two during WW2. I don't think construction times could be anywhere near that pace given current construction tech (or 1990s tech). Video bro says "at least half-a-decade" to construct a Ford class.

@Panther Al: Good find. Thanks.

-

Given that time frame-- years to build or rebuild a carrier-- what's it going to fly? After 1998, the USN may have more carrier decks afloat than working air wings, or fuel for aircraft and escorts.

There is something to be said for the will to get it done. I read someplace that from the time they decided to build to when it was done and first occupied was 18 months for the Pentagon. Fixing it after 9/11 took almost as much time (16 months).

Building cosntruction isn't carrier technology though. First of all, you have a lot more construction workers than yard workers and second, while the Pentagon will need special infrastructure and security, specialists for that should be easier to come by than all the specialists involved in (re)building a super-carrier: Nuclear, radar and weapons technicians were not or hardly needed when (re)constructing the Pentagon.

And then there was only one Pentagon to reconstruct of course. In a war, you need to refit, repair, rebuild multiple carriers and construct new ones at the same time. That alone puts the US in a precarious position, since yard slots (i. e. large dry docks and even moorings) are hard to come by. That was already a problem during the Second World War.

Keep in mind its one thing to bring USS Midway back now - i.e. you just went on the tour - its another to bring her back in 1997 when most likely she was still pretty close to her original equipment

Its the reason that they came close to bringing back the heavy cruisers - they were still shipshape and ready to go versus trying to bring back the sole survivor today nearly 25 years after the timeline war start

Thus the four battleships and two heavy cruisers are definitely in the Twilight War of the mid-90's versus what would happen if the Twilight War was fought today

Thats why many of the ships based in Kenya are there - a lot of them (including the Edwards) came out of long term storage and the boneyards because they were still in condition to do so - for those that still survive today most likely even during wartime it couldnt be done in the time they had

and the canon shows that some ships were pulled out of the boneyards/storage areas - the destroyers with the Virginia in her last fight were all older ones that had been pulled out of the storage areas/boneyards if I remember correctly

By the numbers
 

Carriers By the Numbers

Active Duty

Kitty Hawk

USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63)
USS Constellation (CV-64)
USS America (CV-66)
USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67)

Enterprise Class

USS Enterprise (CVN-65)

Nimitz Class

USS Nimitz (CVN-68)
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69)
USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70)
USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71)
USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72)
USS George Washington (CVN-73)
USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74)
USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75)
USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) - Under Construction

12 Active Duty +1 Under Construction

Held in Reserve

Forrestal Class

USS Forrestal (CV-59) - In Storage at Naval Station Newport, Newport, RI
USS Saratoga (CV-60) - In Storage at Naval Station Newport, Newport, RI
USS Ranger (CV-61) - In Storage at Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, Bremerton WA

Midway Class

USS Midway (CV-41) - In Storage at Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, Bremerton WA
USS Coral Sea (CV-43) - In Storage at Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, Philadelphia PA

5 Held in Reserve

Out of Service

Independence Class

USS Cabot (CVL-28) - Decommissioned for preservation at New Orleans

Essex Class

USS Yorktown (CV-10) - Museum Ship Mount Pleasant, SC
USS Intrepid (CV-11) - Museum Ship New York City, NY
USS Hornet (CV-12) - Museum Ship, Alameda Ca
USS Lexington (CV-16) - Museum Ship, Corpus Christi Tx
USS Bennington (CV-20) - Hulk only Port Angeles, Wa
USS Oriskany (CV-34) - Hulk only Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo Ca

7 Out of Service

The number will higher if you count Amphibious Assault Ships

Obviously, will look myself... new project...

I think I read - Challange? Forum? Website? - that in T2K old / re-used Landing Craft would take over duties that helicopters would have done delivering cargo, etc, where they had access. I have seen photos of ones - ex-WWII - being converted with accomodation and landing pads in Indo-China (French?) and Vietnam (US?).

Are any preserved in The USA? They may not be 'glamourous' enough but are smaller, i.e. take up less space than an Aircraft Carrier!

(In The UK there are still some vessels in use that took part in the Dunkirk Evacuation).

Any LCAs, etc, in private hands, i.e. like DUKWs are?

Thanks.

Apologies if not interesting or whatever... but ... make your own Landing Craft:
http://vintagewargaming.blogspot.com...hur-north.html

This is true, but what I was saying is that when the need is great, in the past people have found a way to get it done.

FYI you left out USS Independence CV-62 - she was still in commission when the war started in any version of the V1, V2 or V4 timelines


USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) – even though V4 has her ready to go for the war start I don’t see that happening – given her launch date most likely her commissioning is pushed forward as quickly as possible – the question is more does she leave before Norfolk gets nuked during the TDM or is she there?

USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) – most likely never laid down and parts that had been ordered used for war repairs

As to the rest

USS Forrestal (CV-59)

V1 – She would have 100% been in commission as the USN training carrier replacing the Lexington.

V2 if she decommissioned as in our world she would have had two anchors transferred to John C. Stennis and her four new bronze propellers installed on Harry S. Truman.

So, the question would be more do they stop work on the Harry S. Truman and get Forrestal deployed? Or would they use the propellers and anchors that had been ordered for Ronald Reagan? And would the TDM have caught her being refitted in Philly or Newport or would she be somewhere else?

USS Saratoga (CV-60)

V1 – She would be in active reserve and would have been put back into commission during the war

V2 – She would have been in the process of being stripped to help the active carrier fleet as the war broke out between Russian and China. Most likely that process may have been stopped or reversed in time to get her ready for war.

USS Ranger (CV-61)

V1 – Ranger would have gone thru a refit in 1994 and would have been just finishing it up when the war started. Thus she would have probably missed the initial battles and may have rejoined the fleet after the huge losses in 1996/1997.

V2 – She is in storage at Bremerton but wasn’t stripped like Saratoga and Forrestal - but was in worse physical shape. Thus they may have stripped her to get either Forrestal or Saratoga able to be recommissioned.

Midway Class
USS Midway (CV-41) - In Storage at Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, Bremerton WA

USS Coral Sea (CV-43) - In Storage at Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, Philadelphia PA

The two Midway class carriers would have long ago been stripped of what was needed to activate them and would have taken a hell of a lot of effort to get them back into commission. If they were brought back it probably would have been as either aircraft transports or helicopter carriers as their arresting gear and catapults would have been long gone most likely. They could possible be used by the US after the war (if they have the fuel to do so) as towed aircraft transports to try to bring back jets and helicopters from Iran and Korea.

Essex Class

USS Lexington is a museum in Corpus Christi - she went there after Red Star/Lone Star was written - so either she got nuked along with the rest of the city (and would make a great addition to that module) or the Navy tried to use her after the huge losses they took in 1996/1997 - but got me as to what shape her engines are in


Independence Class
USS Cabot has had extensive discussions here on its own thread. There is a very good chance it could have been put back into service as either an aircraft transport or helicopter carrier given the fact that her engines still worked and her gear had not been stripped (i.e. it arrived in New Orleans in working condition)

I am almost certain none of these are in running order, but the US Army Transportation Museum has a LARC, a BARC, and the last surviving Bell SK-5. The Wikipedia articles claim there are ~100 LARC in private hands and that the BARC was in service until 2001.

There are also a few surviving Landing Ship, Tank, including the New London to Orient ferry MV Cape Henlopen (ex-MV Virginia Beach, ex-USS Buncombe County, ex-LST-510).

I'm sure there are others, but I don't personally know of them.

What's wrong with the US Army's "Navy?"

https://youtu.be/juyqJBVEi30

https://youtu.be/dx1_0y3E-oA

https://youtu.be/VKHbTZlwnvw

God only knows how many small privately built landing craft would be "drafted" by the US or Canada. These bad boys are all over the Great Lakes region and VERY common in both Alaska and the Bayou.

https://youtu.be/vMHAj9T_2-Q

https://youtu.be/bRn1UyfAVbY

Probably the most popular COMMERCIAL version. I see these everywhere they are working for oil, logging, or fishing around the Great Lakes

https://youtu.be/VuY96xEHP_E

One in Alaska from a certain TV series...

https://kilchercountry.com/uploads/i...s/IMG_6269.jpg

Again how hard can it be these guys make it look easy?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iGp8D9832Y

:D