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Britain’s New Helicopter Carrier
On 11 May the Royal Navy ordered its long-awaited helicopter carrier (LPH), to be named HMS Ocean, from Vickers (VSEL). The ship probably will be launched in mid-1995 for delivery in 1997. The design is generally similar to that of the Invincible-class light carriers, except that the hull is built to mercantile standards, it has no ski-jump forward or Sea Dart missile system, and it has a diesel power plant.
Possibly the most interesting feature of the project is that the hull is to be built at a separate facility (Kvaerner Govan on the Clyde) and then fitted out by VSEL at Barrow-in-Furness. Since the hull is designed to be built to merchant-ship standards, it can be license-built at many yards abroad. VSEL hopes, then, to make the LPH the basis of an export air- capable ship, the hull of which would be built abroad, then steamed to Britain for outfitting.
The name Ocean recalls the first British helicopter carrier, which conducted the first helicopter assault, at Suez in 1956.
HMS Ocean will carry a full Royal Marine Commando (about 700 men) with its equipment; its hangar will accommodate 12 EH-101 transport helicopters. The flight deck, which will extend all the way to the bow, will hold six EH-101 and six Lynx helicopters (for a time the British hoped to use Apache attack helicopters) plus six Harriers or Sea Harriers. She will have two elevators (it is not yet clear whether one or both will be on the deck edge). Big sponsons will carry small landing craft (LCVPs). The armament will be three Phalanx close-in weapon systems (taken from the carriers) and four twin 30-mm. guns. To cut costs, the planned elaborate electronic warfare suite was abandoned. The ship will be
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fitted with a Type-996 3-D radar and with a computer com- si mand system, probably a version of the Type-23 frigates’ sur- r, face ship control system. Total estimated cost is £170 d million. o
The LPH had been an on-again, off-again proposition. Eat' c lier in the year, it seemed that in the ongoing defense review t the Royal Navy had lost its bid for amphibious ship replace- 1 c
ments. The LPH was re- r
vived when the British de- r
fense minister visited HMS /
Argus, the helicopter train- j
ing ship functioning as an i j
LPH in the Adriatic. He (
was shocked to discover (
how limited her troop spaces were; an LPH needs far more than the simple flat deck the Argus provides. The LPH project was | soon revived. The British government is reportedly now far more interested in the intervention role for which the ship is needed.
On a sadder note, when the Swan Hunter yard lost out to VSEL it was forced j into receivership. Swan | Hunter has since charged that VSEL’s bid was unrealistically low. In Parliament, Prime Minister John Major said that the order for the new ship had been brought forward specifically to give Swan Hunter a chance to save itself by winning, but that he could not assign the contract to a high-bidding company merely to save it. VSEL can argue that it, too, badly needs work, following the death of the Upholder submarine program and the decision to put off the next series of nuclear-powered attack submarines. It has j just closed its Cammell Laird yard.
The British also plan to order a pair of dock landing ships (LPDs), comparable to the Italian San Giorgio, to work with the Ocean. In theory, the LPH will operate well offshore, with the LPDs acting as staging points for helicopters—they will have through decks—and controlling the operation ashore.
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Proceedings / July 1993