CVLs?

[Werner]

Carter approved the Ticonderoga. The 600 ship plan that Reaganites tried to take credit for with such insane shamelessness was formulated by Carter. Look it up.

Two. He could also cancel these 2 ships he ordered after his reelection. He'd canceled ships before. Reagan ordered the remaining 25.

CG 47 was also the overweight and marginally stable end of a series of givebacks in the CGSN program which Carter refused to fund.

The important task for the USN in this period was REFORGER. It's pretty clear that more than 2 AEgis area defense ships were essential for this operation.

It is a classic political tactic to show increases in out years as support for defense, then cancel the systems after election or let the other party figure out how to pay for them.

The 1970-80 fleet was damaged most severely my the transfer of funds in 64-70 to support the wars in Southeast Asia. It was incumbent on Ford and Carter to make good the deferred purchases from the prior period. Neither did.

It's important to remember that the AEgis ships were intended to supplement and eventually supplant the fundamentally flawed "3-T" ships. These only achieved their potential with the NTU upgrades some received a few years before they were scrapped. Sitting as commander in chief with this knowledge, delaying the AEgis program by 4 years, and then only authorizing two ships, was criminal.

[richter111]

I was reading in the book Vietnam by Karnow that the United States skipped one entire force upgrade rotation during the Vietnam War.

Obviously there were valuable lessons learned about our technology, but we did burn through A LOT of equipment during the war.

similar to the situation we have now, we are burning up equipment that WILL need replaced. Off hand I can remember all the stories about the F-16's that were picking up huge hours on their airframes providing air cover here in the United States after the September 11th attacks....

Ric

[Walt]

In the US Navy anyway, their Capitol Ship is and has been the Ohio Class SSBN for quite some time now.. Tradition has always had the US Navy giving State names to it's "Capitol" ships. .. Some may disagree but the fact is the Ohio Class Submarine is the most powerful class of ship ever built..Not conventional for sure but powerful? yup!!

[TWoyma]

In the US Navy anyway, their Capitol Ship is and has been the Ohio Class SSBN for quite some time now.. Tradition has always had the US Navy giving State names to it's "Capitol" ships.

Of course, naming 6 SSNs after states would serve to lessen the convention.

[Werner]

That "tradition" is began in 1890 and only lasted until about 1970, when CGNs pickup up state names.

[Walt]

In the US Navy anyway, their Capitol Ship is and has been the Ohio Class SSBN for quite some time now.. Tradition has always had the US Navy giving State names to it's "Capitol" ships.

Of course, naming 6 SSNs after states would serve to lessen the convention.

No way.. The Virginias and Seawolfs are all Capitol ships.. still more powerful than any skimmer warship and most Submarines if not all submarines. The Seawolf got her name as to honor prior US Subs and the Carter got her name because Jimmy Carter is a Sub Vet. CVs are fleet leaders but not the most capitol in the USN inventory by a long shot, this honor has been carried by the Nuke Submarine force since the 598 class boomers were introduced back in the early 60s. If ever a real Ocean War was to be fought the submarine will rule.. This is why even small navies with a capable Submarine force will be a serious threat to any surface Navy and why so many smaller Navies are trying to build their Submarine fleets up.

[Walt]

That "tradition" is began in 1890 and only lasted until about 1970, when CGNs pickup up state names.

And in the 70s conventional thinking was that a CGN was our Capitol "Ship".. But this thinking was soon to change when it became public what a monster the Ohios were and are..... Maybe one of the biggest military reasons for the US ending the Cold War arms race and forcing the USSR to back down..
Trust me when the DOD thought to name Boats after States, Cities, and People most if not all subvets were not happy..and if tradition meant anything they would still all have fish names..Just my personal thoughts..

[Seasick]

Werner,

I have to disagree with you on some points about Carter.

1. The Strike Cruiser was canceled by Donald Rumsfeld in the last week before Carter was sworn in as President along with some other projects.
2. Carter killed the further units of the Virginia and Aegis Virginia class. It was the correct move because their operating cost are very high compared to conventional cruisers. Carter planned to build all 18 Ticos proposed by the Navy. He had no plans to cancel it. After Reagan was sworn in the Aegis Virginia was revived and Lehman (in agreement with the Carter administration's conclusions) delayed it and then quietly canceled it.
3. Carter was a strong supporter of the Los Angles class SSN.
4. Had Carter been relected he would have built a follow on to CV-67.
5. Carter cancelled the B-1 bomber. After all he had ordered full production of the F-117 stealth fighter, and given the development of the B-2 a high priority. The F-117 was operational in early 1982. (Black Projects he couldn't talk about on the campaign trail).
6. Carter also ordered into production the first Tomahawk missiles.

[Werner]

Carter did greenlight the Tomahawk. I don't see him approving another CV during this period. He would have switched to the Sea Control Ship, which was "quite the thing" at the time. Many articles at the time hearlded the death of the large flight deck.

[Seasick]

The Sea Control ship and the medium carrier CVV were Zumwalt and then Rumsfeld's ideas. Sea Control was relegated to be a secondary function of the LHA and CVV was dead and burried by 1977. I dug up some old newspaper and magazine articals last night and I would say that the plan was to order a JFK follow on in 1981 and another in 1983 or 1984.