I know that these countries had aircraft carriers: - Japan - USA - Britain - France These tried to build some: - Germany - Italy What about USSR, or any other countries?
Canada : Two escort carriers; HMS Naboh and HMS Puncher. Operated by the Royal Canadian Navy, but the aircraft and air personell were supplied by the British. Spain : Not a real carrier, but a flying boat tender; the Dédalo. I don´t think the Soviet Union even considered building carriers until Brezhnyev gained power, and Andrei Grechko became minister of defence. In Italy a law was passed in 1937 which confirmed that all military aircraft were under the control of the Regia aeronautica. This law was not amended until 1957.
I came across some information about the Dutch Navy planning to aquire a carrier in 1944. Apparently they borrowed an escort carrier from the Royal Navy, the HMS Nairana, but this was most likely post-war. Maybe some of our many Dutch friends on the forum can fill us in ?
I also heared of some latin-american navies(Brazil and Argentina), but that was after WW 2 too I think.
Argentina had its first carrier entering service in 1959, an ex-British carrier, the HMS Warrior, renamed Indepedencia. Brazil also bought an ex-British carrier, in 1956, the HMS Vengeance. It was renamed the NAeL Minas Regais and entered service in 1960 I believe.
A few years ago, Brazil bought french aircraft carrier Foch, which now is called Sao Paulo, and starts a second carreer in the warm water of Rio de Janeiro. Another french carrier, the Clemenceau still is in Toulon, and is to sell for 1 Euro. So if anyone is interested, contact the Marine Nationale....
I don't know when they acquired it, but in the late fifties the Dutch Navy did have an aircraft carrier. This was the Hr. Ms. Karel Doorman, named after the supreme commander of the Dutch navy in the Indies (then a Dutch colony) during WW2. Apparently it was built in times of navy expansion, during the early Cold War. The official Navy homepage ( www.marine.nl ) does not give any further comment on the ship. The HMS Nairana was an Australian WW1 vessel which was used for passenger lines from the late 1920s onwards.
And it wouldn´t be the only vessel of its kind to be converted into an escort carrier. The HMS Nairana entered service with the Dutch Navy on 20 March 1946, renamed the Hr.Ms. Karel Doorman. This ship was handed back to the Royal Navy on 28 May 1948. On exactly the same day a new carrier entered service with the Dutch Navy, the HMS Venerable which was also renamed Hr.Ms. Karel Doorman. The second Karel Doorman was decommisioned on 8 October 1968. On exactly the same day your humble administrator entered the world.
Well at last we know! Thanks for clearing up the carrier thing, I got a bit confused when I found that the HMS Nairana was a carrier during WW1 that was later converted to a passenger liner, no further information given. But we had two, and with typical Dutch skill for confusing, we gave then both the same name...
1 Euro !? That´s about what you have to pay for a Coke in Norway. Hmm... difficult to choose. Do I want a Coke, or a carrier...? I am a bit thirsty... 1 Euro ? Does that include the airgroup ?
Do they have taxes on Cokes or something? Is Cafeine considered a drug in Norway? By the way, that is an interesting comparison. But I don't think I can fit that baby in my back yard pond though... :cry: :lol:
We have taxes on everything in Norway. And we are probably the most expensive country in the world. It´s fun to be Norwegian when you walk into a store, any kind of store, in another country though. It´s like everything is on sale, 50% off or more. :smok:
It's 1 Euro, no airgroup, no fuel....just the ship. There was already once a guy from Norway, who made an excellent bargain with a very beautiful french ship.... :cry: [/quote]
I assume you are referring to the S/S Norway, formerly known as the S/S France ? Haven´t seen much of her in Norway though. I believe she spends most of her time catering very rich and obnoxious people somewhere in the Caribbean.
Found a great site on Canada's Light Fleet Aircraft Carriers. http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Quarters/2230/ I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Exactly.The way France treated this great ship is just scandalous. :angry: I hope that some day she may forgive us....
That is probably the most horrible way to die, for a military ship. I'd rather see it quietly rusting away in some dock for another decade than having it wasted on rich people who don't care for the history of the ship... By the way, where I live you pay 70 cents for a Coke from a vending machine, but only 40 cents or so from a store... Hey, Skua, why don't you come over some day!
Actually, the Norway(ex France) is not a military, but a passenger ship(one of the greatest, most beautifull, and the fastest ever). She was part of De Gaulles Dream to modernize french transport during the 1960's.(High speed train TGV on land, Concorde in the air, and the France at sea) But he had not yet noticed that the airplane had made obsolete the idea of the big transatlantic ships. Not even a decade after her launching, she was rusting away in a dock in St.Nazaire, until some norwegian saved her.
Oh, well I don't have any respect for the liners of today. Cruises are the epitome of snobism and consumer culture.
The France was not a liner of today, she was an "Old school ship", looked like the big pre war liners.