Bristish Aerospace (BAe) 1139 Sea Fury II

[Bungle]

What if......

Following the Falklands Conflict British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher bowed to the onslaught of demands from the Senior Service to commision several full size 42,000 ton Aircraft carriers. With HMS Hermes converted to STOVL and Invincible promised to the Australians the Royal Navy had no operational Strike carriers and the Falklands had exposed a huge flaw in Britain's defence plan for her outer colonies.

In 1985 HM Government agreed to the building of two giant carriers in the style of the US Navy's Nimitz class but in true British style, two thirds the size and diesel propulsion (not Nuclear). The first of these carriers was laid down in 1987 with an expected launch date of 1991, the second would be started one and a half years later but in true British style would be launched 5 years later than expected.

Following the upsurge in her popularity Baroness Thatcher decreed that the naming of the two carriers should be left to the people and as the 1991 launch date for the secretly coded Maggie1  a competition was held in the Daily Mirror and at the same time a 'phone in vote was held on the BBC (hosted by Noel Edmunds). With great names such as Horatio Nelson, Winston Churchill, Isambad Kingdom Brunel and, of course, Baroness Margaret Thatcher banded around it came as a bit of a surprise that on 14th April 1991 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II swung the (empty) champagne bottle to crash on the bow of the newly proclaimed HMS Paul Gascoigne. Five years later the HMS Tarrant slipped into the water for the first time.

So with the Carriers on the way HM Government turned its attention to equipping the the new craft with aircraft. A decision was made to keep the Sea Harriers on the STOVL carriers and initial plans to demothball the Phantoms and Buccaneers was met with horror by the Navy. Plans were made
to convert the  Tornado GR1B anti-shipping variant to a full Carrier based aircraft but it was that woman again, Mrs T. who sweet talked her chum Ronald Reagan into agreeing the sale of some 45 Fairchild-Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II's airframes to British Aerospace for conversion to Carrier-bourne activities.

As is the way with most British strike aircraft the Thunderbolt was to be converted to a two-man configuration as there was always a worry the pilot may get lonely. The new aircraft was given the service name of the Sea Fury II .

[thedarkmaster]

Liking that a lot, but the carrier names.........nnnooooooooooo lol  Good stuff mate

[Mossie]

Sea hog, very nice!

[chrisonord]

I think the A-10 would make a hell of a mess to any shipping, armed with sea skuas, and that gun. Imagine using that thing against Pirate skiffs??
Chris

[Captain Canada]

Very nice ! She looks lovely in those colours...and your story was pretty good as well !

[andrewj]

Great conversion for the A10, but the HMS Paul Gascoigne?

[Stargazer]

Brilliant stuff! I'm glad I joined this forum... 

[Brian da Basher]

Absolutely pro-style!

Your Sea Fury is very well done, crisp and clean Bungle! Totally top-shelf!

Brian da Basher

[Radish]

 

[batmancustoms]

heck yah!

[ChernayaAkula]

Sure looks the part!

<...> armed with sea skuas, and that gun. Imagine using that thing against Pirate skiffs??

Pirate skiffs?  Armed that way a flight of these could take on a small Soviet amphibious landing force! Single-handedly!

[Ian the Kiwi Herder]

One of those head-slap, why didn't I think of that moments !!

Brilliant.

Ian

[rickshaw]

One obviously should never underestimate the crassness of the British public.