Never Retired

[Weaver]

Then again, with better distribution and bigger production numbers, Ju-52s could have gone on forever in the same way as Dakotas. They had a pretty good try at it as it was....

[Spey_Phantom]

BUMP

ive had a number of new idea's floating arround.

F-104X: upgraded F-104 presented in 1990, includes redesigned intakes, advanced new weapons, single piece windscreen,....

BAe Walrus MR-Mk.16: upgraded supermarine walrus with tandem turboprop, ASW ewuipment, homing tormedo's...

A-7G Super Corsair II: upgraded A-7 with superbug technology, JDAM, AIM-9X, F-414 engine, ......

F-14NG Next Tomcat: 5th genration romcat with new intakes, single piece canopy, TVC, multirole weapons platform,..

other aircraft that can be build is the joint US/Israeli F-4X Phantom III, the proposed romanian MIG-29 SnipeR, A-6F, Super Crusader,....

the possiblities are boundless  

[B777LR]

The BAC 1-11 modernisation was proposed by RomBAC in the 1990s. Involved RR Tays, glass cockpit and a number of improvements. BAe never allowed it to go ahead, because it would have outcompeted the RJ-85/-100 series.

But if RomBAC were involved they'd have never finished the prototype, let alone get it into production. A more shambolic operation I have yet to see. (Awful memories of trying to work there in the early '80s  )

Didn't Ryanair have a great big bunch of them?

[PR19_Kit]

Didn't Ryanair have a great big bunch of them?

Ryanair had a lot of 1-11s, yes, and some were ROMBAC built, but most came from the US airlines I think. The glass cockpit 1-11 never did get built, at least not in Rumania anyway.

[Taiidantomcat]

[dy031101]

I'd figure that people have imagined the same kind of upgrades as those of the Iowa class- Tomahawk ABL, CIWS, improved FCS and Command-and-Control and all- for the other elite battleships of the WWII (like the 1937 KGV, Vanguard, Bismarck, Roma, Yamato, Richelieu, and etc.)......

What about the early dreadnoughts though?  Like the 1911 KGV class- actually one of them, Centurion, was rebuilt during WWII to resemble the 1937 KGV...... what if the rebuilding went beyond mere viz-mod?  Or the German Bayern class?

Or, although this is beyond the scope of this GB proposal, would it too be practical to scrap the ships and recycle the armaments and all for newly-built hulls?

[pyro-manic]

Serious thought was given to upgrading and recommissioning Iron Duke during the Second World War (she was kept on, de-armoured and with turrets removed, as a training ship), but it would have been expensive, taken up capacity needed for escorts, and taken too long to be useful.

Another possibility would be an alternative Washington treaty, where the existing fleets were kept on rather than being scrapped. That could see many of the later dreadnoughts being retained and upgraded - though the costs would be horrendous and the resulting ships would not be as good as new-build vessels. The Lion and Tiger-class battlecruisers might also be kept on, being converted to oil-fired boilers. Tiger in particular could be a useful addition to Repulse and Renown, if not quite as capable. She'd still make a mess of any panzerschiffs she came across.

Alternatively, the ships the RN, USN etc don't want get sold to second-line powers - Brazil, Argentina, Turkey, Sweden, Greece, etc.

[dy031101]

Serious thought was given to upgrading and recommissioning Iron Duke during the Second World War (she was kept on, de-armoured and with turrets removed, as a training ship), but it would have been expensive, taken up capacity needed for escorts, and taken too long to be useful.

Another possibility would be an alternative Washington treaty, where the existing fleets were kept on rather than being scrapped. That could see many of the later dreadnoughts being retained and upgraded - though the costs would be horrendous and the resulting ships would not be as good as new-build vessels. The Lion and Tiger-class battlecruisers might also be kept on, being converted to oil-fired boilers. Tiger in particular could be a useful addition to Repulse and Renown, if not quite as capable. She'd still make a mess of any panzerschiffs she came across.

Once again beyond the scope of this GB proposal, how would newly-built panzerschiff-killers with weapons recycled from old dreadnoughts have been?

[pyro-manic]

The 13.5" was a good weapon, and there would be plenty available, so it would make a lot of sense.

[Hobbes]

One ship i'd have liked to see modernized was the USS Long Beach (CGN). Replace each of the launchers with a 64-cell VLS, replace the billboard radars with SPY-1. Or maybe Russian-style armaments instead (12x big antiship missile, numerous different VLS for long/medium/short range SAM, torpedo rockets, Dalek-style CIWS)

[dy031101]

Boston class CG receiving NTU (or if possible, a cheaper version of it)?

Late WWII heavy cruisers and battlecruisers/large-cruisers either converted to Boston class standard (rear armament replaced with SAM launchers) and then given NTU, or just given improved command and control facilities as bombardment ships......

Then give all of them some of those Tomahawk ABLs and assiciated FCS like the arrangement on the Virginia class CGN......

[pyro-manic]

I've read that when the proposal to add ABLs etc. to the Iowas was made, the Des Moines class heavy cruisers were also considered, but thought to be too small. The Iowas were too large, and the ideal would have been to use the Alaska-class battlecruisers. These had been scrapped in the 60s, however.

[Spey_Phantom]

BUMP:

with no GB going on at this moment, i was thinking of a few ideas to build and came up with a few for this particular GB 

-Hunter FT-10: 2-seat upgraded version of the hunter FGA9 with a tandem seat cockpit canopy like the F-16B.

-A/T-2F Buckeye+: upgraded buckeye with glass cockpit and modified for COIN missions.

-O-1J Super Birddog: upgraded version of the O-1 birddog with turboprop engine, 3- or5-bladed prop and packed with new electronics and a FLIR camera

-TJU-52: Turboprop version of the Junkers JU-52, same styme as the turbo Dakota 

[ChernayaAkula]

<...> A-7G Super Corsair II: upgraded A-7 with superbug technology, JDAM, AIM-9X, F-414 engine, ......
<...> TJU-52: Turboprop version of the Junkers JU-52, same styme as the turbo Dakota 

Two very cool ideas! Especially that Super Corsair! 

[Sauragnmon]

I gotta admit, I love some of the ship concepts - Though I have to confess, most of my projects aren't in that category right now, as I look up at my shelf o' stuff and go "hmmm..."

Well, except Nagato that's sitting on my shelf - she's slated for a never-retired set of upgrades, and I have my Kongo that's getting a similar treatment...