Re: [FT] Pics posted

On Tue, 2 Feb 1999 DracSpy@aol.com wrote:

> In a message dated 99-02-01 23:16:42 EST, you write:
> 
> << >Alternately you could use the US Navy designations, which start
with V for
>  >aViation ("A" having been previously claimed for "Armored"). 
Remember CV =
>  >carrier?  That's actually "Cruiser, aViation", since the first CV's
were
>  >built on cruiser hulls.  Thus a fighter squadron is VF and an attack
>  >squadron is VA.
>  
>  True, but I was reserving the 'V' designation for planetary fighters
as
>  opposed to space fighters. :) >>
> V is for fixed wing

well, mostly fixed - it includes swing-wings :-). and H is for
helicopter.
however, the RN designates its Inflexible-class carriers as 'CAH', even
though they are mainly harrier carriers (i suppose a harrier, being
vtol,
counts as a helo) and, just to really mess with your head, claims that 
they are not carriers but 'through-deck cruisers'. my minicarrier built
on
a battleship hull is designated CAH too - it's even smaller than a light
carrier :-(.

i have always wondered about the origin of CV. surely these days we
should
be calling carriers BVs or DNVs? 100 kT is a damn big cruiser. mind you,
nobody seems to bother with matching classes to weights these days.

Tom