red_october
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- 17 August 2019
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Context: I've had a chance to browse part of Royal Thai Naval Institute archive (which is open to public but doesn't allow digital copies to be made), and stumbled upon the helicopter carrier project which later became HTMS Chakri Naruebet (CVH-911). This includes funeral book of Admiral Praphat Krisanachan, CinC of RTN during that time period, who wrote a memo on this whole thing. So, to sum everything up....
In the late 1980s, due to shortages of aviation-capable ships, RTN did a study into converting cargo ship into makeshift helicopter carrier - with RFA Argus as the ship used as benchmark. By 1990, they concluded that building a new, dedicated helicopter carrier would be more cost-effective since the conversion solution, while more economical, doesn't provide enough capability to justify the investment.
Request for proposals were thus put out that same year, and the companies that responded were:
- Bremer Vulkan AG (Germany) : offered HC600 design
- Empresa Nacional Bazan (Spain) : offered BSAC160 design derived from carrier Principe de Asturias
- Fincantieri (Italy)
- Swan Hunter (UK)
- DCN (France)
In 1991, Bremer Vulkan was awarded the contract with further revisions made and was finally dubbed "CVH01" - until the deal fell through after BV was unable to obtain export license from German government due to the bureaucratic complications. More were already discussed here:
https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/german-bremer-vulcan-helicopter-carrier-for-thailand.30706/
After the contract was cancelled, RTN went back to other companies, with Fincantieri pulling out due to Italian government refusing to provide low-interest loan (as it was already giving the same to Alenia which was pitching AMX to the Thai air force). In 1992, RTN finally selected Bazan as the winner, and the rest is history.
Interestingly though, this selection was done with inputs of naval advisors from USN regarding the design and employment of aviation vessels (which, I assume, consider design based on PdA as appropriate for minor navy by the virtue that it was further based on SCS? The writings didn't say what were those inputs)
Now, here is the thing: I have absolutely no idea as to what were offered by Fincantieri, Swan Hunter, and DCN. RTNI doesn't really have the concrete record of any of that. The one I talked with said he heard that Fincantieri first tried to offer a design based on Giuseppe Garibaldi but was overbudget so San Giorgio-derivative was offered instead (which I find somewhat weird to offer LPD that while through-deck, wasn't really designed to have extensive aviation facilities required) but then again there was no proper record.
Would anyone happen to know, or perhaps can make educated guess, about which 7000-10000t flat deck projects of these companies could be the design submitted, or at least have the potential to serve as basis for the real proposals?
In the late 1980s, due to shortages of aviation-capable ships, RTN did a study into converting cargo ship into makeshift helicopter carrier - with RFA Argus as the ship used as benchmark. By 1990, they concluded that building a new, dedicated helicopter carrier would be more cost-effective since the conversion solution, while more economical, doesn't provide enough capability to justify the investment.
Request for proposals were thus put out that same year, and the companies that responded were:
- Bremer Vulkan AG (Germany) : offered HC600 design
- Empresa Nacional Bazan (Spain) : offered BSAC160 design derived from carrier Principe de Asturias
- Fincantieri (Italy)
- Swan Hunter (UK)
- DCN (France)
In 1991, Bremer Vulkan was awarded the contract with further revisions made and was finally dubbed "CVH01" - until the deal fell through after BV was unable to obtain export license from German government due to the bureaucratic complications. More were already discussed here:
https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/german-bremer-vulcan-helicopter-carrier-for-thailand.30706/
After the contract was cancelled, RTN went back to other companies, with Fincantieri pulling out due to Italian government refusing to provide low-interest loan (as it was already giving the same to Alenia which was pitching AMX to the Thai air force). In 1992, RTN finally selected Bazan as the winner, and the rest is history.
Interestingly though, this selection was done with inputs of naval advisors from USN regarding the design and employment of aviation vessels (which, I assume, consider design based on PdA as appropriate for minor navy by the virtue that it was further based on SCS? The writings didn't say what were those inputs)
Now, here is the thing: I have absolutely no idea as to what were offered by Fincantieri, Swan Hunter, and DCN. RTNI doesn't really have the concrete record of any of that. The one I talked with said he heard that Fincantieri first tried to offer a design based on Giuseppe Garibaldi but was overbudget so San Giorgio-derivative was offered instead (which I find somewhat weird to offer LPD that while through-deck, wasn't really designed to have extensive aviation facilities required) but then again there was no proper record.
Would anyone happen to know, or perhaps can make educated guess, about which 7000-10000t flat deck projects of these companies could be the design submitted, or at least have the potential to serve as basis for the real proposals?
