Soo with all this taken into account, bar some minor modifications to its length, you think the concept is still feasible right?
With careful design, a cat/STOBAR carrier roughly 45,000 tons (Midway sized) is viable with modern aircraft sizes. I think you're going to struggle having a long enough angled flight deck or hangar space with anything less.
Remember how many airframes you need just for carrier support.
8-12 aircraft for CAP
3-5 AEW if fixed-wing, 5-7 if helicopter
~8 ASW helos (also includes plane guard, having 3-5 others dedicated would be better)
2-3 COD airframes
Then you can add the planes for the carrier's actual mission. Strike planes, more ASW coverage, whatever.
And as far as the bad L/B ratio is concerned, with an extremely powerful integrated propulsion like those found in the QE-class, it wouldn’t be much of a problem?
Still means you need a lot of horsepower on the shafts, which costs fuel.
Example: the 1939 South Dakota class BBs versus their predecessors the North Carolina class. SoDaks needed 130khp for 27.5 knots, while NoCars had 121khp for 28 knots. Also, the SoDaks would only cover 15,000nmi at 15 knots, while the NoCars would cover 17,450nmi at 15 knots.
And as for the naval gun, would removing it be much more of a benefit than having it? (less contingency, but extra added space?)
I mean, if you had OTO 76mm instead of Phalanx it'd be a reasonable trade. If it's the Sovraponte (decktop mount), it actually weighs about as much as the full Phalanx mount!
Also, what do you think of CODLAG as propulsion system? Would it work or be feasible with this concept, or better stick with COGAG? Would a future upgrade to IEP be feasible?
I'd go straight to IEP and/or COGAS. COGAS is sneaky because it extracts heat from the GT exhaust to boil water and spin turbines to make electricity. Greatly reduces your ship's IR signature.
