1/350 "What If Carriers" Cont. HMS Malta
CVA-01 wasn't the first large aircraft carrier design cancelled by the British. That honor went to the Malta-class, which were large carriers along the lines of the very successful Midway Class. These ships were designed toward the end of the Second World War, and would have been completed around the late 1950s. Had they gone into service ,they would have complemented the Centaur and the Audacious class carriers and would have been the tip of the Royal Navy's spear during the Cold War.
What's interesting about the Malta Class design is how much the Essex class and Midway class influenced the design. The Malt's were designed to maximize the striking power of the air wing and featured side elevators, which were not seen in previous British carriers.
From Wikipedia
In July 1942 the Royal Navy formed the Future Building Committee, chaired by the Deputy First Sea Lord, to examine the fleet's requirements for the rest of the war. Tasked with anticipating the Navy's readiness and requirements for January 1944, the committee realised that a major expansion of naval aviation was required, which meant that more aircraft carriers would be needed. Many factors combined to drive up the size of these new carriers, notably the increasing size and speed of aircraft and the desire to increase the numbers of aircraft aboard fleet carriers. Another important consideration was the change in carrier tactics from the earlier doctrine of more attacks with smaller numbers of aircraft to the use of large, single air strikes.[1]
Click here for more information about the class.
Building the Malta would be very difficult. Essentially a person would have to build everything---hull, details, guns, flight deck as there are not any World War II era British carriers in 1/350 scale. However, there are some vendors offering 1/700 parts for the IHP Malta, which may or may not scaled up. I would check out the review of the 1/700 IHP Malta kit to see what the carrier would look like. Go to http://www.modelwarships.com/reviews/ships/hms/cv/Malta-700-ihp/ihp-review.html.
You will need a lot of Evergreen sheet and lots of patience. You could build it as the 1943 design or make it an updated angled deck carrier of the 1950s to 1970s.
As far as the air wing goes: You could do the many post war aircraft used by the Royal Navy. This includes such things as Attackers, Sea Hawks, Scimitars, Sea Vampire, Sea Venoms, Sea Vixens, Sea Furies and Sea Hornets. Helicopters for the ship include the Dragonfly S.55, S.58 and Wessex.
What's interesting about the Malta Class design is how much the Essex class and Midway class influenced the design. The Malt's were designed to maximize the striking power of the air wing and featured side elevators, which were not seen in previous British carriers.
From Wikipedia
In July 1942 the Royal Navy formed the Future Building Committee, chaired by the Deputy First Sea Lord, to examine the fleet's requirements for the rest of the war. Tasked with anticipating the Navy's readiness and requirements for January 1944, the committee realised that a major expansion of naval aviation was required, which meant that more aircraft carriers would be needed. Many factors combined to drive up the size of these new carriers, notably the increasing size and speed of aircraft and the desire to increase the numbers of aircraft aboard fleet carriers. Another important consideration was the change in carrier tactics from the earlier doctrine of more attacks with smaller numbers of aircraft to the use of large, single air strikes.[1]
Click here for more information about the class.
Building the Malta would be very difficult. Essentially a person would have to build everything---hull, details, guns, flight deck as there are not any World War II era British carriers in 1/350 scale. However, there are some vendors offering 1/700 parts for the IHP Malta, which may or may not scaled up. I would check out the review of the 1/700 IHP Malta kit to see what the carrier would look like. Go to http://www.modelwarships.com/reviews/ships/hms/cv/Malta-700-ihp/ihp-review.html.
You will need a lot of Evergreen sheet and lots of patience. You could build it as the 1943 design or make it an updated angled deck carrier of the 1950s to 1970s.
As far as the air wing goes: You could do the many post war aircraft used by the Royal Navy. This includes such things as Attackers, Sea Hawks, Scimitars, Sea Vampire, Sea Venoms, Sea Vixens, Sea Furies and Sea Hornets. Helicopters for the ship include the Dragonfly S.55, S.58 and Wessex.
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