Ship formation during aircraft recovery

[PSYKOnz]

Hi there. Please forgive my ignorance on the matter but can someone please

Explain or better yet show me the formations that the ships in the carrier group sail in during launch and recovery?

 

Ie. how far from the carrier and what bearing from the carrier should each ship be, and what kind of ship should it be in that position?

 

This sort of stuff is somewhat hard to find information on, especially information relevant for dcs!

 

At this stage I’ll use the Stennis but naturally swap that out when the super carrier is released

 

Cheers guys

[JayBird]

I'm curious about this as well, I'd like to have something that is more true to life but as you said, its difficult to find information on.

 

Right now I do my formation like this:

 

- Carrier in the center, BRC 360

- FFG at the Carriers 270 for 1.2NM - I'll try and line this up with the LSO platform as best I can

- CG at the Carriers 171 for 1NM in plane guard - I try to line this up with the centerline of the landing area

- FFG at the Carriers 360 for 7NM

- CG at the Carriers 090 for 2NM

- FFG at either the Carriers 045 or 315 for 7NM

 

I plan to switch out one of the CGs and one of the FFGs for DDGs when they become available.

 

This formation gives the pilot a good reference point for their CASE I recovery/launch while still providing good air defense for Mother.

[RaisedByWolves]

Did you mean realistic ship formation or ones like most every mission builder does that is a photo op excercise?

[Dunx]

There was a series on UK TV (Channel 5) a while back called "Warship: Life at Sea".

 

I cannot remember which episode it was; there were camera shots from HMS Duncan while it was escorting a carrier during ops. There were also discussions about the exclusion zone and some other visual references. Worth a look.

[Yoda967]

In reality, the carrier will be accompanied by one plane guard ship, most often a cruiser. It'll usually be about 3/4 mile aft of the carrier.

 

The rest of the group will generally be at least 5 to 10 miles away if in a screen formation. The group's replenishment ship is the exception, as it will generally be en route to port to pick up supplies, or on its way back to the group after picking up supplies.

 

It really depends on the mission and the threat. If there's a really serious threat to the carrier, the small boys will be kept close (that 5 - 10 miles), but if there's a manageable threat to the carrier, the small boys will be "disaggregated" and sent off over the horizon to do other things, like training or PIRAZ.

 

When I was on a CG, one hard and fast rule my CO had in his Standing Orders was how close we were allowed to get to the carrier: 1/2 mile aster of the carrier, 1 mile abeam, and 1.5 miles ahead. And if we were going to drive that close, he expected us to have a very good reason, and to call him to the bridge, any time, day or night.

[Rennes]

When I was on a CG, one hard and fast rule my CO had in his Standing Orders was how close we were allowed to get to the carrier: 1/2 mile aster of the carrier, 1 mile abeam, and 1.5 miles ahead. And if we were going to drive that close, he expected us to have a very good reason, and to call him to the bridge, any time, day or night.

 

Just curious, was this after the Roosevelt / Leyte Gulf collision? I was onboard the Roosevelt at the time.

 

And I agree, from the deck of the carrier at least, generally, the only ship in site was the plane guard ship behind us. I would have guessed it was farther away than 3/4 mile. But it sounds like you would know better than I.

[Zaku]

Only one ship 1/2-3/4nm aft acting as a plane guard to recover aircrew in the event of a mishap.

 

Inner screen 5-10nm, oriented in the direction of known threats.

 

Outer screen 12-25nm oriented in the direction of known threats.

 

E-2 100nm ahead of the carrier along BRC or oriented in the direction of known threats.

 

ASW assets including DDGs and helicopters along known threat axis and ahead of the carrier.

 

A peacetime CSG is only one CG and two or three DDGs organic to the strike group, but can include an attached DESRON with several more DDGs if anticipating threats. CGs are generally an inner screen assets devoted to carrier defense when organic to a CSG, and are often used as the plane guard. DDGs are dispatched for ASW/outer screen/picket etc.

Edited April 30, 2020 by Zaku

[Yoda967]

Rennes, it was a few years before that, but we had been shown a film about the USS EVANS and HMAS MELBOURNE collision during training. He told us in no uncertain terms to never trust the carrier not to maneuver unexpectedly, and for that reason, (in his words) "Stay the hell away from the carrier." LEYTE GULF would have benefitted from that advice, since TR backed into her without signalling.

 

That CO went on to be a 3-star, and during his time as a carrier strike group commander (when he was a 2-star), he fired a destroyer CO on the spot for failing to keep a safe distance from the carrier.

 

(interesting side note: a few years after I transferred off that CG, I was on the bridge wing of a destroyer as direct fire spotter during a gunfire support exercise off San Clemente Island, and we were coming onto the gun line as the CG was supposed to be exiting the other end of the line. Instead, as we were steadying up on course, our distance to the CG was visibly decreasing. It was late in the day, so her CO ordered a backing bell to extend their time on the gun line so they could finish their FIREX. We had to take evasive action, and it nearly cost us the chance to finish our own FIREX. The range safety officer saw it all happen, and let us stay out on the range after sunset; we got to fire illumination rounds with each of our remaining fire missions, which was a lot more fun. Still, that was the worst example of seamanship I have ever seen, backing down on a ship astern with no warning, and it was personally embarrassing because it was my old ship.)

[Raisuli]

I've seen CVBGs spread over a hundred miles of ocean. We're AW/AS up there deep in the threat axis surrounded by sandbox all on our little grey lonesomes. On a good day the E2s and our own radars will give us enough warning to put a few white birds in the air before we turn into a spectacular display of flaming aluminum and radioactive debris.

 

You have to remember everything in the battle group combined is less important than the carrier, so an SSN or two looking deep, ASW out to 100 miles or so (to give us time to swat the cruise missiles they fire), some AAW assets in close, but with airborne threats there are AAW assets way up the axis as well.

 

 

The organization of the battle group depends on the threat picture, not some pretty pre-planned formations. All those pictures you see are photo ops. At sea with the exception of one close-in missile platform you're unlikely to see any other BG assets inside the horizon unless they're doing unreps.

 

 

On westpac I never saw another ship (NOT on the carrier) unless we were doing towex or golfex or playing plane guard or tiger cruise airshows or something like that.

[Rennes]

I was part of the airwing and ended up getting out of the Navy in the middle of the cruise that followed that collision. I had heard years later that the investigation determined the TR had started backing down. But that is about all I heard. I wondered what happened to Capt. Christenson after all the dust settled, I knew he had been selected for admiral before hand.