Angola Gets An Aircraft Carrier (Maybe)
Yes that’s right, added to the ranks of countries with carriers to include the US, China, France, the UK (well, they are building two new ones anyway), and India is that internationally respected naval powerhouse of Angola. It is now the only African country to have ever owned a flatop.
According to Portuguese daily ECD, the former Spanish naval jump carrier ‘Príncipe de Asturias’ will be acquired by Angola. Not for scrapping, or to be a hotel or casino, but to perform as an aircraft carrier and flagship of their navy. The 16,000-ton ship, commissioned in 1988, was just retired by Spain nine months ago. It’s argueably the lowest mileage surplus aircraft carrier on the market today.
The ship would presumably operate helicopters as their are no VTOL fixed wing aircraft currently on the market. This could prove a problem for the Angolan navy as that service has no helicopters. However, the country’s air force does operate about 70 aging Soviet Hip and Hind choppers as well as a smattering of French Alouettes, Dauphins and Gazelles.
With the sale (and an agreed refurbishment by Spanish shipyards) the African country will also (complementarity) receive three lightly armed offshore patrol boats and an amphibious assault ship that had been removed from the Spanish Naval list. These include the P-27 Ízaro (300-ton, launched 1980) P -61 Chilreu (1900-ton, launched 1991), F-32 Diana (1200-ton, 1979), and the L-42 Pizarro (8500-ton, formerly the 1972-era USS Harlan County LST-1196). The country is awash in new oil money and is looking to put up a naval ‘keep off the grass’ sign.
Angola’s navy, the Marinha de Guerra, currently has just 1000 officers and men and consists of a dozen near-shore Osa and Shershen type Soviet PT/FAC boats. A couple small minesweepers and landing craft serve as its blue-water force while about forty small boats handle brown water. As the Príncipe de Asturias requires a 600-person crew irregardless of any embarked air crews, coughing up some experienced (non-national?) sailors who can operate gas turbines and NATO communications suites is going to be Angola’s challenge.
How would you like to be the Logistics guy for this navy?