With the release of the War Thunder: ‘New Power’ update, we are adding new types of AI aircraft carriers to the game that serve as naval bases for aircraft.

More good news for War Thunder pilots is that in the upcoming ‘New Power’ update, several new types of AI aircraft carriers will appear in the game that serve as naval aviation bases in missions with sea and ocean. For these aircraft carriers, we have made fully fledged, highly detailed models that are not inferior in quality to the in-game military fleet.

HMS Ark Royal

The Royal Navy aircraft carrier, one of the first to use an angled landing deck. The ship was laid down  as Irresistible, but was renamed in honour of the famous WW2 aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, from the deck of which Swordfish aircraft took off that inflicted critical damage on the formidable German battleship Bismarck. The newer Ark Royal did not take part in combat, but actively participated in various exercises and tests, including general exercises in NATO. At the end of the 60’s, after modernization, the landing deck received an even greater angle and the more modern carrier-based aircraft, like the Buccaneer and Phantom could be based on it. Thus, Ark Royal became the only non-US aircraft carrier capable of operating Phantoms. The air group on the ship had about 40 units of jet aircraft and deck-based helicopters. At the time of its decommissioning in 1979, the Ark Royal was the last British aircraft carrier with catapults and ‘arrested’ landing.

Baku

The heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser of the project 1143.4 design Baku was built in 1986 and was soon enlisted into the Soviet Navy. During her military service she performed combat missions in the Black, Mediterranean and Barents Seas, and took part in exercises. The ship's aircraft group included vertical take-off and landing Yak-38M aircraft, as well as anti-submarine deck helicopters. In 1990, the aircraft-carrying cruiser was renamed "Admiral of the Soviet Union Fleet Gorshkov", it was used to test the supersonic VTOL Yak 141, and in 2000 the ship was sold to India. After a series of upgrades for the needs of the Indian Navy, in 2013 the ship was transferred to India, where she received the name Vikramaditya.

USS Forrestal

The American aircraft carrier Forrestal was built in 1954 based on the experience gained by the American Navy during WWII, and was focused on carrying jet aircraft. The ship's operational record is quite extensive - from training missions in home waters to a ‘show the flag’ in the Mediterranean and participation in the Vietnam War. The aircraft carrier set the record for the heaviest aircraft to take off and land on deck in a series of tests of the American C-130 Hercules, when the massive turboprop transport aircraft successfully took off and landed on the Forrestal deck several times. This aircraft carrier is infamous for several accidental fires that killed a large number of its crew members. The most tragic incident occurred during the Vietnam War, when more than 130 personnel died and 21 aircraft were irretrievably lost. The ship was decommissioned in 1993 and sold for scrap for 1 cent.

The War Thunder Team

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