§ Mr. John Morrisasked the Minister of State for Defence for what percentage of each of the next eight years it is envisaged the "Ark Royal" will be available for sea-going service; when she is due for her next dockings and re-fits; and how long each will take.
§ Mr. Kirk"Ark Royal's" next refit will be due in about three years' time and is expected to last about six months. It would be contrary to normal practice to disclose the other details of the ship's programme.
§ Mr. John Morrisasked the Minister of State for Defence in what part of the world it is envisaged "Ark Royal" will 429W operate; and what proportion of these areas cannot be served by land-based aircraft.
§ Mr. KirkH.M.S. "Ark Royal" will be deployed mainly in the Atlantic or Mediterranean but she will be able to operate in other parts of the world also. Wherever "Ark Royal" serves, her embarked Phantoms and Buccaneers will provide an invaluable complement to the suport supplied by shore based aircraft to naval forces at sea in circumstances where speed of response is vital.
§ Mr. John Morrisasked the Minister of State for Defence what manpower it is expected that "Ark Royal" will need; and whether any other ships will be moth-balled or delayed in their commissioning to provide manpower.
§ Mr. KirkAbout 1,000 Fleet Air Arm and 1,400 general service personnel are needed by H.M.S. "Ark Royal". The provision of extra general service manpower for "Ark Royal" after 1972 will not require any immediate changes in the current naval programme but H.M.S. "Lion" will not now be converted to the helicopter carrying rôle.
§ Mr. John Morrisasked the Minister of State for Defence (1) following the decision to continue "Ark Royal" in service, how many aircraft will no longer be available to the Royal Air Force; and how they will be replaced;
(2) what will be the decrease in the number of Phantom aircraft available to the Royal Air Force in the mid-1970s.
§ Mr. LambtonAs announced in the Supplementary Statement on Defence Policy 1970 (Cmnd. 4521), the aircraft for H.M.S. "Ark Royal" will be provided from the total numbers already planned. The number of Phantoms and Buccaneers available to the Royal Air Force will be reduced by those needed to provide and maintain the embarked aircraft complement of "Ark Royal".