Liaoning (CV-16) — Chinese Aircraft Carrier Model, 36 in
Liaoning (CV-16) — Chinese Aircraft Carrier Model, 36 in
How big is it?
Length about 91 cm / 36.0 in. Drawn to scale; the model outline is a simplified shape.
Model details
- Size
- 36 in / 91 cm
- Construction
- Handcrafted
- Condition
- Fully assembled, ready to display
- Display
- Wooden base with brass nameplate
- Collection
- Battle Ship Models
- Item no.
- CM592
The larger edition of China's first carrier, at 36 inches.
Specification
- 36 inches
- Handcrafted hull and superstructure
- Ski-jump bow with flight deck markings
- Island, radar arrays, masts and deck aircraft
- Mounted on a display base with nameplate
- Fully assembled
The ski jump
Liaoning launches aircraft off a curved ramp rather than a catapult, and the difference matters. A ski jump is simple, cheap and needs no steam plant — but it limits how heavy an aircraft can be at takeoff, because the jet has to get airborne on its own thrust.
That means shorter range, less fuel and lighter weapon loads than a catapult carrier of the same size. It is the main reason China's later carriers moved to catapults.
The ship
Laid down in Soviet Ukraine in 1985, abandoned incomplete in 1991, sold in 1998 to a buyer who claimed she would become a floating casino, and commissioned into the Chinese navy in 2012.