Cold Warriors: The Essex Class in the Cold War

March 23, 1958
Port of Tanjung Perak, East Java, Indonesia

The Soviet Kotlin class destroyer Svetlyy arrives in Indonesia for the first port visit of a Soviet warship to the country. Having only commissioned into the Soviet Pacific Fleet two and a half years earlier, she is one of the newest operational destroyers in the Soviet Navy. This event raises red flags among numerous Pacific nations allied with the United States or the other Western powers. Not only is it a sign of much closer relations between the Indonesia and the USSR, it is also seen as a case of the Soviet Union showcasing their hardware for potential sale to Indonesia.

In numerous countries with interests in the region, furious phone calls are made to their respective intelligence and diplomatic services demanding and updated assessment of the Soviet/Indonesian relationship.

Once you factor in inflation, that's about 2.7 billion today.

April 15, 1958
Brooklyn, NY, USA

USS Leyte is decommissioned. After her return to Quonset Point Naval Air Station following her Caribbean and Mediterranean cruise she had commenced pre-inactivation preparations. This had mainly involved the offloading of tons of stores, supplies, spare parts and everything else that made her a functional warship. As the mountains of gear had piled up on the dock, trucks had arrived to carry it all away to warehouses and supply depots. While some of the gear would inevitably be placed in a warehouse and forgotten about, the vast majority of the equipment would reenter the Navy supply system and end up on other ships to see further service.

Following the offloading of supplies in Rhode Island, the larger portion of her crew were given orders detaching them from their ship and sending them on to new duty stations where they would join new ships or training commands to pass on their hard won knowledge. The remaining crew hauled in the lines that were securing the old straight decked carrier to the pier and sailed south for Brooklyn.

On her arrival at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, her remaining crew were detached from the ship and sent on their way to their new commands. The last two crew members of Leyte were her Captain and her Chief Yeoman. The Yeoman cut the Captain's orders to join the staff of Carrier Division 18. The final orders he cut were his. For Leyte, the end was nigh.

She did not remain empty for long. As her Commissioning Pennant was hauled down, the workmen from the Brooklyn Navy Yard began to swarm over the old carrier. Her fuel bunkers were drained, her avgas storage tanks were emptied and purged to eliminate dangerous vapors. Her engineering spaces were thoroughly cleaned and dried, with large dehumidifiers placed in them to slow the spread of corrosion. Her fire mains were depressurized and drained, with the valves left open to allow them to dry completely. Damage control equipment including fire hoses, lumber shoring beams and emergency electrical cables were pulled from their mounts and piled in the hanger to await removal from the ship.

On her island, her radars and radio were removed from their spaces along with all the cryptographic gear. Her antennas and radar dishes were removed and placed into large warehouses in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Other workmen went through the ship and made sure every hatch was open and set up large fans and dehumidifiers to dry the air and circulate it throughout the ship to keep things dry and prevent corrosion. The final work was to thoroughly seal the ship from the outside. All her exterior openings save one were dogged shut with large sheets of plastic glued over them after to prevent any moisture from entering the ship. On the bridge, the glass was covered to keep the sun and rain out.

Once all the work was complete, ex-Leyte was towed from the Navy Yard and anchored with the other ships of the Hudson River Reserve Fleet. There, she joined her sister, ex-Franklin just off Bayonne, New Jersey to await their fates.

May 1, 1958
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

The first cuts are made from the offered designs for Australia's new fighter and bomber force. The Saunders-Roe SR.177 was deemed unsuitable to Royal Australian Air Force requirements. It was eliminated based on its short proposed range, limited armament and the cost to complete development. Along with the SR.177, the English Electric Lightning is also eliminated from consideration. Similarly to the SR.177, the aircraft's short range and limited armament are the primary reasons given for it's elimination.

Vought is also notified that its Crusader I and II are no longer being considered. Though the aircraft is seen as an outstanding dog fighter, neither aircraft met the required speed of mach two. Additionally, the Crusader I was a daylight only air superiority gun fighter and lacked any other armament. In consolation for that rejection however, Vought is informed that the RAAF is very interested in the under development Crusader III with it's high speed, long range and heavy missile armament.

Lockheed's F-104A was likewise eliminated along with the Convair F-106 as being single role interceptors. Though both aircraft received high praise for their performance, the RAAF preferred a general purpose fighter over a dedicated interceptor. Additionally, some reservations were expressed about the accident rate of the F-104. Even though their initial offerings were rejected, both manufacturers were invited to modify their proposals if they wished. Convair declined this invitation as they had already studied the possibility of converting the Delta Dart to a fighter-bomber and ruled it out. Lockheed though quickly reoffered the Starfighter in the guise of the F-104C, an upcoming fighter-bomber variant for the US Air Force. Lockheed also emphasized the dedicated reconnaissance version and the dual seat/dual control variants of the Starfighter in an attempt to sell Australia a complete weapons system, capable of performing every mission from training, reconnaissance, air superiority and strike and post strike assessment.

For the bomber competition, both the Avro Vulcan and Boeing B-47 were quickly eliminated. Though both bombers could carry vastly larger bombloads over greater distances than the existing Canberra fleet could, the aircraft were still subsonic designs optimized for operations at high altitude, where they would be sitting ducks for the new fighters being introduced by Indonesia. Though not outright eliminated, the TSR-2 and the two proposed American designs from Boeing and General Dynamics were told that they were not being strongly considered as Australia believed it would take ten years or more for the proposed designs to enter Royal Australian Air Force service and they needed something much sooner. Additional information was requested from all three companies, but it was widely accepted that at a minimum, an interim type would have to be selected for service until the new designs were ready should they be chosen for procurement.

So the Saab 35 Draken, Mirage III and the F-4 Phantom are still in the race for RAAF fighters if i am reading this correctly. 

So will there be a second round of fighters that will be eliminated.

May 12, 1958
Jakarta, Java, Indonesia

Allen Pope had been kept secured in Cipinang Prison since his trial and conviction in November. Six months in this flea infested hellhole was enough to drive anyone mad. The Embassy had sent over a liaison a few times to ensure that he wasn't being mistreated, but as a whole, everyone seemed to have forgotten about him. The sun was high in the sky judging by the sticky heat in his cell when the guards opened the door and escorted him out into the yard. When he entered the yard, his steps faltered and his eyes grew wide at what he saw. The guards beside him grabbed his arms and began dragging him toward the stake that was centered in the yard. In front of the single pole was a squad of Indonesian Army personnel with a Priest standing with them.

Allen was in shock. His hands were tied behind his back and he was tied to the stake. The diplomats had promised him that they were trying to free him. That was the only though that was going through his head as he the blindfold went on and the orders were shouted and the rifles cracked. But they had promised...