On 10 June Hughes-Hallet was relieved by Captain Eric Clifford. HMS Illustrious was the lead ship of her class of aircraft carriers built for the Royal Navy She fought in the Mediterranean and Far East . R.L.B. The light AA guns managed to sever its port wing so that it missed the ship, although its starboard wingtip shattered the Type 272's radome mounted on the front of the bridge. HMS Illustrious (Illustrious class aircraft carrier) 15.05.1943-(06. First, it is aiming to offer interesting This halved the aircraft capacity compared with the older unarmoured carriers, exchanging offensive potential for defensive survivability. Find An Object; IWM Collections; Stories & Videos . [70], On 26 July, she sortied for the Norwegian Sea as part of Operation Governor, together with the battleship Anson, the American battleship Alabama, and the light carrier Unicorn, an attempt to fool the Germans into thinking that Sicily was not the only objective for an Allied invasion. HMS Illustrious (R 06): HMS Illustrious is a light aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy and the second of three Invincible-class ships constructed in the late 1970s and early 1980s. HMS Hermes, was converted to a helicopter carrier, and then to a vertical take-off and landing aircraft carrier - suitable for the Harrier jump jets which were invaluable to military efforts during the Falklands War. [73], Illustrious departed Britain on 30 December and arrived in Trincomalee, Ceylon, on 28 January 1944. The MOD has announced today that, following an open competition, the former aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious is to be recycled. Preventing this required a preemptive invasion of Diego Suarez scheduled for May 1942. )1943: RN Barracks, Chatham [HMS Pembroke] 04.06.1943-(10.1944) RN . The Association's first meeting was held in T.S. The weather was too bad for Illustrious to rescue the steamer's crew, but she pumped fuel oil overboard to flatten the seas until a tug arrived to rescue the ship on 27 October. The carrier participated in the early stages of the Battle of Okinawa until mechanical defects arising from accumulated battle damage became so severe she was ordered home early for repairs in May 1945. JUNE 1945, ON BOARD HMS ILLUSTRIOUS. Google her - there is an enormous amount, including an ex-crew association. These latter aircraft lacked folding wings and could not fit on the lifts. Clark John Thomas. 810 Squadron and its Barracudas were transferred off the ship the next day and were later replaced by the Avengers of 854 Squadron. De Trafford, Stretford, on 3 December 1983. [82], From 26 March to 9 April, the BPF attacked the airfields with each two-day period of flying operations followed by two or three days required to replenish fuel, ammunition and other supplies. Captain K. A. About Us; Staff; Camps; Scuba. HMS Victorious, ordered under the 1936 Naval Programme, was the third Illustrious-class aircraft carrier after Illustrious and Formidable. Illustrious was the lead ship in her class of aircraft carriers. [22] Construction was delayed by slow deliveries of her armour plates because the industry had been crippled by a lack of orders over the last 15 years as a result of the Washington Naval Treaty. Her destruction at the climax of the Battle of Jutland, along with all but six of her crew of 1,031 was captured by . She began working up off Plymouth, but the German conquest of France made this too risky, and Illustrious sailed for Bermuda later in the month to continue working up. One aircraft of the third flight was forced to make an emergency landing and its crew was captured by the French. Lacking that, there was nothing to prevent land-based aircraft from attacking them, especially in confined waters like the North Sea and Mediterranean. For inquiries about military records for members of the World War II armed forces, please see our FAQ. While conducting her post-refit trials, she also conducted flying trials for Martlet Vs and Barracudas. The crew's behaviour drew a mixed response from . It also blew a hole in the hangar deck, damaging areas three decks below. Illustrious was paid off at the end of February 1955 and she was towed to Gareloch and placed in reserve. Cunliffe, RN, flying the flag of Rear-Admiral C. Moody, CB, RN), HMS Unicorn (Capt. [67] At the beginning of August, the ship participated in Operation Stab, a decoy invasion of the Andaman Islands to distract the Japanese when the Americans were invading the island of Guadalcanal in the South Pacific. He chose the naval base and oil refinery at Surabaya, Java (Operation Transom), and the distance from the newly renamed East Indies Fleet's base at Ceylon required refuelling at Exmouth Gulf on the western coast of Australia before the attack. Lieut (A) J H Clarke, RNZNVR, Otorohanga, NZ, and Maintenance Crew. It dived out of the clouds on the port bow and from the time it emerged from the clouds until the time it hit the water was only 11 seconds. For the operation the carrier's air group numbered 25 Martlets, 1 night-fighting Fulmar and 21 Swordfish, and was consequently was forced to have a permanent deck park of 5 Martlets and one Swordfish. Scuba Certification; Private Scuba Lessons; Scuba Refresher for Certified Divers; Try Scuba Diving; Enriched Air Diver (Nitrox) The cover up of Churchill's Operation Paul. The opportunity was too good to pass up. The roofs of the gun turrets protruded above the level of the flight deck to allow them to fire across the deck at high elevations. The aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious. But he felt HMS Illustrious offered vital air cover and an equally important boost in morale. It gives details of over 439,000 Royal Navy and Merchant Seamen records which are searchable by name, rank, age and ship. After the tour's conclusion on 12 May, she sailed for Scottish waters for more deck-landing practice with the destroyer Rocket as her planeguard. Her first assignment after completion and working up was with the Mediterranean Fleet, in which her aircraft's most notable achievement was sinking one Italian battleship and badly damaging two others during the Battle of Taranto in late 1940. On the early morning of 25 July, Illustrious launched 22 Corsairs for CAP and to observe the naval gunfire and take photos for post-attack damage assessments. 8485, 90, Shores, Cull & Malizia 1987b, pp. HTML tags are not allowed. [34] At this time her air group was reinforced by several of Eagle's Gloster Sea Gladiators supplementing the fighters of 806 Squadron as well as torpedo bombers from 813 and 824 Squadrons. Courtesy Imperial War Museums. [7], During her 1943 refits, the flight deck was modified to extend its usable length to 740 feet (225.6m), and "outriggers" were probably added at this time. After another round of flying operations, she visited Trondheim, Norway, on 19 June. The hangar was 456 feet (139.0m) long and had a maximum width of 62 feet (18.9m). The Japanese aircraft diving on the ILLUSTRIOUS. The initial damage assessment was that little harm had been done, although vibrations had worsened, but this was incorrect as the damage to the hull structure and plating proved to be extensive. Thank you. The Vichy French-controlled island of Madagascar stood astride the line of communication between India and the UK and the British were worried that the French would accede to occupation of the island as they had to the Japanese occupation of French Indochina in 1940. [29] A few days after the Italian invasion of Egypt, Illustrious flew off 15 Swordfish during the moonlit night of 16/17 September to attack the port of Benghazi. [48] The ship arrived back at Alexandria two days later. 122123, 126, Brown 1971; Brown, J. D., p. 76; Shores, pp. Illustrious began her final maintenance period at Devonport Royal Dockyard on 10 December. The carrier, steering only by using her engines, was attacked several more times before she entered Grand Harbour's breakwater at 21:04, still on fire. The former aircraft carrier was towed out of Portsmouth Harbour. She returned to Norfolk on 9 December, to rendezvous with Formidable, which had also been repaired there, and the carriers sailed for home three days later. All big-gun armament and turbine propulsion marked her out as one of the ships that led the dreadnought revolution. To submit a photo, biographical information or correction please email the webmaster. Later in the day her Corsairs intercepted 10 Ki-43s and shot down two of them while driving off the remainder. All three were shot down for the loss of one Martlet. The Disposal Services Authority (DSA) is inviting expressions of interest for the sale of the warship "for recycling". She was paid off in early 1955 and sold for scrap in late 1956. [42], While en route to Alexandria the ship's Fulmars engaged four CANT Z.506Bs, claiming three shot down and the fourth damaged, although Italian records indicate the loss of only two aircraft on 12 November. She was sent to Loch Ewe on 30 August for service as a local defence ship. In this role she conducted the deck-landing trials for most of the British post-war naval aircraft in the early 1950s. Other twin mounts were added so that by May she had a total of eighteen twin and two single mounts. In addition, one Corsair was forced to ditch; the pilot was rescued by a destroyer. [53][54] The naval historian J. D. Brown noted that "There is no doubt that the armoured deck saved her from destruction; no other carrier took anything like this level of punishment and survived. This meant that the ship had to be capable of remaining in action after sustaining damage and that her fragile aircraft had to be protected entirely from damage. The oil refineries at the Wonokromo district of Surabaya, Java, Dutch East Indies and the nearby Braat Engineering Works were struck by British and American carrier aircraft struck by carrier aircraft of the Royal Navys Eastern Fleet made up of carriers HMS Illustrious and USS Saratoga escorted by HMS Cumberland, HMS Renown, USS Cummings, and others. One bomb penetrated the outer edge of the forward port flight deck and detonated about 10 feet (3.0m) above the water, riddling the adjacent hull structure with holes which caused flooding in some compartments and starting a fire. She was occasionally used to ferry troops and aircraft to and from foreign deployments as well as participating in exercises. Over the next several months she conducted deck-landing practice for Avenger and Seafire pilots before starting a short refit on 2 April. [18] The sum total of the changes since her commissioning increased her full-load displacement by 2,520 long tons (2,560t). [18] Two more twin Oerlikon mounts were added, and her boilers were retubed. Her exact speeds were not recorded as she had her paravanes streamed, but it was estimated that she could have made about 31 knots (57km/h; 36mph) under full power. The Royal Air Force (RAF) had positioned a Short Sunderland flying boat off the harbour to search for any movement to or from the port and this was detected at 17:55 by acoustic locators and again at 20:40, alerting the defenders. This section includes over 21.000 Allied Warships and over 11.000 Allied Commanders of WWII, from the US Navy, Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Australian Navy, The Polish Navy and others. Captain John Hughes-Hallett relieved Edwards on 14 June. The main armament of the Illustrious class consisted of sixteen quick-firing (QF) 4.5-inch (110 mm) dual-purpose guns in eight twin- gun turrets, four in sponsons on each side of the hull. The MoD announced earlier this year it had been sold for 2m to a ship recycling . By the end of 1901, she was fitted or due . sgtpepperband. [14] This increased her aircraft complement to 47 aircraft by use of a permanent deck park of 6 aircraft. Captain Ralph Edwards relieved Stephens on 7 January 1947. Her own losses were two Avengers and three Corsairs lost in action and one Avenger and six Corsairs due to non-combat causes. She returned to Portsmouth on 19 November and began loading the 45th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, the 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards, and the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment two days later. 15 Naval Fighter Wing with the Vought Corsairs of 1830 and 1833 Squadrons were still training ashore and flew aboard before the work up was finished on 27 December. 21 Naval Torpedo-Bomber Reconnaissance Wing, "Bomb Damage to British Naval Vessels: Summary of Damage by Bombs to September 2, 1941", "Pictures: Remembering the 29 men who drowned in HMS Illustrious liberty boat disaster", "Ship models in the Monaco Naval Museum: Aircraft and Helicopter Carriers", Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy, Armoured aircraft carrier action and damage reports, 19401945, Maritimequest HMS Illustrious photo gallery, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=HMS_Illustrious_(87)&oldid=1115451789, In front of a trumpet erect two trumpets in saltire gold, This page was last edited on 11 October 2022, at 14:53. PO, Hopkins Hugh. 25051; Jackson, p. 441; McCart, p. 23, Brown 1971, pp. While returning from another convoy escort mission, the Swordfish of Illustrious and Eagle attacked the Italian airfield on the island of Leros on the evening of 13/14 October. WW2DB site administrators reserve the right to moderate, censor, and/or remove any comment. Illustrious was commissioned into service. The U-boat War in World War Two (Kriegsmarine, 1939-1945) and World War One (Kaiserliche Marine, 1914-1918) and the Allied efforts to counter the threat. SERVING WITH THE ILLUSTRIOUS. Vice Admiral Sir Bernard Rawlings, commander of Task Force 57, ordered the recently arrived Formidable to join the task force to replace Illustrious on 8 April. HMS Illustrious was a light aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy and the second of three Invincible-class ships constructed in the late 1970s and early 1980s. 26364; McCart, pp. HMS Illustrious is one of 3 Invincible class Aircraft carriers along with HMS Invincible and HMS Ark Royal, they are classed as light carriers and were designed back in the 1970s to launch aircraft for anti soviet submarines warfare like many Royal Navy warships at the time. All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB. Her beam was 95feet 9inches (29.2m) at the waterline and she had a draught of 28feet 10inches (8.8m) at deep load. One bomb struck and destroyed the starboard forward "pom-pom" mount closest to the island, while another passed through the forwardmost port "pom-pom" mount and failed to detonate, although it did start a fire. The hangar was designed to accommodate 36 aircraft, for which 50,650 imperial gallons (230,300l; 60,830USgal) of aviation spirit was provided. Two days later, one of three Fulmars that intercepted an Axis air raid on the Maltese airfields was shot down with no survivors. The design was unique in the sense that the flight deck was armored, unlike many of her contemporaries outside her class; however, the added protection also limited the total number of aircraft she was capable of carrying. British aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious, damaged by Stuka dive bombers on 10 Jan, completed temporary repairs and departed Malta for Alexandria, Egypt with destroyers HMS Jervis, HMS Juno, HMS Janus, and HMS Greyhound in escort. 134, 136, 14243, 145, 147; McCart, p. 32, Brown 1971, p. 261; Hobbs 2011, pp. However, her commissioning was delayed until 1941 due to the greater need for escort vessels for service in the Battle of the Atlantic . 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