To submit a photo, biographical information or correction please email the webmaster. As built, HMS Unicorn displaced 16,770 tons under standard load and up to 20,600 tons under full load. While repair work was being done at Malta, she was once again bombed. 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. HMS Illustrious relieves Invincible on air defence duties, off Falkland Islands, August 1982 HMS Illustrious had a unique start to her career. 26364; McCart, pp. War Hero. On 21 June, the ship launched 15 Barracudas and 23 Corsairs against the airfield and harbour of Port Blair. 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. ww2dbaseIn 1943, Illustrious returned to the Mediterranean Sea and joined Force H based in Gibraltar. [66], She was then formally assigned to the Eastern Fleet and, after a short refit in Durban, sailed to Colombo, Ceylon, and became the flagship of the Rear Admiral Aircraft Carriers, Eastern Fleet, Denis Boyd, her former captain. She transferred to Greenock at the end of the month and sailed on 5 August to provide air cover for the ocean liner RMSQueen Mary as she conveyed Prime Minister Winston Churchill to the Quebec Conference. It was around in the late 70's to early 80's. Her ship nickname was Lusty. Later that day seven Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 medium bombers were intercepted by three Fulmars, which claimed to have shot down one bomber and damaged another. As the Barracudas were needed only for anti-submarine patrols, the former embarked only nine while the latter ship flew off all her Barracudas. In addition to the other losses enumerated, 882 Squadron's Fulmar was shot down while providing ground support. ), struck on rocks under Apes' Hill, coast of Barbary. [46] Four days later Illustrious's aircraft attacked two convoys near the Kerkennah Islands and sank two merchant ships totalling 7,437GRT. [48] The ship arrived back at Alexandria two days later. The Association's first meeting was held in T.S. [75], On 10 June, the Illustrious and the escort carrier Atheling put to sea to simulate another airstrike on Sabang as a means of distracting the Japanese while the Americans were attacking airfields in the Mariana Islands and preparing to invade the island of Saipan. Germans records show the loss of three Stukas, with another forced to make an emergency landing. 47273, Brown 1971; pp. the Airplane Scraped the Bridge Wi A29570.jpg 1,583 2,480; 974 KB HMS Illustrious (87) at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in November 1941.jpg 5,705 4,115; 6.03 MB She began permanent repairs in June that were scheduled to last four months. [24] She was commissioned on 16 April 1940 and, excluding her armament, she cost 2,295,000 to build. However, her commissioning was delayed until 1941 due to the greater need for escort vessels for service in the Battle of the Atlantic . 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. [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. Those known to have sailed in HMS Illustrious during the Second World War 1939-1945. As the fleet was withdrawing, Illustrious's CAP intercepted and shot down a Nakajima Ki-43 (codenamed "Oscar") fighter and a Mitsubishi Ki-21 "Sally" medium bomber on reconnaissance missions. 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. Her catapult was upgraded to handle heavier aircraft, her flight deck was further improved, and her radar suite was modernized. [63] After her stay at Freetown, Illustrious proceeded to Durban; during the voyage her staff also fitted ASV radar to the replacement Swordfish. Admiral Sir Reginald Henderson, Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy, was determined not to simply modify the previous unarmoured Ark Royal design. The attackers were all shot down, but two shells fired by either Indomitable or the battleship King George V struck Illustrious, killing 12 and wounding 21 men. PA. )1943: RN Barracks, Chatham [HMS Pembroke] 04.06.1943-(10.1944) RN . HTML tags are not allowed. The end of the war several weeks later meant that there was no longer any urgency in refitting the Illustrious in time to participate in the invasion of the Japanese Home Islands and the Admiralty decided that she would become the Home Fleet training and trials carrier. One Corsair was shot down by Japanese flak although the pilot was rescued after ditching. She was sold for scrap on 3 Nov 1954 and was broken up in 1956 as Faslane. Is there a list of. The second flight, carrying depth charges, sank the submarine Bvziers while the third flight dropped leaflets over the defenders before attacking an artillery battery and D'Entrecasteaux. [30] While escorting a convoy to Malta on 29 September, the carrier's Fulmars broke up attacks by Italian high-level and torpedo bombers, shooting down one for the loss of one fighter. During the return voyage to Alexandria, the Italian submarineCorallo made an unsuccessful attack on the British ships. After post-war modifications to convert her into a trials carrier, her complement was reduced to 1,090 officers and enlisted men. The former aircraft carrier was towed out of Portsmouth Harbour. [91], After a brief refit in early 1952, she participated in Exercise Castanets off the Scottish coast in June and hosted 22,000 visitors during Navy Days at Devonport Royal Dockyard in August. Since the beginning of the operation, her aircraft had flown 234 offensive and 209 defensive sorties, claiming at least two aircraft shot down. One Martlet I was fitted with folding wings. [31] The fire destroyed three Swordfish and heavily damaged two others, but they were replaced by aircraft from Eagle, whose contaminated fuel tanks prevented her from participating in the attack. Cunliffe, RN, flying the flag of Rear-Admiral C. Moody, CB, RN), HMS Unicorn (Capt. Lieut (A) J H Clarke, RNZNVR, Otorohanga, NZ, and Maintenance Crew. Jellicoe was relieved by Captain R. D. Watson on 26 September and Illustrious resumed training until 9 December when her crew was granted leave and the ship began a refit. On 8 and 9 November the Supermarine 510 research aircraft made the first ever landings by a swept-wing aircraft aboard a carrier. Other twin mounts were added so that by May she had a total of eighteen twin and two single mounts. She made her first foreign port visit in many years at Le Havre, France, on 2022 March, where 13,000 people came aboard. [23] Illustrious was then towed to Buccleuch Dock for fitting out and Captain Denis Boyd was appointed to command her on 29 January 1940. ILLUSTRIOUS-Class Fleet Aircraft Carrier ordered on 19th March 1937 from Harland and Wolff Ltd. at Belfast under the 1937 Programme. [59] While working up her air group in March, reinforced by the Grumman Martlet fighters (the British name of the F4F Wildcat) of 881 and 882 Squadrons, she conducted trials of a "hooked" Supermarine Spitfire fighter, the prototype of the Seafire. She embarked the Barracudas of 810 and 847 Squadrons of No. Later in the month she hosted the Sea Furies of 802 and the Fireflies of 814 Squadrons for Exercise Winged Fleet. 8384; McCart, p. 29, Brown 1971, p. 258; Brown, J. D., pp. Illustrious was the lead ship in her class of aircraft carriers. It was one of 3 Inviciible -class light carriers. Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History 23rd of March please use the following link and you will find the details and all events of this day . On the night of 15/16 December, Illustrious collided with Formidable in a moderate storm. In addition, one Corsair was forced to ditch; the pilot was rescued by a destroyer. [72], She then returned to Britain on 18 October for a quick refit at Birkenhead that included further improvements to the flight deck and the reinforcement of her light anti-aircraft armament. 2627; Sturtivant, p. 327, Brown 1971, p. 257; Brown, J. D., pp. The HMS Illustrious Association was formerly known as the "Old Illustrians' Association" and was formed by a group of wartime Old Boys who were invited on board the 5th ILLUSTRIOUS on 9 September 1983. J.P. Scatchard, DSC, RN), HMS Tenacious (Lt.Cdr. [35] Three Swordfish crashed shortly after take-off on 10 and 11 November, probably due to fuel contamination, and the maintenance crewmen spent all day laboriously draining all the fuel tanks and refilling them with clean petrol. Five days later, the BPF attacked a different refinery and the ship launched 12 Avengers and 12 Corsairs. On the afternoon of 6 April, four kamikaze aircraft evaded detection and interception by the CAP, and one, a Yokosuka D4Y3 "Judy" dive bomber, attacked Illustrious in a steep dive. 150, 159; Hobbs 2013, p. 91; McCart, pp. Two years later, she made 29.2 knots from 111,450shp (83,110kW). Now escorted by the bulk of the Mediterranean Fleet, eight of her Swordfish, together with some from the carrier Eagle, attacked the Italian seaplane base at Rhodes on the morning of 3 September. 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. He transferred his flag to Formidable when she arrived at Alexandria on 10 March, just before Illustrious sailed for Port Said to begin her transit of the Suez Canal. 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. He believed that carriers could not be successfully defended by their own aircraft without some form of early-warning system. The vessel is currently moored in Portsmouth Harbour after 32 years of active service. The flight deck was extended forward, which increased her overall length to 748feet 6inches (228.1m). Illustrious was a British battleship of the Majestic class, launched in 1894 and sold for scrap in 1920. The MoD announced earlier this year it had been sold for 2m to a ship recycling . Please refrain from using strong language. Admiral Sir James Somerville's new Eastern Fleet launched a devastating raid on the oil refinery at Sabang in Sumatra, Dutch East Indies with aircraft flown from the carriers HMS Illustrious and USS Saratoga escorted by HMS Cumberland, HMS Renown, USS Cummings, and others. She was christened by Lady Henderson, wife of the recently retired Third Sea Lord. While running trials in 1948, after another refit, she reached a maximum speed of 29 knots (54km/h; 33mph) from 110,680shp (82,530kW). For this operation she had aboard six Fulmars of 806 Squadron, 23 Martlets of 881 Squadron and 18 Swordfish of 810 and 829 Squadrons. On 18 July she rendezvoused with the Home Fleet to participate in manoeuvres before George VI reviewed the fleet on 2223 July. Power was from 4 x Admiralty water-tube boilers feeding 2 x Parsons geared steam turbines driving 40,000 horsepower to 2 x shafts under stern. Below are just some of our members who have served at HMS Illustrious. Her air group now consisted of 36 Corsairs, 16 Avengers and two Supermarine Walrus flying boats for rescue work. [80], She arrived on 10 February and repairs began when she entered the Captain Cook Dock in the Garden Island Dockyard the next day, well before it was officially opened by the Duke of Gloucester, the Governor-General of Australia on 24 March. About Us; Staff; Camps; Scuba. 810 Squadron was the only unit retained from her previous air group and it had been re-equipped with Barracudas during her refit. A list of the crew, with their Register Ticket numbers, to be filed for a foreign-going ship on sailing. Her light antiaircraft defences included six octuple mounts for QF 2-pounder ("pom-pom") antiaircraft guns, two each fore and aft of her island, and two in sponsons on the port side of the hull. With both Illustrious and Eagle under his command, Admiral Cunningham could now take the offensive. Many do not survive at all whilst significant proportions of those that do survive are held . The carrier and her escorts arrived back at Trincomalee on 23 June where 847 Squadron was merged into 810 Squadron a week later. THE AIRPLANE SCRAPED . In this role she conducted the deck-landing trials for most of the British post-war naval aircraft in the early 1950s. The torpedo-carrying aircraft of the first wave scored one hit on the battleship Conte di Cavour and two on the recently completed battleship Littorio while the two flare droppers bombed the oil storage depot with little effect. Clark John Thomas. Captain John Hughes-Hallett relieved Edwards on 14 June. When the aircraft approached the target on the morning of 20 December, it was obscured by clouds so they diverted to the secondary target of the port at Belawan Deli. The blitz on HMS Illustrious 70 years ago. This role she conducted the deck-landing trials for most of the Majestic class, in... 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