Her own losses were two Avengers and three Corsairs lost in action and one Avenger and six Corsairs due to non-combat causes. Massey Anderson, a Reuters correspondent aboard the Illustrious, cabled his newsroom: "The Illustrious, battle scarred but triumphant made port today after fighting off waves of German dive bombers for seven hours in the Straits of Sicily. By which time, Japan had entered the war, threatening British possessions in Asia. The multiple hits at the aft end of the carrier knocked out her steering gear, although it was soon repaired. some really good leads ,two good sites I found were World Navalships Froums & the other was Sevicepals.com + I got a crew snap shot prior to them sailing to Crete,some one else maybe interested in this info.Keep me posted Folks if . Below are just some of our members who have served at HMS Illustrious. This attack was intercepted by six of the ship's Fulmars which had rearmed and refuelled ashore after they had dropped their bombs, but only two of the dive bombers were damaged before the Fulmars ran out of ammunition. News stories in brief from around the World. The Type 281 radar was replaced by an upgraded Type 281M, and a single-antenna Type 79M was added. After sustaining damage on the voyage home in late 1941 by a collision with her sister ship Formidable, Illustrious was sent to the Indian Ocean in early 1942 to support the invasion of Vichy French Madagascar (Operation Ironclad). In Sep 1943, her aircraft covered Allied troops in the Sicily invasion. She began permanent repairs in June that were scheduled to last four months. This event was also the first landing of any turboprop aircraft aboard an aircraft carrier. [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. [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. and useful information about WW2. [64][65] Illustrious' aircraft flew 209 sorties and suffered six deck landing crashes, including four by Martlets. [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. She was paid off in early 1955 and sold for scrap in late 1956. The Illustrious-class carriers were of a new school of thinking, providing battlecruiser class armor to purpose-built carriers. British carrier HMS Illustrious left Malta for Alexandria, Egypt. ww2dbaseThe repair work completed in May 1942. HMS Illustrious was the only one in her class, not to have a pair of arrester wires positioned forward of the island for emergency deck landings over the bow. Clark John Thomas. [29], Upon his arrival in the Mediterranean, Lyster proposed a carrier airstrike on the Italian fleet at its base in Taranto, as the Royal Navy had been planning since the Abyssinia Crisis of 1935, and Admiral Andrew Cunningham, commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, approved the idea by 22 September 1940. Lacking that, there was nothing to prevent land-based aircraft from attacking them, especially in confined waters like the North Sea and Mediterranean. As a result, Illustrious was dispatched to the Indian Ocean instead of returning to the Mediterranean. 110111, 114115, Friedman, p. 147; Shores, Cull & Malizia 1987b, pp. She exchanged them for Firebrands for the return voyage. Preventing this required a preemptive invasion of Diego Suarez scheduled for May 1942. HMS Illustrious (Illustrious class aircraft carrier) 15.05.1943-(06. 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. Aircraft Carrier Illustrious Interactive Map. [77], On 30 July, she sailed for Durban to begin a refit that lasted from 15 August to 10 October and arrived back at Trincomalee on 1 November. Later in the month she hosted the Sea Furies of 802 and the Fireflies of 814 Squadrons for Exercise Winged Fleet. Illustrious began her final maintenance period at Devonport Royal Dockyard on 10 December. 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. Covering the years 1851-1911, these include lists and agreements for those involved in merchant shipping and ship crews for those at home ports, sea and abroad. One aircraft of the third flight was forced to make an emergency landing and its crew was captured by the French. These latter aircraft lacked folding wings and could not fit on the lifts. On the night of 15/16 December, Illustrious collided with Formidable in a moderate storm. She was the fifth warship and second aircraft carrier to bear the name Illustrious, and was affectionately known to her crew as "Lusty". All British aircraft returned safely although one American fighter was forced to ditch during the return home. There was no aerial opposition and the fighters claimed to have destroyed 24 aircraft on the ground. The MoD announced earlier this year it had been sold for 2m to a ship recycling . [45] On the night of 16/17 December, 11 Swordfish bombed Rhodes and the island of Stampalia with little effect. Second, it is to showcase Admiral Sir Reginald Henderson, Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy, was determined not to simply modify the previous unarmoured Ark Royal design. A Z.501 searching for the fleet was shot down on 10 November by a Fulmar and another on the 11th. She arrived on 14 May and departed 10 days later, bound for Rosyth for permanent repairs. The British role during the operation was to neutralise airfields on the Sakishima Islands, between Okinawa and Formosa, beginning on 26 March. 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. 122123, 126, Brown 1971; Brown, J. D., p. 76; Shores, pp. 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. With both Illustrious and Eagle under his command, Admiral Cunningham could now take the offensive. 2526, Brown 1971, p. 257; Brown, J. D., p. 81, McCart, p. 26, Brown 1971, p. 257; Brown, J. D., p. 81; Hobbs 2013, p. 91; McCart, pp. Second of the Invincible class aircraft carriers, she was in the latter stages of construction at Swan Hunters on the Tyne during Falkland's war of 1982. She was christened by Lady Henderson, wife of the recently retired Third Sea Lord. Illustrious is the last survivor of the Royal Navy's trio of celebrated aircraft carriers . The British Royal Navy, particularly, suffered a damaging defeat after the Japanese raids into the Indian Ocean in Mar-Apr 1942. [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. Her first assignment brought her to the Mediterranean Sea where her main mission was to launch aircraft which covered Malta convoys. While at anchor in Portland Harbour on 17 October, one of her boats foundered 50 yards (46m) short of the ship in heavy weather; 29 men lost their lives. 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. The Saratoga and her escorts separated after refuelling again in Exmouth Gulf and the East Indies Fleet was back in Trincomalee on 27 May where No. 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. He was almost immediately sent on a speaking tour to influence American public opinion, until he was recalled home in October and relieved by Captain A. G. Talbot on 1 October. In the meantime, she continued to conduct operations with the rest of the fleet. On 22 November she was assigned to the newly formed British Pacific Fleet (BPF), commanded by Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser. [8] On 24 May 1940 Illustrious ran her sea trials and her engines reached 113,700shp (84,800kW). The two flare droppers also bombed the oil storage depot with minimal effect, and one bomb penetrated through the hull of the heavy cruiser Trento without detonating. H.L.St.J. [48] The ship arrived back at Alexandria two days later. Italian destroyer Borea was sunk by torpedoes and destroyer Aquilone was damaged by a mine. A week later, Illustrious and Indomitable sortied to attack an oil refinery at Pangkalan Brandan, Sumatra (Operation Outflank); the former's airgroup now consisted of 36 Corsairs of 1830 and 1833 Squadrons and 21 Avengers of 857 Squadron. 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. Nov 25, 2008. When the 1,000-kilogram (2,200lb) bomb that it was carrying detonated in the water only 50 feet (15.2m) from the side of the ship, the resulting shock wave badly damaged two Corsairs parked on the deck and severely shook the ship. Her catapult was upgraded to handle heavier aircraft, her flight deck was further improved, and her radar suite was modernized. Four of these then flew ashore to conduct operations until they rejoined Illustrious on 14 September at Malta. 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 destroyer Aquilone later struck one of the mines and sank. [49], On 7 January 1941, Illustrious set sail to provide air cover for convoys to Piraeus, Greece and Malta as part of Operation Excess. Both sets of trials were completed by 18 July, by which time the Illustrious had joined the Home Fleet. 25758; Brown, J. D., pp. Somerville decided to attack Sabang again (Operation Crimson), although the ships of the East Indies Fleet would bombard the port while the fighters from the Illustrious and the Victorious spotted for them and protected the fleet. 9293; McCart, pp. The Japanese aircraft diving on the ILLUSTRIOUS. [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. Vice-Admiral Arthur Power carried out another raid on Port Blair in the Nicobar Islands with carrier HMS Illustrious, battleship HMS Renown, and French battleship Richelieu, with light covering forces. 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. small french chateau house plans; comment appelle t on le chef de la synagogue; felony court sentencing mansfield ohio; accident on 95 south today virginia 810 Squadron and its Barracudas were transferred off the ship the next day and were later replaced by the Avengers of 854 Squadron. Captain Charles Lambe was appointed as the new captain of the Illustrious on 21 May, but he could not join his new ship until 9 July. 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. It was around in the late 70's to early 80's. Her ship nickname was Lusty. 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. On 3 November she began loading the 39th Infantry Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division in response to the riots in Cyprus that broke out when Egypt abrogated the Anglo-Egyptian treaty of 1936. After returning home in early 1943, the ship was given a lengthy refit and briefly assigned to the Home Fleet. A german dive bomber junkers ju 87 attack hms illustrious 87 aircraft carrier s hd stock footage Background and description Armament electronics and protection Wartime modifications Post war modifications Construction and service Battle of Taranto Subsequent operations in the Mediterranean In the Indian Ocean European waters Free shipping for many products! [43] Two weeks later, 15 Swordfish attacked Italian positions on Leros,[44] losing one Swordfish. Copyright 2004-2023 Lava Development, LLC., all rights reserved, Aircraft Carrier Illustrious Photo Gallery, See all 20 photographs of Aircraft Carrier Illustrious, Vickers-Armstrong, Barrow-in-Furness, Britain, 6 Admiralty 3-drum boilers, 3 Parsons geared turbines, 3 shafts, 8x2 QF 4.5in naval guns, 6x8 QF 2 pounder naval guns. She arrived at Greenock on 21 December and permanent repairs were made from 30 December to late February 1942 at Cammell Laird's shipyard in Birkenhead. She was occasionally used to ferry troops and aircraft to and from foreign deployments as well as participating in exercises. The ship was recommissioned in early September. 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. 1. [6], The 753-foot (229.5m) armoured flight deck had a usable length of 620 feet (189.0m), due to prominent "round-downs"[Note 1] at each end designed to reduce the effects of air turbulence caused by the carrier's structure on aircraft taking-off and landing, and a maximum width of 95 feet (29.0m). D.F. She displaced 23,000 long tons (23,369t) at standard load as completed. [83], Formidable's arrival allowed Rawlings to order Illustrious to the advance base in San Pedro Bay, in the Philippines, for a more thorough inspection. SERVING WITH THE ILLUSTRIOUS. We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. Afterwards, she was opened for visits by the public before returning to Portsmouth. [32], Now augmented by reinforcements from the UK, the Mediterranean Fleet detached Illustrious, four cruisers, and four destroyers to a point 170 miles (270km) south-east of Taranto. [51], The ship was hit five more times in this attack, one of which penetrated the un-armoured aft lift and detonated beneath it, destroying it and the surrounding structure. Bad weather degraded the accuracy of the Barracudas and little damage was inflicted aside from a few aircraft destroyed on the ground and a few small craft sunk in the harbour. . During September she participated in Exercise Mariner with three British squadrons of Fireflies and Sea Furies and a Dutch Squadron of Avengers. Illustrious was commissioned into service. War Hero. JUNE 1945, ON BOARD HMS ILLUSTRIOUS. The carrier launched four replacements at 12:35, just when 2436 Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers of the First Group/Dive Bomber Wing 1 (I. Gruppe/Sturzkampfgeschwader (StG) 1) and the Second Group/Dive Bomber Wing 2 (II. Crew: HMS Illustrious has 1,400 compartments and 15 lifts, and has a top speed in excess of 30 knots. [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. The hangar was 456 feet (139.0m) long and had a maximum width of 62 feet (18.9m). The underwater defence system was a layered system of liquid- and air-filled compartments backed by a 1.5-inch (38mm) splinter bulkhead. She was sold on 3 November 1956 and broken up in early 1957. 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. For the planned attack on Port Blair in the Andaman Islands in mid-June her air group was reinforced by the 14 Corsairs of 1837 Squadron; six Barracudas from No. [37] Three additional Fulmars had been flown aboard from Ark Royal a few days earlier, when both carriers were near Malta; that brought its strength[36] up to 15 Fulmars, 24 Swordfish, and two to four Sea Gladiators. [7] By 1945, accumulated wear-and-tear as well as undiagnosed shock damage to Illustrious's machinery caused severe vibrations in her centre propeller shaft at high speeds. On 11 Jan 1941, she was attacked by German dive bombers while escorting a convoy, suffering 8 bomb hits. On arrival south of Malta she took passage with Force A to meet military convoy on passage from Gibraltar to Alexandria. [79], On 16 January 1945 the BPF sailed for its primary base in the Pacific Ocean, Sydney, Australia. British Swordfish torpedo bombers from carrier HMS Illustrious attacked the port of Benghazi, Libya, bombing shipping and laying mines. The two airstrikes had changed the balance of power in the Mediterranean by rendering the Conte di Cavour unavailable for the rest of the war, and badly damaging the Littorio and the Duilio. 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. H.M.S. Illustrious's air group consisted of 32 Corsairs and 21 Avengers by now and she contributed 12 of her Avengers and 16 Corsairs to the first attack, which destroyed most of the oil storage tanks and cut the refinery's output by half for three months. Between the three squadrons they had 20 Fireflies and 8 Sea Furies when they participated in the major NATO exercise Main Brace later in the month. 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. Her Corsairs claimed four enemy aircraft shot down as did one Avenger pilot who claimed victory over a Nakajima Ki-44 "Tojo" fighter. Two days later, one of three Fulmars that intercepted an Axis air raid on the Maltese airfields was shot down with no survivors. The new ship class was named the Invincible-class and would constitute three vessels led by HMS Invincible and followed by HMS Illustrious and HMS Indomitable. Her fighter complement was augmented by 878 and 890 Squadrons, each with 10 Martlet Vs, and 894 Squadron with 10 Seafire IICs. The vessel is currently moored in Portsmouth Harbour after 32 years of active service. Other twin mounts were added so that by May she had a total of eighteen twin and two single mounts. [19] In 1947 she carried five 8-barrel pom-poms, 17 Bofors and 16 Oerlikons. 8183; McCart, p. 27; Sturtivant, p. 417, Brown 1971, pp. The high-angle director atop the island was replaced with an American SM-1 fighter-direction radar, a Type 293M target-indication system was added, and the Type 281M was replaced with a prototype Type 960 early-warning radar. The King and Queen inspected Illustrious and her crew, as did Prime Minister Clement Attlee and his wife. [84], On 31 July Captain W. D. Stephens relieved Lambe. It was around in the late 70's to early 80's. Her ship nickname was Lusty. [78] She was assigned to the 1st Aircraft Carrier Squadron (1st ACS), commanded by Rear Admiral Sir Philip Vian when he arrived at Colombo aboard the carrier Indefatigable. Her complement was sharply reduced by her change in role and she retained her aft 4.5-inch guns. [18] A five-bladed propeller was installed on her centre shaft although the increasing wear on her outer shafts later partially negated the reduction in vibration. [24] She was commissioned on 16 April 1940 and, excluding her armament, she cost 2,295,000 to build. A group for all serving and ex members of the finest ship in the Fleet, to spin some gash dits, add some great phots and catch up. En route, the carriers of the 1st ACS attacked Palembang on 24 January and 29 January (Operation Meridian). [16] After her return to the UK later that year, her Type 79Z radar was replaced by a Type 281 system and a Type 285 gunnery radar was mounted on one of the main fire-control directors. [47] On the morning of 22 December, 13 Swordfish attacked Tripoli harbour, starting fires and hitting warehouses multiple times. The turbines were designed to produce a total of 111,000shp (83,000kW), enough to give a maximum speed of 30 knots (56km/h; 35mph) at deep load. It was partially obscured by clouds and heavy squalls so the attacking aircraft had only moderate success, setting some structures on fire and destroying several aircraft on the ground. It was one of 3 Inviciible -class light carriers. [68] Captain Robert Cunliffe relieved Talbott on 22 August. [60], The conquest of British Malaya and the Dutch East Indies in early 1942 opened the door for Japanese advances into the Indian Ocean. 2627; Sturtivant, p. 327, Brown 1971, p. 257; Brown, J. D., pp. [50] Another pair were attempting to take off when the first 250-or-500-kilogram (550 or 1,100lb) bomb struck just forward of the aft lift, destroying the Fulmar whose engine had failed to start and detonating high in the lift well; the other aircraft took off and engaged the Stukas as they pulled out of their dive. One torpedo bomber was shot down, but the other aircraft returned. One Martlet I was fitted with folding wings. 134, 136, 14243, 145, 147; McCart, p. 32, Brown 1971, p. 261; Hobbs 2011, pp. 16th Jan 1941 HMS Illustrious 22nd January 1941 Italian airfields attacked If you can provide any additional information, please add it here. The most damaging hit was a large bomb that penetrated through the deck armour forward of the aft lift and detonated 10 feet above the hangar deck. Peter Cook CPO (OPS) (EW) Served from 1966 - 1991 Served in HMS Illustrious Keith Sims LEADING SIGNALMAN Served from 1944 - 1958 Served in HMS Illustrious Andrew Lewis AB Served from 1982 - 1988 Served in HMS Illustrious Ronald Mccormick To submit a photo, biographical information or correction please email the webmaster. [18] Two more twin Oerlikon mounts were added, and her boilers were retubed. J.P. Scatchard, DSC, RN), HMS Tenacious (Lt.Cdr. Multiple hits at the aft end of the third flight was forced to ditch during operation! 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