One patrolling Swordfish sank the submarine Le Hros and another spotted for ships bombarding French defences. Many do not survive at all whilst significant proportions of those that do survive are held . 4 Squadron, RNNAS and 824 Squadron landed aboard for more deck-landing training. Google her - there is an enormous amount, including an ex-crew association. During 12 days of training in September, she completed 950 daytime and nighttime arrested landings and 210 helicopter landings. She was the fifth warship and second aircraft carrier to bear the name Illustrious, and was affectionately known to her crew as "Lusty". Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1/72 BELL AH-1T SEA COBRA built kit at the best online prices at eBay! The carrier and her escorts arrived back at Trincomalee on 23 June where 847 Squadron was merged into 810 Squadron a week later. For inquiries about military records for members of the World War II armed forces, please see our FAQ. The World War II Database is founded and managed by HMS Illustrious 'suicide Bombed'. Under sustained air attack 60 miles west of Malta by German Ju87 dive bombers. Class and type: Nimitz-class aircraft carrier Displacement: 104,600 long tons Length: Overall: 1,092 feet (332.8 m) Waterline: 1,040 feet (317.0 m) Propulsion: 2 Westinghouse A4W nuclear reactors 4 steam turbines driving 4 shafts 260,000 shp (194 MW) Speed: 30+ knots (56+ km/h; 35+ mph) Range: Unlimited distance; 20-25 years The ship completed 1,051 deck landings and steamed 4,037 nautical miles (7,477km; 4,646mi) by April. Illustrious began her final maintenance period at Devonport Royal Dockyard on 10 December. 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. site is two fold. [26] The carrier conducted preliminary flying trials in the Firth of Clyde with six Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers that had been craned aboard earlier. One Fulmar was lightly damaged during the battle. Her first assignment brought her to the Mediterranean Sea where her main mission was to launch aircraft which covered Malta convoys. Later in the month she hosted the Sea Furies of 802 and the Fireflies of 814 Squadrons for Exercise Winged Fleet. She conducted deck-landing trials for prototypes of the Blackburn Firebrand and Fairey Firefly fighters, as well as the Fairey Barracuda dive/torpedo bomber from 8 to 10 February. [8] On 24 May 1940 Illustrious ran her sea trials and her engines reached 113,700shp (84,800kW). [84], On 31 July Captain W. D. Stephens relieved Lambe. The ship was recommissioned in early September. 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. On 18 July she rendezvoused with the Home Fleet to participate in manoeuvres before George VI reviewed the fleet on 2223 July. While running trials in 1948, after another refit, she reached a maximum speed of 29 knots (54km/h; 33mph) from 110,680shp (82,530kW). [27] Her squadrons flew back aboard, and she sailed for the Mediterranean on 22 August with 15 Fulmars and 18 Swordfish aboard. The next morning, Martlets from 881 Squadron intercepted three Potez 63.11 reconnaissance bombers, shooting down two and forcing the other to retreat, while Swordfish dropped dummy parachutists as a diversion. She was assigned to Force H for the operation which was tasked to protect the amphibious force from attack by the Italian Fleet and provide air cover for the carriers supporting the assault force. The facilities there could provide only emergency repairs, enough to allow her to reach the bigger dockyard in Sydney. As a consequence, her flight-deck armour had to be ordered from Vtkovice Mining and Iron Corporation in Czechoslovakia. The necessity to attack from the south, across the full width of Java, meant that the target was outside the Barracuda's range and 810 and 847 Squadrons were replaced by the 18 Grumman Avengers of 832 and 845 Squadrons for the mission. 104105, 108110, Brown 1971, p. 246; Brown, J. D., p. 48; Friedman, p. 147; Hobbs 2013, p. 90; McCart, pp. She was the fifth warship and second aircraft carrier to bear the name Illustrious, and was affectionately known to her crew as "Lusty". In 32 years . [63] After her stay at Freetown, Illustrious proceeded to Durban; during the voyage her staff also fitted ASV radar to the replacement Swordfish. News stories in brief from around the World. [45] On the night of 16/17 December, 11 Swordfish bombed Rhodes and the island of Stampalia with little effect. The Illustrious-class carriers were of a new school of thinking, providing battlecruiser class armor to purpose-built carriers. Before the Illustrious steamed for Malta she transferred six Seafires to the Unicorn to replace some of the latter's aircraft wrecked in deck-landing accidents. HMS Illustrious was launched on 5th April 1939, where she was christened by Lady Henderson, wife of the recently retired Admiral Sir Reginald Henderson, Third Sea Lord of the Royal Navy. Lacking that, there was nothing to prevent land-based aircraft from attacking them, especially in confined waters like the North Sea and Mediterranean. [89] Illustrious resumed her duties in early 1949 and conducted trials and training for Avengers, Fireflies, Gloster Meteors, de Havilland Sea Hornets, Vampires and Seafires. 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. [49], On 7 January 1941, Illustrious set sail to provide air cover for convoys to Piraeus, Greece and Malta as part of Operation Excess. Her aircraft attacked several targets in the Japanese-occupied Dutch East Indies over the following year before Illustrious was transferred to the newly formed British Pacific Fleet (BPF). About Us; Staff; Camps; Scuba. Illustrious was not struck during these attacks but was near-missed several times and the resulting shock waves from their detonations dislodged enough hull plating to cause an immediate 5-degree list, cracked the cast-iron foundations of her port turbine, and damaged other machinery. In total darkness Fasson and Grazier entered the sinking submarine to capture instruments and documentation fully aware of the dangers. [6] By 1944, she was severely overcrowded with a total crew of 1,997. [14] This increased her aircraft complement to 47 aircraft by use of a permanent deck park of 6 aircraft. 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. She relieved Triumph as the trials carrier in August and conducted trials on Firefly FR.4s, Firebrand TF.4s, de Havilland Sea Mosquitoes and de Havilland Sea Vampires over the next several months. Task Force 57 arrived in San Pedro Bay on 23 April for a more thorough replenishment period and Illustrious transferred aircraft, spares, stores, and newly arrived pilots to the other carriers before sailing for Sydney on 3 May. They had to be replaced by men from the UK so Illustrious ferried the replacements to Malta, sailing on 21 November and returning on 11 December to Portsmouth. [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. Thank you. [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. ww2dbaseThe repair work completed in May 1942. Three other Swordfish completed her destruction. 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. [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. 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. [25], While Illustrious was being moved in preparation for her acceptance trials on 24 April, the tugboat Poolgarth capsized with the loss of three crewmen. In September, it decided that the Illustrious would become the trials and training carrier for the Home Fleet and her repairs were changed into a lengthy refit that lasted until June 1946. 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. Crew: HMS Illustrious has 1,400 compartments and 15 lifts, and has a top speed in excess of 30 knots. [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. Courtesy Imperial War Museums. After returning home in early 1943, the ship was given a lengthy refit and briefly assigned to the Home Fleet. She was sold for scrap on 3 Nov 1954 and was broken up in 1956 as Faslane. MaritimeQuest - Nominal List of Ship's Company of HMS Illustrious Website with searchable ship database about warships, passenger liners, merchant ships, photo galleries, technical details, stories, news and much more. The HMS Illustrious was an aircraft carrier. HMS Illustrious, which served in the Falklands War, Bosnia and the Gulf, has been put up for sale for scrap by the Ministry of Defence. Home. Home. On 22 November she was assigned to the newly formed British Pacific Fleet (BPF), commanded by Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser. She sailed for Alexandria, Egypt for temporary repairs, and then sailed for the Norfolk Navy Yard in Virginia, United States for permanent repairs. Repairs were made in Freetown, Sierra Leone, where her destroyed aircraft were replaced and augmented by twelve additional Martlet II fighters from HMS Archer, while two Martlet I aircraft were, in turn, transferred to Archer, bringing Illustrious's total aircraft complement to 47. [63] Before dawn on 5 May, she launched 18 Swordfish together with 8 Martlets. Her Corsairs claimed four enemy aircraft shot down as did one Avenger pilot who claimed victory over a Nakajima Ki-44 "Tojo" fighter. Italian destroyer Borea was sunk by torpedoes and destroyer Aquilone was damaged by a mine. Nine Swordfish and five Fulmars were destroyed during the attack. Courageux was a heavy 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, launched in 1753. JUNE 1945, ON BOARD HMS ILLUSTRIOUS. Admiral Sir Reginald Henderson, Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy, was determined not to simply modify the previous unarmoured Ark Royal design. For this operation, her fighters were reinforced by a detachment of three Fulmars from 805 Squadron. HMS Kelly was Mountbatten's ship. [52][53], While her steering was being repaired in Malta, the Illustrious was bombed again on 16 January by 17 Junkers Ju 88 medium bombers and 44 Stukas. 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. British carrier HMS Illustrious and the escort carrier HMS Atheling, with covering forces, began a series of diversionary raids on Sabang, Sumatra, Dutch East Indies, with the goal of tying down Japanese forces during the American Operation Forager attack on the Mariana Islands. Sold for scrap On 21 June, the ship launched 15 Barracudas and 23 Corsairs against the airfield and harbour of Port Blair. British Swordfish torpedo bombers from carrier HMS Illustrious attacked the port of Benghazi, Libya, bombing shipping and laying mines. [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. 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. Italian merchant ships Gloria Stella and Maria Eugenia were also sunk. The hangar deck itself was 2.5 inches (64mm) thick and extended the full width of the ship to meet the top of the 4.5-inch waterline armour belt. One Martlet I was fitted with folding wings. 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. 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 [46] Four days later Illustrious's aircraft attacked two convoys near the Kerkennah Islands and sank two merchant ships totalling 7,437GRT. As a result, Illustrious was dispatched to the Indian Ocean instead of returning to the Mediterranean. The bombardment was very effective, sinking two small freighters, and severely damaging the oil storage and port facilities. 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. 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. [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. The first operation carried out by both carriers was an airstrike on the small naval base at Sabang at the northern tip of Sumatra (Operation Cockpit). Illustrious was commissioned into service. [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. In addition to the other losses enumerated, 882 Squadron's Fulmar was shot down while providing ground support. 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. 25758; Brown, J. D., pp. Below are just some of our members who have served at HMS Illustrious. She arrived on 16 April and the examination by divers revealed that some of her outer plating was split and that some transverse frames were cracked. . [57] Captain Lord Louis Mountbatten relieved her acting captain on 12 August, although he did not arrive aboard her until 28 August. They were low on ammunition and out of position, as they chased the Italian aircraft over 50 miles (80km) from Illustrious. 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. She was occasionally used to ferry troops and aircraft to and from foreign deployments as well as participating in exercises. Her fighter complement was augmented by 878 and 890 Squadrons, each with 10 Martlet Vs, and 894 Squadron with 10 Seafire IICs. Her light AA armament now consisted of six octuple "pom-pom" mountings, eighteen single Oerlikons, and seventeen single and two twin Bofors mounts. Occasionally, we would get a direct hit with our small practice bombs, and it must have been an earthshattering experience for the boat crew because it was an unwritten law that any pilot getting a direct hit on the boat would deliver a previous page page_29 next page > previous page page_30 next page > Page 30 case of cold beer to the crew. A hangar fire broke out on 2 April that destroyed 11 aircraft and killed one crewman, but failed to cause any serious damage to the ship. The former aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious has sailed out of its home port of Portsmouth for the final time. [92] A model of HMS Illustrious in 1940is on display at the Monaco Naval Museum. [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. During the return voyage to Alexandria, the Italian submarineCorallo made an unsuccessful attack on the British ships. [1] On 10 September the carrier covered the amphibious landing that opened Operation Streamline Jane, the occupation of the remainder of Madagascar, and the landing at Tamatave eight days later, but no significant resistance was encountered and her aircraft were not needed. showed three battleships with their decks awash and surrounded by pools of oil. [14] The additional crewmen, maintenance personnel and facilities needed to support these aircraft, weapons and sensors increased her complement to 1,326. The explosion started a severe fire, destroyed the rear fire sprinkler system, bent the forward lift like a hoop and shredded the fire curtains into lethal splinters. One torpedo bomber was shot down, but the other aircraft returned. [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. Nov 25, 2008. A month later the ship began a four-month refit and hosted the first carrier landing of the de Havilland Sea Venom on 9 July 1951. R.L.B. [81] By this time the vibration problems with her centre propeller shaft, which had never been properly repaired after she was bombed at Malta, were so bad that the propeller was removed and the shaft locked in place, reducing her maximum speed to 24 knots. [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. The carrier's air group consisted of 21 Barracudas and 28 Corsairs for the operation; Illustrious launched 17 of the former escorted by 13 of the latter on the morning of 19 April. About Us; Staff; Camps; Scuba. [69], After a farewell visit from the Eastern Fleet commander, Admiral Sir James Somerville on 12 January 1943, Illustrious sailed for home the next day. 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 . Two years later, she made 29.2 knots from 111,450shp (83,110kW). Her air group now consisted of 36 Corsairs, 16 Avengers and two Supermarine Walrus flying boats for rescue work. As the world's first battle cruiser, HMS Invincible was by any measure a revolutionary and important warship. 2930, Hobbs 2011, pp. These ships proceeded through the Minches and were joined around 1100/31 by the aircraft carriers HMS Illustrious (Capt. [13], While under repair in 1941, Illustrious's rear "round-down" was flattened to increase the usable length of the flight deck to 670 feet (204.2m). She conducted her last landings on 3 December and arrived at Devonport four days later to begin decommissioning. A Hawker Sea Fury crashed while landing on 15 May, killing the pilot and two members of the deck crew. The war ended while she was in the dockyard and the Admiralty decided to modify her for use as the Home Fleet's trials and training carrier. The MoD announced earlier this year it had been sold for 2m to a ship recycling . Gloria Stella and Maria Eugenia were also sunk severely damaging the oil storage and port facilities as one! 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