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. The fleet departed Trincomalee on 21 March to rendezvous with the American carrier Saratoga in preparation for combined operations against the Japanese facilities in the Dutch East Indies and the Andaman Islands. 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. 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 Royal Navy's 1936 Naval Programme authorised the construction of two aircraft carriers. 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. [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. Admiral Sir Reginald Henderson, Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy, was determined not to simply modify the previous unarmoured Ark Royal design. Boyd was promoted to rear admiral on 18 February and relieved Lyster as Rear Admiral Aircraft Carriers. As a result, Illustrious was dispatched to the Indian Ocean instead of returning to the Mediterranean. site is two fold. In 1940 HMS Illustrious was sent to Gibraltar and after refueling in Gibraltar, Illustrious and the battleship Valiant were escorted into the Mediterranean by Force H as part of Operation Hats, during which her Fulmars shot down five Italian bombers and her AA guns shot down two more. [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. 8485, 90, Shores, Cull & Malizia 1987b, pp. The flight deck was extended forward, which increased her overall length to 748feet 6inches (228.1m). On 21 June, the ship launched 15 Barracudas and 23 Corsairs against the airfield and harbour of Port Blair. 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. [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. De Trafford, Stretford, on 3 December 1983. British carrier HMS Illustrious and the escort carrier HMS Atheling, with covering forces, completed 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. 3233, Brown 1971, pp. She made her first foreign port visit in many years at Le Havre, France, on 2022 March, where 13,000 people came aboard. and useful information about WW2. 1914, to provide crew for the newly requisitioned battleship Erin. Italian merchant ships Gloria Stella and Maria Eugenia were also sunk. A Hawker Sea Fury crashed while landing on 15 May, killing the pilot and two members of the deck crew. This left only 21 aircraft available for the attack. 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 . In this role she conducted the deck-landing trials for most of the British post-war naval aircraft in the early 1950s. She was transferred to Force H for the Battle of Salerno in mid-1943 and then rejoined the Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean at the beginning of 1944. [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. 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. Second, it is to showcase 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. Her light antiaircraft armament was also augmented during the refit. (Operation Diplomat). In an effort to cure the problem, the propeller was removed, and the shaft was locked in place in February; these radical measures succeeded in reducing, but not eliminating, the vibrations and reduced the ship's speed to about 24 knots (44km/h; 28mph). SERVING WITH THE ILLUSTRIOUS. British Swordfish torpedo bombers from carrier HMS Illustrious attacked the port of Benghazi, Libya, bombing shipping and laying mines. 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. One Corsair was shot down by Japanese flak although the pilot was rescued after ditching. The only way to do this was to completely armour the hangar in which the aircraft would shelter, but putting so much weight high in the ship allowed only a single-storey hangar due to stability concerns. 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. 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 goal of this The noise of the on-coming first airstrike was heard at 22:25 and the anti-aircraft guns defending the port opened fire shortly afterwards, as did those on the ships in the harbour. The four aircraft loaded with bombs set one hangar in the seaplane base on fire and hit the destroyer Libeccio with one bomb that failed to detonate. [57] Captain Lord Louis Mountbatten relieved her acting captain on 12 August, although he did not arrive aboard her until 28 August. On 1 September she hosted No. To submit a photo, biographical information or correction please email the webmaster. 854 Squadron was disembarked while at Sydney, but the carrier kept her two Corsair squadrons until after arriving in the UK on 27 June. [8] On 24 May 1940 Illustrious ran her sea trials and her engines reached 113,700shp (84,800kW). 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! 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. A list of the crew, with their Register Ticket numbers, to be filed for a foreign-going ship on sailing. 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). [7], A year later, in preparation for her service against the Japanese in the Pacific, one starboard octuple "pom-pom" mount, directly abaft the island, was replaced by two 40 mm Bofors AA guns. The fleet's fire discipline was poor when it was attacked by seven Japanese bombers shortly after the strike aircraft began landing. A flight of nine SM.79s was intercepted later that day and the Fulmars claimed to have damaged one of the bombers, although it actually failed to return to base. 2324, Brown 1971, p. 254; McCart, p. 24; Sturtivant, pp. 122123, 126, Brown 1971; Brown, J. D., p. 76; Shores, pp. Germans records show the loss of three Stukas, with another forced to make an emergency landing. Scuba Certification; Private Scuba Lessons; Scuba Refresher for Certified Divers; Try Scuba Diving; Enriched Air Diver (Nitrox) For the next six weeks she carried out an intensive flying regime in preparation for the next operations against the Japanese together with the other carriers of the fleet. 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 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. Since the beginning of the operation, her aircraft had flown 234 offensive and 209 defensive sorties, claiming at least two aircraft shot down. Scuba Certification; Private Scuba Lessons; Scuba Refresher for Certified Divers; Try Scuba Diving; Enriched Air Diver (Nitrox) Once the convoy was out of range of German aircraft, the Illustrious left the convoy and arrived back at Greenock on 8 August. 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 attack was very successful at heavy cost; between the two air operations, her squadrons lost five Corsairs to enemy flak or fighters and one due to a mechanical problem on take-off as well as three Avengers to enemy action. 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. pilot and ground crew aboard HMS Illustrious April 1945. With HMS Invincible laid down during July of 1973, HMS Illustrious followed when ordered during May of 1976. However, her commissioning was delayed until 1941 due to the greater need for escort vessels for service in the Battle of the Atlantic . Five days later, the BPF attacked a different refinery and the ship launched 12 Avengers and 12 Corsairs. Italian destroyer Borea was sunk by torpedoes and destroyer Aquilone was damaged by a mine. [22] She was laid down at their Barrow-in-Furness shipyard two weeks later as yard number 732 and launched on 5 April 1939. [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. 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. The ship was recommissioned in early September. [63] After her stay at Freetown, Illustrious proceeded to Durban; during the voyage her staff also fitted ASV radar to the replacement Swordfish. "Round downs" were places at the ends of the flight deck that were faired into the hull; they were generally not usable by aircraft or equipment because they were not level. This is a shout out to any members of the Phot Branch who were on board HMS Illustrious acting as a film crew when it sailed from the UK until departing the ship in Hong Kong, who were employed to make a documentary of life on board during the deployment. [76], Her sister ships, the Indomitable and the Victorious arrived at the end of June although only the latter's pilots were combat-ready. 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. Four of these then flew ashore to conduct operations until they rejoined Illustrious on 14 September at Malta. She conducted her last landings on 3 December and arrived at Devonport four days later to begin decommissioning. Find An Object; IWM Collections; Stories & Videos . Your IP address will be tracked even if you remain anonymous. 25051; Jackson, p. 441; McCart, p. 23, Brown 1971, pp. Corsairs of the HMS Illustrious ranged before taking off to strafe Japanese airfields in Sumatra. 150, 159; Hobbs 2013, p. 91; McCart, pp. 250, 254; McCart, p. 23; Rohwer, p. 260, Brown 1971, p. 254; Brown, J. D., 6667; McCart, pp. They were low on ammunition and out of position, as they chased the Italian aircraft over 50 miles (80km) from Illustrious. She sailed four days later, having embarked twenty-one Swordfish, nine Martlet IIs of 881 Squadron and six Martlet Is of 882 Squadron,[61] and two Fulmar fighters[62] prior to escorting a troop convoy carrying some of the men allocated for the assault. 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. [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. 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. 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. Clearing the mines and the ships sunk by them was a slow process and Illustrious did not reach Suez Bay until 20 March. [7], The ship had three Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one shaft, using steam supplied by six Admiralty 3-drum boilers. In Sep 1943, her aircraft covered Allied troops in the Sicily invasion. The King and Queen inspected Illustrious and her crew, as did Prime Minister Clement Attlee and his wife. . 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. The hangar was 456 feet (139.0m) long and had a maximum width of 62 feet (18.9m). 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