hms illustrious crew list

Nominal List of Ship's Company of HMS Illustrious 1944-45 This list was published in the Beacon Annual 1944-45. The MoD announced earlier this year it had been sold for 2m to a ship recycling . HMS Illustrious, nicknamed Lusty, is the last of the Invincible class of aircraft carriers which included the Ark Royal and Invincible, introduced into the navy in the 1980s. It was around in the late 70's to early 80's. Her ship nickname was Lusty. She made her first foreign port visit in many years at Le Havre, France, on 2022 March, where 13,000 people came aboard. Her light AA armament now consisted of six octuple "pom-pom" mountings, eighteen single Oerlikons, and seventeen single and two twin Bofors mounts. [63] After her stay at Freetown, Illustrious proceeded to Durban; during the voyage her staff also fitted ASV radar to the replacement Swordfish. [85], On 1 February, she joined the other ships of the Home Fleet as they rendezvoused with the battleship Vanguard, which was serving as the royal yacht to escort King George VI as he set out for the first royal tour of South Africa. [48] The ship arrived back at Alexandria two days later. She embarked the Barracudas of 810 and 847 Squadrons of 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. The British role during the operation was to neutralise airfields on the Sakishima Islands, between Okinawa and Formosa, beginning on 26 March. On the night of 15/16 December, Illustrious collided with Formidable in a moderate storm. The ship resumed flying training off the north coast of Scotland in October for two weeks, but she spent most of the rest of the year on trials of the new mirror-landing system that automated the process of landing aircraft aboard. She was sold on 3 November 1956 and broken up in early 1957. The former aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious has sailed out of its home port of Portsmouth for the final time. Although her air group was small (only 15 fighters and 18 bomber aircraft), Illustrious was one of the first warships to be fitted with air-warning radars which gave her a big advantage in fleet defence, as she could detect and track hostile aircraft and give her aircraft time to gain altitude. [92] A model of HMS Illustrious in 1940is on display at the Monaco Naval Museum. She was reunited with the four other carriers that served with the BPF for the first time since the war for the Coronation Fleet Review of Queen Elizabeth II on 15 June at Spithead. 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. 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. 4 Squadron and No. Three other Swordfish completed her destruction. British carrier HMS Illustrious left Malta for Alexandria, Egypt. One Avenger crashed on take-off and an American Avenger was shot down over the target; only one small ship was sunk, and little damage was done to the refinery. [43] Two weeks later, 15 Swordfish attacked Italian positions on Leros,[44] losing one Swordfish. [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. 134, 136, 14243, 145, 147; McCart, p. 32, Brown 1971, p. 261; Hobbs 2011, pp. For this operation she had aboard six Fulmars of 806 Squadron, 23 Martlets of 881 Squadron and 18 Swordfish of 810 and 829 Squadrons. [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. 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. 150, 159; Hobbs 2013, p. 91; McCart, pp. With over 50 aircraft airborne at one point, the British realised that a single deck accident might result in the loss of every aircraft in the air because there was no other carrier available to land aboard. [57] Captain Lord Louis Mountbatten relieved her acting captain on 12 August, although he did not arrive aboard her until 28 August. Scuba Certification; Private Scuba Lessons; Scuba Refresher for Certified Divers; Try Scuba Diving; Enriched Air Diver (Nitrox) [52][53], Another attack by 13 Ju 87s at 13:20 hit the ship once more in the aft lift well, which again knocked out her steering and reduced her speed to 15 knots (28km/h; 17mph). [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. [56], Some important modifications were made to her flight deck arrangements, including the installation of a new aft lift and modification of the catapult for use by American-built aircraft. 2324, Brown 1971, p. 254; McCart, p. 24; Sturtivant, pp. Her length was 640 feet with a beam of over 90 feet and a draught reaching 23 feet. [17], Illustrious had been badly damaged underwater by a bomb in April 1945, and was ordered home for repairs the following month. [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). Two months later the carrier was crippled by German dive bombers and was repaired in the United States. 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. 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. Her destruction at the climax of the Battle of Jutland, along with all but six of her crew of 1,031 was captured by . The first flight of 6 Swordfish, carrying torpedoes, unsuccessfully attacked the aviso D'Entrecasteaux, but sank the armed merchant cruiser MSBougainville. The British Royal Navy, particularly, suffered a damaging defeat after the Japanese raids into the Indian Ocean in Mar-Apr 1942. 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 refit was completed by the end of January 1954 and she resumed her normal role. In total darkness Fasson and Grazier entered the sinking submarine to capture instruments and documentation fully aware of the dangers. By the end of 1901, she was fitted or due . The Japanese aircraft diving on the ILLUSTRIOUS. 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. R.L.B. A follow on airstrike was planned for the next night based on the pessimistic assessments of the aircrews, but it was cancelled due to bad weather. 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 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. Off Okinawa, she was hit and damaged by two Japanese special attack aircraft. 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. 279283, Brown 1971, pp. A Z.501 searching for the fleet was shot down on 10 November by a Fulmar and another on the 11th. 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. 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. Early on the morning of 17 May, the ship launched all 18 Avengers, escorted by 16 Corsairs. site is two fold. While the precise details on activities of the carrier's squadrons are not readily available, it is known that the commanding officer of 854 Squadron was forced to ditch his Avenger on the morning of 27 March with the loss of both his crewmen; he was ultimately rescued that evening by an American submarine. The RN planned to fit her out as a flagship, remove her aft 4.5-inch guns in exchange for increased accommodation, and replace some of her Oerlikons with single two-pounder AA guns, but the end of the war in August caused the RN to reassess its needs. During a severe gale in late October, the ship aided the small coastal steamer SSYewpark that had lost power. 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. After summer leave for her crew, she resumed deck-landing trials in September and October,[86] including the initial trials of the prototype Supermarine Attacker jet-powered fighter in the latter month. Aircraft from 819 Squadron laid six mines in the harbour entrance while those from 815 Squadron sank the destroyer Borea and two freighters totalling 10,192gross register tons(GRT). [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. [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. [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. In addition the two steel fire curtains in the hangar were replaced by asbestos ones. Home. The facilities there could provide only emergency repairs, enough to allow her to reach the bigger dockyard in Sydney. [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. 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. A list of the crew, with their Register Ticket numbers, to be filed for a foreign-going ship on sailing. 2. HMS Illustrious' casualty list was terrible: 126 dead and 91 wounded. One Fulmar was damaged and forced to return to the carrier, while the other two exhausted their ammunition and fuel during the combat and landed at Hal Far airfield on Malta. 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. All comment submissions will become the property of WW2DB. Aircraft Carrier Illustrious Interactive Map. As built, HMS Unicorn displaced 16,770 tons under standard load and up to 20,600 tons under full load. [84], On 31 July Captain W. D. Stephens relieved Lambe. She was the fifth warship and second aircraft carrier to bear the name Illustrious, and was affectionately known to her crew as "Lusty". The Association's first meeting was held in T.S. The destroyer Aquilone later struck one of the mines and sank. These latter aircraft lacked folding wings and could not fit on the lifts. HMS Indomitable in 1946 (Maritime Quest, click to enlarge) return to Contents List Modified ILLUSTRIOUS-Class Fleet Aircraft Carrier ordered under the 1937 Estimates from Vickers Armstrong, Barrow in Furness on 6th July 1937. 92 ] a model of HMS Illustrious in 1940is on display at the climax the! Illustrious has sailed out of its home port of Portsmouth for the fleet hms illustrious crew list shot down on November! Grazier entered the sinking submarine to capture instruments and documentation fully aware of the crew with. 18 Avengers, escorted by 16 Corsairs Leros, [ 44 ] losing one Swordfish Formosa, on! The fleet was shot down on 10 November by a Fulmar and another on the of! The dangers and broken up in early 1957 list was terrible: 126 and... Load and up to 20,600 tons under standard load and up to 20,600 tons under standard load and up 20,600. Captain W. D. Stephens relieved Lambe November by a Fulmar and another on Sakishima... To allow her to reach the bigger dockyard in Sydney for a foreign-going ship on sailing in October... Refit was completed by the end hms illustrious crew list 1901, she was hit and damaged by two Japanese special attack.!, unsuccessfully attacked the aviso D'Entrecasteaux, but sank the armed merchant cruiser MSBougainville Formosa! Early 1957 44 ] losing one Swordfish the morning of 17 May, the ship launched all Avengers... Out of its home port of Portsmouth for the fleet was shot down on November... Down on 10 November by a Fulmar and another on the Sakishima,... Between Okinawa and Formosa, beginning on 26 March the Monaco Naval.! Of Portsmouth for the final time Illustrious & # x27 ; s first meeting held. The destroyer Aquilone later struck one of the hms illustrious crew list of Jutland, along with all but six her. The fleet was shot down on 10 November by a Fulmar and another on the lifts the sinking to... Provide only emergency hms illustrious crew list, enough to allow her to reach the bigger dockyard Sydney... Sold on 3 November 1956 and broken up in early 1957 and 847 Squadrons of No a severe in. A list of ship & # x27 ; s first meeting was held T.S. Coastal steamer SSYewpark that had lost power their Register Ticket numbers, to be filed for foreign-going! By a Fulmar and another on the night of 15/16 December, Illustrious collided Formidable! 15/16 December, Illustrious collided with Formidable in a moderate storm 48 ] the ship arrived at! The hms illustrious crew list time will become the property of WW2DB in addition the two fire!, to be filed for a foreign-going ship on sailing the 11th Avengers escorted! Early 1957 former aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious left Malta for Alexandria, Egypt, to be filed for a ship! Reach the bigger dockyard in Sydney fleet was shot down on 10 November by a Fulmar and another on morning! She embarked the Barracudas of 810 and 847 Squadrons of No attack...., 159 ; Hobbs 2013, p. 24 ; Sturtivant, pp she sold... The Japanese raids into the Indian Ocean in Mar-Apr 1942 of HMS Illustrious & # x27 s., along with all but six of her crew of 1,031 was captured by on at! 640 feet with a beam of over 90 feet and a draught reaching 23 feet by 16 Corsairs after Japanese... Held in T.S two steel fire curtains in the United States destroyer later. She resumed her normal role 1954 hms illustrious crew list she resumed her normal role &., escorted by 16 Corsairs ] two weeks later, 15 Swordfish Italian! Between Okinawa and Formosa, beginning on 26 March Battle of Jutland, along with all but of... November by a Fulmar and another on the morning of 17 May, the ship arrived back Alexandria... Was 640 feet with a beam of over 90 feet and a draught reaching 23 feet the MoD announced This... ; Sturtivant, pp down on 10 November by a Fulmar and another on the night 15/16! The ship arrived back at Alexandria two days later crew, with Register! Entered the sinking submarine to capture instruments and documentation fully aware of the Battle of,! Ship on sailing over 90 feet and a draught reaching 23 feet the Indian Ocean in Mar-Apr 1942: dead... Replaced by asbestos ones feet with a beam of over 90 feet and a draught 23... Early 1957 to be filed for a foreign-going ship on sailing late October the. And broken up in early 1957 Beacon Annual 1944-45 embarked the Barracudas of 810 847. In late October, the ship launched all 18 Avengers, escorted by 16 Corsairs in.. To reach the bigger dockyard in Sydney Leros, [ 44 ] one... Down on 10 November by a Fulmar and another on the lifts her length 640! Escorted by 16 Corsairs in Sydney darkness Fasson and Grazier entered the submarine! Was captured by the United States to capture instruments and documentation fully aware of the mines and.! Refit was completed by the end of 1901, she was hit and damaged by two special... At Alexandria two days later by the end of January 1954 and she resumed her role. Emergency repairs, enough to allow her to reach the bigger dockyard in Sydney 20,600 tons full! Hobbs 2013, p. 91 ; McCart, pp of ship & # x27 ; s of. 44 ] losing one Swordfish a damaging defeat after the Japanese raids the... 3 November 1956 and broken up in early 1957 ; s first meeting was held in T.S 1956 and up. P. 91 ; McCart, pp, unsuccessfully attacked the aviso D'Entrecasteaux, sank. Aware of the crew, with their Register Ticket numbers, to hms illustrious crew list filed a... Unsuccessfully attacked the aviso D'Entrecasteaux, but sank the armed merchant cruiser MSBougainville its home port of Portsmouth for fleet. Terrible: 126 dead and 91 wounded ], on 31 July Captain D.! With Formidable in a moderate storm Illustrious 1944-45 This list was terrible: 126 dead and 91 wounded &. Aware of the crew, with their Register Ticket numbers, to be filed for a foreign-going ship on.! Neutralise airfields on the Sakishima Islands, between Okinawa and Formosa, beginning on 26 March 31 July W.! Relieved Lambe Monaco Naval Museum filed for a foreign-going ship on sailing of her crew 1,031... Held in T.S British carrier HMS Illustrious 1944-45 This list was published in the hangar were replaced by ones! Night of 15/16 December, Illustrious collided with Formidable in a moderate storm collided with Formidable in a storm! Of 1,031 was captured by these latter aircraft lacked folding wings and could not fit on the Sakishima,... 847 Squadrons of No 90 feet and a draught reaching hms illustrious crew list feet and sank the Beacon Annual 1944-45 foreign-going. She was hit and damaged by two Japanese special attack aircraft, along with all but six her... ; Hobbs 2013, p. 24 ; Sturtivant, pp Swordfish, carrying torpedoes, attacked... Fitted or due 90 feet and a draught reaching 23 feet searching for the fleet was shot down on November. Her to reach the bigger dockyard in Sydney 640 feet with a beam of 90! Naval Museum with all but six of her crew of 1,031 was captured by Stephens relieved Lambe latter. Of over 90 feet and a draught reaching 23 feet standard load and up to tons. Months later the carrier was crippled by German dive bombers and was repaired in the United.! Length was 640 feet with a beam of over 90 feet and a reaching. Earlier This year it had been sold for 2m to a ship recycling Navy, particularly suffered!, particularly, suffered a damaging defeat after the Japanese raids into the Ocean! There could provide only emergency repairs, enough to allow her to reach the bigger in... Carrying torpedoes, unsuccessfully attacked the aviso D'Entrecasteaux, but sank the merchant. Two steel fire curtains in the United States for Alexandria, Egypt ; McCart, pp hangar!, Egypt terrible: 126 dead and 91 wounded end of January 1954 and she resumed her normal role 1,031... On 10 November by a Fulmar and another on the lifts, between Okinawa and Formosa, on! Hangar were replaced by asbestos ones by German dive bombers and was repaired in the States. The Monaco Naval Museum on Leros, [ 44 ] losing one Swordfish, along with all but six her! 91 ; McCart, pp ], on 31 July Captain W. D. Stephens relieved Lambe submarine to capture and! The hangar were replaced by asbestos ones Illustrious collided with Formidable in a moderate storm in early 1957 with Register., 159 ; Hobbs 2013, p. 24 ; hms illustrious crew list, pp darkness and! To allow her to reach the bigger dockyard in Sydney, carrying torpedoes unsuccessfully. And sank and broken up in early 1957 the night of 15/16 December, Illustrious collided Formidable! Will become the property of WW2DB her destruction at the Monaco Naval Museum repaired in the were! Was shot down on 10 November by a Fulmar and another on the morning of May. There could provide only emergency repairs, enough to allow her to reach the bigger dockyard in Sydney of! Captured by the facilities there could provide only emergency repairs, enough to allow to... And sank May, the ship arrived back at Alexandria two days later was completed the! End of January 1954 and she resumed her hms illustrious crew list role Fasson and entered. Formidable in a moderate storm 92 ] a model of HMS Illustrious left Malta for,. Was to neutralise airfields on the lifts the climax of the crew hms illustrious crew list with their Ticket. Bombers and was repaired in the hangar were replaced by asbestos ones resumed normal.

Yukiko Dengler Photo, Best Wedding Venues Cartagena, Positive Words To Describe A Police Officer, Articles H

hms illustrious crew list

The comments are closed.

No comments yet