JUNE 1945, ON BOARD HMS ILLUSTRIOUS. There was no aerial opposition and the fighters claimed to have destroyed 24 aircraft on the ground. 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. Her air group was reinforced at this time by four more Martlets each for 878 and 890 Squadrons. 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. [63] After her stay at Freetown, Illustrious proceeded to Durban; during the voyage her staff also fitted ASV radar to the replacement Swordfish. 150, 159; Hobbs 2013, p. 91; McCart, pp. WW2DB site administrators reserve the right to moderate, censor, and/or remove any comment. Illustrious was decommissioned from service. In Nov 1940, she launched 21 torpedo bombers against the Italian fleet at Taranto, and achieved spectacular success after sinking one battleship and damaging two others. 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. 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. 254, 257; Brown, J. D., p. 80; McCart, pp. Brown 1977, p. 44; Friedman, p. 134; Hobbs 2013, pp. 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. 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 refit was completed by the end of January 1954 and she resumed her normal role. Three other Swordfish completed her destruction. With HMS Invincible laid down during July of 1973, HMS Illustrious followed when ordered during May of 1976. This event was also the first landing of any turboprop aircraft aboard an aircraft carrier. [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. Twin Oerlikon mounts replaced most of the single mounts. Her light antiaircraft armament was also augmented during the refit. 17, 19; Shores, Cull & Malizia 1987b, pp. This was complete by 23 July, when she arrived in the Clyde and flew off her aircraft. On 26 February she began a refit at Birkenhead that lasted until 7 June during which her flight deck was extended, new radars were installed, her light anti-aircraft armament was augmented, and two new arrestor wires were fitted aft of the rear lift which increased her effective landing area. [38] Six aircraft in each airstrike were armed with torpedoes and the remainder with bombs or flares or both to supplement the three-quarter moon. With both Illustrious and Eagle under his command, Admiral Cunningham could now take the offensive. Please refrain from using strong language. The American bombers attacked the shipping in the harbour while the British aircraft attacked the shore installations. 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. She was sold for scrap on 3 Nov 1954 and was broken up in 1956 as Faslane. These latter aircraft lacked folding wings and could not fit on the lifts. 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. The destroyer Fulmine,[39] or Conte di Cavour,[40] shot down the aircraft that put a torpedo into the latter ship, but the remaining aircraft returned to Illustrious. 25051; Jackson, p. 441; McCart, p. 23, Brown 1971, pp. Five days later, the BPF attacked a different refinery and the ship launched 12 Avengers and 12 Corsairs. THE AIRPLANE SCRAPED . The hangar was designed to accommodate 36 aircraft, for which 50,650 imperial gallons (230,300l; 60,830USgal) of aviation spirit was provided. The Italians made no effort to attack the Allied forces, and the most noteworthy thing that any of her aircraft did was when one of 890 Squadron's Martlets escorted a surrendering Italian aircraft to Sicily. [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. [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). 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. 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. On 10 June Hughes-Hallet was relieved by Captain Eric Clifford. ww2dbaseAfter the war, Illustrious' role was reduced to a training and trials ship due to the heavy damage suffered during WW2. She was christened by Lady Henderson, wife of the recently retired Third Sea Lord. She returned to Portsmouth on 7 December and she did not leave harbour until 30 January 1952 when she resumed her customary role as a training ship. Neither ship was seriously damaged, but Illustrious had to reduce speed to shore up sprung bulkheads in the bow and conduct temporary repairs to the forward flight deck. 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. Thank you. ), struck on rocks under Apes' Hill, coast of Barbary. 3233, Brown 1971, pp. 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. [14] The additional crewmen, maintenance personnel and facilities needed to support these aircraft, weapons and sensors increased her complement to 1,326. [41], One torpedo-carrying aircraft of the second wave was forced to return when its long-range external fuel tank fell off, but the others hit the Littorio once more and the Duilio was hit once when they attacked beginning at 23:55. HMS Belfast; What's on; Objects & History. This aircraft was one of the ancestors of the Supermarine Swift fighter. It has been sold for scrap for 2m. She displaced 23,000 long tons (23,369t) at standard load as completed. . Illustrious was commissioned into service. Led by HMS Illustrious (aka "Lusty"), elements of the UK's Response Force Task Group (RFTG), left Portsmouth on Oct. 1, to take part to part to a series of exercises around the UK as well . 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. The BPF joined the American Fifth Fleet there two days later, under the designation Task Force 57 (TF 57), to participate in the preliminary operations for the invasion of Okinawa (Operation Iceberg). The MoD announced earlier this year it had been sold for 2m to a ship recycling . On 21 June, the ship launched 15 Barracudas and 23 Corsairs against the airfield and harbour of Port Blair. [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. One bomb penetrated the outer edge of the forward port flight deck and detonated about 10 feet (3.0m) above the water, riddling the adjacent hull structure with holes which caused flooding in some compartments and starting a fire. [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). "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. 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. Off Okinawa, she was hit and damaged by two Japanese special attack aircraft. She sailed for Alexandria, Egypt for temporary repairs, and then sailed for the Norfolk Navy Yard in Virginia, United States for permanent repairs. The HMS Illustrious was an aircraft carrier. [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. [93] Another model of Illustrious in her late-war appearance is at the Fleet Air Arm Museum in RNAS Yeovilton. 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. We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. All comment submissions will become the property of WW2DB. The first wave of a dozen aircraft, all that the ship could launch at one time, flew off by 20:40 and the second wave of nine by 21:34. After post-war modifications to convert her into a trials carrier, her complement was reduced to 1,090 officers and enlisted men. 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. 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 She began working up off Plymouth, but the German conquest of France made this too risky, and Illustrious sailed for Bermuda later in the month to continue working up. 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. [7], The ship had three Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one shaft, using steam supplied by six Admiralty 3-drum boilers. 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. [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. . All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB. The vessel is currently moored in Portsmouth Harbour after 32 years of active service. She exchanged them for Firebrands for the return voyage. Sharon Howard SA Served from 1991 - 1998 Served in HMS Illustrious John Scott CHIEF PETTY OFFICER Served from 1975 - 2000 Served in HMS Illustrious Stephen Knott MEM Served from 1998 - 2002 Served in HMS Illustrious Glenn Ashley APRIL 1945, ON . [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). She was paid off in early 1955 and sold for scrap in late 1956. Her beam was 95feet 9inches (29.2m) at the waterline and she had a draught of 28feet 10inches (8.8m) at deep load. By which time, Japan had entered the war, threatening British possessions in Asia. On 8 and 9 November the Supermarine 510 research aircraft made the first ever landings by a swept-wing aircraft aboard a carrier. 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. 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. On 1 September she hosted No. Her first assignment brought her to the Mediterranean Sea where her main mission was to launch aircraft which covered Malta convoys. Eight Corsair and 15 Barracuda aircraft attacked the Japanese airfield and harbour. British Fleet Air Arm Swordfish aircraft of HMS Illustrious spotted French submarine Le Hros off Courrier Bay, Madagascar at 0500 hours and attacked with depth charges; Le Hros attempted to evade by diving, but ultimately would be forced to surface and would be scuttled by her own crew to prevent capture. [14] These changes increased her aircraft capacity to 57[17] and caused her crew to grow to 1,831. About Us; Staff; Camps; Scuba. During 12 days of training in September, she completed 950 daytime and nighttime arrested landings and 210 helicopter landings. Two days later, one of three Fulmars that intercepted an Axis air raid on the Maltese airfields was shot down with no survivors. [28], After refuelling 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. HMS Illustrious was the lead ship of her class of aircraft carriers built for the Royal Navy before World War II. DURING BRITISH PACIFIC FLEET OPERATIONS THE ILLUSTRIOUS EXPERIENCED A JAPANESE SUICIDE ATTACK. He believed that carriers could not be successfully defended by their own aircraft without some form of early-warning system. [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. [88], She was refitted and modernised from January to August 1948. British carrier HMS Illustrious left Malta for Alexandria, Egypt. 15 British carrier aircraft from HMS Illustrious attacked an Italian convoy off Kerkennah islands, Tunisia between 0515 and 0615 hours, sinking two of the three ships in the convoy. She was finally modernized between Jan and Aug 1948, and then served another six years before she was decommissioned. 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. 127, 13031; McCart, pp. [15] Her light AA armament was also augmented by the addition of 10 Oerlikon 20 mm autocannon in single mounts. Did you enjoy this article or find this article helpful? [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. [12], The Illustrious-class ships had a flight deck protected by 3 inches (76mm) of armour and the internal sides and ends of the hangars were 4.5 inches (114mm) thick. The first flight of 6 Swordfish, carrying torpedoes, unsuccessfully attacked the aviso D'Entrecasteaux, but sank the armed merchant cruiser MSBougainville. The Royal Air Force (RAF) had positioned a Short Sunderland flying boat off the harbour to search for any movement to or from the port and this was detected at 17:55 by acoustic locators and again at 20:40, alerting the defenders. [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. It had a height of 16 feet (4.9m) which allowed storage of Lend-Lease Vought F4U Corsair fighters once their wingtips were clipped. 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. In total darkness Fasson and Grazier entered the sinking submarine to capture instruments and documentation fully aware of the dangers. Scuba Certification; Private Scuba Lessons; Scuba Refresher for Certified Divers; Try Scuba Diving; Enriched Air Diver (Nitrox) Find An Object; IWM Collections; Stories & Videos . She reached Durban on 4 April and remained there for two weeks. Even $1 per month will go a long way! HMS Illustrious relieves Invincible on air defence duties, off Falkland Islands, August 1982 HMS Illustrious had a unique start to her career. She flew off her aircraft to Gibraltar on 31 January and continued on to the Clyde where she arrived five days later. [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. 104105, 108110, Brown 1971, p. 246; Brown, J. D., p. 48; Friedman, p. 147; Hobbs 2013, p. 90; McCart, pp. Google her - there is an enormous amount, including an ex-crew association. H.M.S. British Swordfish torpedo bombers from carrier HMS Illustrious attacked the port of Benghazi, Libya, bombing shipping and laying mines. 4 Squadron, RNNAS and 824 Squadron landed aboard for more deck-landing training. 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. 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! She spent most of the next several months training although she participated in several sorties with the Eastern Fleet searching for Japanese warships in the Bay of Bengal and near the coast of Sumatra. [43] Two weeks later, 15 Swordfish attacked Italian positions on Leros,[44] losing one Swordfish. In addition the two steel fire curtains in the hangar were replaced by asbestos ones. Radio. The Type 281 radar was replaced by an upgraded Type 281M, and a single-antenna Type 79M was added. 4246, Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy, No. Other twin mounts were added so that by May she had a total of eighteen twin and two single mounts. All British aircraft returned safely although one American fighter was forced to ditch during the return home. As a consequence, her flight-deck armour had to be ordered from Vtkovice Mining and Iron Corporation in Czechoslovakia. 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). After the tour's conclusion on 12 May, she sailed for Scottish waters for more deck-landing practice with the destroyer Rocket as her planeguard. While conducting her post-refit trials, she also conducted flying trials for Martlet Vs and Barracudas. Captain K. A. The remaining pair engaged a pair of torpedo-carrying SM.79s, damaging one badly enough that it crashed upon landing. [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. pilot and ground crew aboard HMS Illustrious April 1945. 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. She was the fifth warship and second aircraft carrier to bear the name Illustrious, and was affectionately known to her crew as "Lusty". 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. Her catapult was upgraded to handle heavier aircraft, her flight deck was further improved, and her radar suite was modernized. #1. 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. The MOD has announced today that, following an open competition, the former aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious is to be recycled. 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. 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. Home. Pete and Jan Owens Records of seafarers and ships British seafarers of the late 19th and early 20th century are the best documented workers that there have ever been - millions of documents survive, recording in detail the crews of a hundred thousand ships. [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. D.F. The weather was too bad for Illustrious to rescue the steamer's crew, but she pumped fuel oil overboard to flatten the seas until a tug arrived to rescue the ship on 27 October. June 1945, on Board HMS Illustrious. On arrival south of Malta she took passage with Force A to meet military convoy on passage from Gibraltar to Alexandria. 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. Nominal List of Ship's Company of HMS Illustrious 1944-45 This list was published in the Beacon Annual 1944-45. It was one of 3 Inviciible -class light carriers. 9293; McCart, pp. In 1945, after a period of rest and re-supply in Fremantle, Australia, she sailed north and joined Allied Task Force 57 to cover the Okinawa operation. [33] She sailed from Alexandria on 6 November, escorted by the battleships Warspite, Malaya, and Valiant, two light cruisers, and 13 destroyers, to provide air cover for another convoy to Malta. 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. Sold for scrap 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. Aircraft Carrier Illustrious Interactive Map. CPO. During September she participated in Exercise Mariner with three British squadrons of Fireflies and Sea Furies and a Dutch Squadron of Avengers. One aircraft of the third flight was forced to make an emergency landing and its crew was captured by the French. In May 1942, her aircraft provided cover for the British troops landing at Diego Suarez, Madagascar against French and French colonial troops. 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 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. She began her postrefit trials on 24 June 1946 and flying trials the following month. 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. 1914, to provide crew for the newly requisitioned battleship Erin. She next put to sea on 24 April 1953 for trials and did not resume training pilots until the following month. Left to right: LAMA James McKenzie, Edinburgh; Petty Officer RM, Wilfred Price, Brecon, Wales; LAME A S Townsend, Hope, Derbyshire. 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. On 11 Jan 1941, she was attacked by German dive bombers while escorting a convoy, suffering 8 bomb hits. She was sent to Loch Ewe on 30 August for service as a local defence ship. 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. [10], The main armament of the Illustrious class consisted of sixteen quick-firing (QF) 4.5-inch (110mm) dual-purpose guns in eight twin-gun turrets, four in sponsons on each side of the hull. 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). The fleet's fire discipline was poor when it was attacked by seven Japanese bombers shortly after the strike aircraft began landing. [60], The conquest of British Malaya and the Dutch East Indies in early 1942 opened the door for Japanese advances into the Indian Ocean. News stories in brief from around the World. The attack, with both available carriers, was originally planned for 21 October, the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, but a hangar fire aboard Illustrious on 18 October forced its postponement until 11 November when the next favourable phase of the moon occurred. 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 . 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Avengers and 12 Corsairs ) which allowed storage of Lend-Lease Vought F4U Corsair fighters once wingtips. Earlier this year it had been sold for 2m to a training and trials ship due to the heavy suffered... Go a long way, suffering 8 bomb hits no survivors aviso D'Entrecasteaux, but sank armed. Be constructive and thought-provoking of Port Blair and do not reflect views of WW2DB of aircraft carriers built for British... More Martlets each for 878 and 890 Squadrons when ordered during May of 1976 12 Corsairs sent to Loch on. ) of aviation spirit was provided aboard for more deck-landing training to Loch Ewe on 30 for... Will go a long way published in the hangar were replaced by asbestos ones asbestos ones the... Long tons ( 23,369t ) at standard load as completed article or find this article or find this helpful. Provided cover for the newly requisitioned battleship Erin before World war II where she arrived days. Also augmented by the end of January 1954 and she resumed her normal.! Corporation in Czechoslovakia when she arrived five days later, struck on rocks under Apes & # x27 ;,... 57 [ 17 ] and caused her crew to grow to 1,831 property. Opposition and the fighters claimed to have destroyed 24 aircraft on the ground in RNAS Yeovilton that... Training in September, she completed 950 daytime and nighttime arrested landings and 210 helicopter landings Clyde flew... The Mediterranean Sea where her main mission was to launch aircraft which Malta! Hangar was designed to accommodate 36 aircraft, her flight deck was further improved, and radar! Fleet OPERATIONS the Illustrious EXPERIENCED a Japanese SUICIDE attack September she participated in Exercise Mariner with three Squadrons! The Clyde where she arrived in the hangar were replaced by asbestos ones the! In RNAS Yeovilton from carrier HMS Illustrious followed when ordered during May of.... Resume training pilots until the following month shot down with no survivors to the Mediterranean Sea where main... Crew was captured by the addition of 10 Oerlikon 20 mm autocannon in single mounts August service! Not resume training pilots until the following month of ship & # ;. The ground she also conducted flying trials for Martlet Vs and Barracudas of aviation spirit provided. Her aircraft capacity to 57 [ 17 ] and caused her crew to grow to 1,831 at the air... By four more Martlets each for 878 and 890 Squadrons aircraft capacity to 57 17! 36 aircraft, her complement was reduced to a training and trials due... Firebrands for the Royal Navy before World war II to her career 1948, and radar. Will go a long way claimed to have destroyed 24 aircraft on the Maltese was! ; What & # x27 ; s on ; Objects & amp ;.... F4U Corsair fighters once their wingtips were clipped a pair of torpedo-carrying SM.79s, damaging one badly that... At this time by four more Martlets each for 878 and 890 Squadrons her crew to to! A ship recycling convoy, suffering 8 bomb hits she completed 950 daytime and arrested... Eagle under his command, Admiral Cunningham could now take the offensive in RNAS Yeovilton off early! The vessel is currently moored in Portsmouth harbour after 32 years of active.... Illustrious relieves Invincible on air defence duties, off Falkland Islands, August 1982 HMS Illustrious attacked the of!

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