Colossus class aircraft carrier

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A Colossus class carrier
Builders: Vickers Armstrong
Swan Hunter
Cammell Laird
Harland & Wolff
Alexander Stephens and Sons
Hawthorn Leslie
Fairfield
Operators: Flag of Argentine Navy Argentine Navy
Flag of Royal Australian Navy Royal Australian Navy
Flag of Brazilian Navy Brazilian Navy
Flag of Royal Canadian Navy Royal Canadian Navy
Flag of Marine nationale Marine nationale
Flag of Royal Netherlands Navy Royal Netherlands Navy
Flag of Royal Navy Royal Navy
Commissioned: December 16, 1944
Decommissioned: October 16, 2001
Ships in Class
Ships in class: Colossus/Arromanches
Vengeance/Minas Gerais
Venerable/Karel Doorman/Veinticinco de Mayo
Pioneer
Glory
Ocean
Perseus
Theseus
Triumph
Warrior
Scrapped ships: 10
General Characteristics
Displacement: 13,400 tons (13,600 t)
Length: 695 feet (212 m)
Beam: 80 feet (24 m)
Draught: 23.5 feet (7.2 m)
Propulsion and power: Steam Turbines (4 Admiralty 3-drum boilers, Parsons geared turbines); 40,000 shp
Speed: 25 knots (46 km/h)
Range: 12,000 nm at 14 knots
Complement: 1,300 (including air group)
Armament: 30 x Bofors 40 mm guns
Aircraft complement: 48 aircraft
Aircraft facilities: Axial flight deck
Single main hangar

The Colossus class aircraft carriers were a class of Royal Navy light aircraft carriers. A total of sixteen ships were foreseen.

Two ships of the Colossus class (HMS Perseus and Pioneer) were tailored for aircraft maintenance rather than combat duty. Another five were suspended, to be completed later as Majestic class carriers. A sixth converted Majestic, the Leviathan, was not completed at all. All five Majestics were sold to Commonwealth navies.

[edit] Design

The sinking, in December 1941, of the HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse by land-based aircraft made clear the vulnerability of unsupported capital ships to air attack, and demonstrated the urgent need for a larger naval air arm.

At the start of the war, the Royal Navy operated both escort aircraft carriers and fleet aircraft carriers. However, escort carriers were designed solely for defensive convoy work and were of little use for in an offensive role. Their slow speed and small size ruled them out as platforms for high-performance fighter aircraft. On the other hand, the expensive fleet carriers were in short supply and would take too long to build. The conversion of merchant ships was considered for a time, but it was rejected because of the need for transport vessels.

The Colossus class emerged as an expedient solution to this critical shortage of combat aircraft carriers. These ships were based on the Illustrious class design, but reduced in size, and intended to be available within two years. To expedite construction, the Colossus class was built to commercial scantlings, rather than naval standards.

The first four Colossus carriers were completed in December 1944 and were immediately dispatched to the Far East. None of the ships saw action. The Colossus class ships did not possess the armoured flight decks that had effectively protected the Illustrious class fleet carriers against kamikaze attacks during Operation Iceberg. After the Second World War, the class provided a cheap way of projecting the Royal Navy's presence. Some of the ships saw service in the Korean Conflict. Less costly to operate than fleet carriers, they carried almost as many aircraft. Many ships were sold to foreign navies and continued to serve into the 1990s.

[edit] List of Ships

[edit] External links


Colossus-class aircraft carrier
Royal Navy
Colossus | Glory | Ocean | Vengeance | Pioneer | Venerable | Warrior | Perseus | Theseus | Triumph
Royal Australian Navy
Vengeance
Royal Canadian Navy
Warrior
Royal Netherlands Navy
Karel Doorman (ex-Venerable)
French Navy
Arromanches (ex-Colossus)
Argentine Navy
Veinticinco de Mayo (ex-Venerable) | Independencia (ex-Warrior)
Brazilian Navy
Minas Gerais (ex-Vengeance)

List of aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy
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