Implacable class aircraft carrier
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.jpg/300px-HMS_Implacable_(R86).jpg) HMS Implacable |
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators: |  Royal Navy |
| Preceded by: | Illustrious class |
| Succeeded by: | Audacious class |
| Completed: | Two |
| Retired: | Two |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: |
26,000 tons standard |
| Length: | 765 ft 9 in (233.4 m) |
| Beam: | 95 ft 9 in (29.2 m) |
| Draught: | 26 ft (7.9 m) |
| Propulsion: | geared steam turbines delivering 110,000 shp (82,000 kW) to four shafts |
| Speed: | 32.5 knots (60 km/h) |
| Complement: | 1,800 including aircrew |
| Armament: |
eight twin 4.5-inch (114 mm) DP six octuple 2-pdr AA 38 20 mm AA guns |
| Armour: | Belt: 4.5 inches (114 mm) Hanger sides: 1.5 inches (38 mm) Deck: 3 inches (76 mm) |
| Aircraft carried: | About 70 |
The Royal Navy's Implacable class aircraft carriers were built some 30 months after the Illustrious class aircraft carriers. The Implacables were more closely related to HMS Ark Royal with hangar walls slimmed down which allowed a better weight distribution. A lower hangar was also introduced in the class. The class also had a fourth set of propulsion machinery which gave them extra speed similar to the American Essex class.
Both ships of the class were laid down in 1939 and launched in December 1942 and were completed in August and May of 1944. The delayed build time was due to altered shipyard priorities. Upon completion, the class had a short career.
Indefatigable was a relatively new ship when she achieved the first landing by a twin engined aeroplane, a de Havilland Mosquito. She then joined the British Pacific Fleet. She also took part in air raids against the German battleship Tirpitz.
At the end of the Second World War, both ships were employed in the training role before being scrapped in 1955 and 1956 after hardly a decade of service. The decision to scrap the ships was due to the vast expense of modernising the two ships along the lines of HMS Victorious.
[edit] Ships
- HMS Implacable, built by Fairfields in Govan
- HMS Indefatigable, built by John Brown & Company in Clydebank
[edit] References
- DK Brown, Nelson to Vanguard, 2000, Chatham Publishing
- Anthony Preston, World's Worst Warships, 2002, Conway Maritime Press
- Aircraft Carriers, The World's Greatest Naval Vessels And Their Aircraft, By Chris Bishop and Chris Chant.
[edit] External links
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