HMS Illustrious (87)

HMS Illustrious (87) was the lead ship of the Illustrious-class aircraft carrier and a pivotal Royal Navy vessel during the Second World War. Commissioned in 1940, her revolutionary armoured flight deck design proved highly resilient against enemy attacks, setting a new standard for carrier survivability. Her combat career was marked by decisive actions in the Mediterranean Sea and the Pacific War, most famously in the Battle of Taranto and operations supporting the Allied invasion of Sicily.

Design and description

The design of HMS Illustrious represented a radical departure from previous British carriers like HMS Ark Royal (91), prioritizing protection over aircraft capacity. Her most defining feature was an armoured flight deck, 3 inches thick, designed to withstand bomb hits from contemporary aircraft like the Junkers Ju 87. This was integrated with 4.5-inch armoured hangar sides, creating an "armoured box" that offered unprecedented survivability. The trade-off was a smaller, single-storey hangar that limited her air group to approximately 36 aircraft, fewer than foreign contemporaries such as the USS Enterprise (CV-6). Her armament was formidable for the time, centered on eight twin QF 4.5-inch Mk I – V naval gun turrets and numerous QF 2-pounder naval gun and Oerlikon 20 mm cannon mounts for anti-aircraft defence. Early-war electronics included the Type 79 radar, a pioneering air-warning set.

Construction and career

Ordered under the 1937 Naval Programme, Illustrious was laid down on 27 April 1937 at the Vickers-Armstrongs shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness. She was launched on 5 April 1939 by Lady Henderson, wife of Admiral Sir Reginald Henderson, and commissioned into the Royal Navy on 25 May 1940 under the command of Captain Denis Boyd. Her rushed commissioning, amidst the Battle of France and the looming Battle of Britain, underscored the urgent need for modern fleet carriers. After initial work-up with the Home Fleet at Scapa Flow, she was swiftly deployed to the Mediterranean, joining the Mediterranean Fleet under Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham.

Operational history

Illustrious's operational history was intense and transformative. In November 1940, she launched the audacious Battle of Taranto, where her Fairey Swordfish biplanes crippled the Italian battleship fleet, a pivotal moment in naval aviation history. In January 1941, she was severely damaged by Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 87 dive-bombers off Malta, a testament to her design as she survived six direct hits. After lengthy repairs in the United States at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, she returned to service. She supported the Allied invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky) and the Salerno landings (Operation Avalanche). Transferred to the British Pacific Fleet in 1944, she participated in raids against Japanese oil facilities in Sumatra (Operation Meridian) and was present during the Battle of Okinawa, where she sustained kamikaze damage.

Fate

Following the surrender of Japan, Illustrious returned to the United Kingdom, serving briefly as a trials and training carrier. By the early 1950s, she was deemed obsolete compared to newer designs like the Majestic-class aircraft carrier and the forthcoming HMS Ark Royal (R09). Placed in reserve, she was used as a stationary accommodation ship at HMNB Portsmouth. With no viable modernization plan, she was sold for scrap in November 1956 and subsequently broken up at Faslane.

Legacy

HMS Illustrious left a profound legacy on naval warfare. Her success validated the armoured carrier concept, directly influencing the design of subsequent British classes like the Implacable-class aircraft carrier and the Audacious-class aircraft carrier. The lessons from her survival at Malta informed Royal Navy design philosophy for decades. Her role at Taranto was studied by the Imperial Japanese Navy in planning the attack on Pearl Harbor, cementing her place in the history of carrier strike warfare. As the name-ship of her class, she remains a symbol of innovation and resilience in Royal Navy history.

Category:Illustrious-class aircraft carriers Category:Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness Category:World War II aircraft carriers of the United Kingdom Category:Scrapped ships