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Indomitable 1944

Ships

Name	No	Yard No	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Comp	Fate
Indomitable	92, 1948- R8, 1949- R92	735	Vickers-Armstrong, Barrow	10.11.1937	26.3.1940	10.10.1941	stricken 9.1955

Technical data

Displacement standard, t	23000
Displacement full, t	29730
Length, m	205.1 pp 229.8 oa
Breadth, m	29.2 wl 35.4 fd
Draught, m	8.84 deep load
No of shafts	3
Machinery	3 sets Parsons geared steam turbines, 6 Admiralty 3-drum boilers
Power, h. p.	111000
Max speed, kts	30.5
Fuel, t	4500 oil
Endurance, nm(kts)	9250(14)
Armour, mm	belt: 114, hangar sides: 38,  bulkheads: 76 - 38, flight deck: 76
Armament	8 x 2 - 114/45 QF Mk III, 6 x 8 - 40/39 2pdr QF Mk VIII, 8 x 1 - 20/70 Oerlikon Mk II/IV, 45 aircraft (Fulmar, Sea Hurricane, Buffalo, Martlet fighters, Swordfish, Albacore torpedo bombers, Walrus recon planes)
Electronic equipment	type 79 radar
Complement	1392, up to 2100 later

Air group

Year	Fighters	torpedo bombers
5/1942	12 Fulmar, 9 Sea Hurricane	24 Albacore
8.1942	24 Sea Hurricane, 10 Martlet	24 Albacore
5.1943	40 Seafire	15 Albacore
8.1944	24 Hellcat	24 Barracuda
12.1944	29 Hellcat	21 Avenger
3.1945	40 Seafire, 9 Firefly	20 Avenger
5.1945	33 Hellcat	15 Avenger
12.1951	12 Sea Fury	12 Firebrand

Standard scale images

Graphics

Aircraft facilities(fd - 6,012m², ha - 3,606m² / 16,087m³)

 (fd - 6,012m², ha - 3,606m² / 16,087m³): Flight deck: 207.3(useful length)x29.0m. Upper hangar: 139.6x18.9x4.3m, lower hangar: 51.2x18.9x4.9m. 2 lifts (6.4t, 13.7x10.1m fwd and 13.7x6.7m aft). 1 catapult BH-III (6.4t plane was launched at 122km/h). Aircraft fuel stowage: 342,000l. Later useful length of flight deck was increased to 227.1m. 

Project history

Six ships of Illustrious class became the largest class of fleet aircraft carriers of Royal Navy. They were sectioned into 3 groups and had significant differences. First three ships had one level hangar and 3 shafts. Indomitable (2nd group) differed by two-level hangar and moderated thickness of vertical protection, but in the remaining was identical to the ships of 1st group. Designing of Illustrious has begun in 1936. Ship should have protection against 500pdr (227kg) bombs and 152mm shells. Standard displacement was limited 23 000ts as resolved by the London conference of 1936.

Protection was rather powerful, 62% of flight deck area was covered by 76mm armour. Increase of battle resistance was paid by 2 times smaller, than on Ark Royal, air group and reduction of freeboard (11.6 m at Illustrious instead of 17.1m at Ark Royal).

The "aerodynamic" form of island and funnel in the form of a profile of a plane wing, and also the round-downs of the deck became feature of architecture of Illustrious: it was supposed, that it will decrease the turbulence of air and will improve conditions of take-off and boarding of aircrafts. At the same time round-downs shrank deck effective length to 189m, therefore on the subsequent aircraft carriers, as for the ships of 2nd and 3rd groups, to 225.6m.

The AA armament repeated accepted on Ark Royal, but with new 114mm so-called "inter-decks" mounts.

Protection

  Main belt protected about 30% of length by waterline. Main belt amidships was taken to the hangar deck and to the flight deck on the starboard side abreast island. 9m ends of main belt were taken to the upper deck only. Hangar sides were protected on full hangar length. 62% of flight deck (over hangar) had 76mm armour, another part of flight deck was 38mm. Upper hangar deck has 64 - 51mm thickness between ship sides and hangar sides over magazines only, its thickness was 25mm inside citadel. Upper or lower hangar decks were 38mm over machinery. Elevators were not armoured. There were 38mm anti-torpedo bulkheads. 4.1m deep underwater protection can resist exploding of 340kg TNT.

Modernizations

Till 4.1942 there were 3 x 8 - 40/39 2pdr QF Mk VIII only.

2.1943: - type 79 radar; + 8 x 2 - 20/70 Oerlikon Mk II/IV, 2 x 1 - 20/70 Oerlikon Mk II/IV, type 79B, type 281B radars

12.1943: + SM-1, SG radars

5.1944: + 2 x 4 - 40/56 Bofors Mk 1.2, 2 x 2 - 40/56 Bofors Mk 1.2, 12 x 2 - 20/70 Oerlikon Mk II/IV, 6 x 1 - 20/70 Oerlikon Mk II/IV

1945: - 8 x 2 - 20/70, 4 x 1 - 20/70; + 13 x 1 - 40/56 Bofors Mk I/III

1.1946, Indomitable: 8 x 2 - 114/45 Mk IIBD, 2 x 4 - 40/60 Mk 2, 2 x 2 - 40/60 Mk 1, 13 x 1 - 40/60 Mk III, 6 x 8 - 40/39 Mk VIA, 12 x 2 - 20/70 Mk V, 12 x 1 - 20/70 Mk III, 45 aircraft, type 79B, type 281B, SM-1, SG radars

1950: - 1 x 8 - 40/39, 2 x 4 - 40/60, 2 x 2 - 40/60, 12 x 2 - 20/70, 12 x 1 - 12.70; + 4 x 1 - 47/40 Mk I, 11 x 1 - 40/60 Mk III

Naval service

Indomitable was badly damaged by German aircraft 12.8.1942 (2 direct hits of 500kg bombs) and has failed on half a year. She was again badly damaged by German air torpedo near Malta 16.7.1943 and had been salvaged only by fast counterflooding of other side compartments, repair had 8 months.

Many thanks to Wolfgang Stöhr for additional information on this page.