MAGNIFICENT light aircraft carriers (1948/1957, 1957)

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FIGHTING SHIPS OF THE WORLD

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AIRCRAFT CARRYING SHIPS

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Bonaventure 1957

Ships

Name	No	Yard No	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Comp	Fate
Magnificent	CVL21, 1954- RML21		Harland & Wolff, Belfast, UK	29.7.1943	16.11.1944	21.5.1948	to UK 6.1957 (Magnificent)
Bonaventure (ex-Powerful)	RML22, 1957- RRSM22, 1960- CVL22		Harland & Wolff, Belfast, UK	27.11.1943	27.2.1945	17.1.1957	decommissioned 7.1970, BU 1971

Technical data

Displacement standard, t	14000
Displacement full, t	17780
Length, m	192.0 pp 211.8 oa
Breadth, m	24.4
Draught, m	7.01 deep load
No of shafts	2
Machinery	2 sets Parsons geared steam turbines, 4 Admiralty 3-drum boilers
Power, h. p.	40000
Max speed, kts	25
Fuel, t	oil 3000
Endurance, nm(kts)	12000(14)
Armament	CVL21: 19 x 1 - 40/60 Mk 3, 6 x 4 - 40/39 Mk 7, 37 aircraft (Seafire, Firefly, Sea Fury fighters) CVL22: 4 x 2 - 76/50 Mk 33, 4 x 1 - 47/40 Hotchkiss Mk 1, 24 aircraft (F2H-3 Banshee fighters, TBM-3S/W Avenger ASW planes)
Electronic equipment	CVL21: type 79B, type 281B, 6x type 282 radars, type 144 sonar CVL22: SPS-10, SPS-12, SPS-8, 2x Mk 34 radars
Complement	CVL21: 1300 CVL22: 1370

Air group

Year	Fighters	ASW planes	Helicopters
1948, Magnificent	~12 Firefly FR.1/FR.4/AS.5, ~12 Sea Fury F.10/FB.11	---	---
1957, Bonaventure	16 F2H-3 Banshee	12 CS-2F Tracker	---
1963, Bonaventure	---	8 CS-2F Tracker	13 HO4S-3

Standard scale images

Magnificent 1957

Bonaventure 1960

Bonaventure 1965

Graphics

Bonaventure 1957

Aircraft facilities

(fd - 5,131m², ha - 2,142m² / 11,355m³): Flight deck: 210.3x24.4m; hangar: 135.6x15.8x 5.3m. Two lifts: 16.5x10.4m, 6.8t. 1 catapult BH-III (6.4t plane was launched at 122 km/h). Aircraft fuel stowage: 341,000l.

Project history

The former Powerful was modernized between 1952 and 1957 and sold to the Royal Canadian Navy as HMCS Bonaventure. She was completed with an angled deck, but aircraft, radar and armament were supplied from the United States. Although similar to her sisters she had a distinctive appearance, with a tall lattice mast, a raked funnel and a big sponsons for her twin 76mm AA guns.

Protection

There were mantlets around aircraft torpedoes warheads rooms only. Their thickness was 10mm. Longitudinal watertight bulkheads covered the machinery.

Modernizations

1967, Bonaventure: - 2 x 2 - 76/50, SPS-8, SPS-10, SPS-12, 1x Mk 34 radars; + SPS-501 and one other Dutch radars; HO4S-3 Whirlwind helicopters were replaced by CHSS-2 Sea King ones.

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