HMS Implacable (R86)
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| Career (United Kingdom) |  |
|---|---|
| Laid down: | 21 February 1939 |
| Launched: | 10 December 1942 |
| Commissioned: | 28 August 1944 |
| Decommissioned: | 1 September 1954 |
| Identification: | Pennant number: R86 |
| Fate: | Scrapped at Inverkeithing in 1955 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Implacable class aircraft carrier |
| Displacement: | 23,825 tons standard 32,624 tons full load |
| Length: | 766.5 ft (233.6 m) |
| Beam: | 95.75 ft (29.18 m) |
| Draught: | 29 ft (8.8 m) |
| Propulsion: | Steam Turbines (8 Admiralty 3-drum boilers, 4 shafts, Parsons geared turbines), 148,000 shp. |
| Speed: | 32 knots (59 km/h) |
| Range: | 11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) at 14 knots (26 km/h) |
| Complement: | 1,400 (including air group) |
| Armament: | 8 × twin QF 4.5 inch naval guns 48 × twin QF 2 pounder naval guns 27 × Oerlikon 20 mm guns |
| Aircraft carried: | 81 in 1945 with a permanent deck park |
HMS Implacable was an Implacable-class aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy.
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[edit] History
She was laid down at Fairfields Shipyard on Clydeside three months after her sister-ship Indefatigable and was clearly destined for the British Pacific Fleet once worked up. Her first commanding officer was Captain Lachlan Mackintosh of Mackintosh, but he was replaced on promotion by Captain Charles Hughes-Hallett before sailing for the Far East.
Upon entering service, the new carrier conducted attacks on the German battleship Tirpitz late in 1944. On 27 November 1944 Fairey Barracuda planes from the carrier bombed two Norwegian ships carrying Allied prisoners of war, killing 2,571 onboard the Rigel, one of the largest maritime disasters ever. The vessels were apparently mistaken for being German troop transports.
Implacable arrived at Sydney on 8 May 1945 (V-E Day). She joined the British Pacific Fleet's carrier squadron as replacement for Illustrious, which was due to return to the United Kingdom for a major refit.
Among other types of planes, Implacable operated the Fairey Firefly, the Supermarine Seafire and the Grumman Avenger.
Her first operation as part of the BPF was against Japanese airfields at Truk in the Caroline Islands.
The ship remained in Pacific waters after the end of the conflict, becoming the flagship of Sir Philip Vian when he took over as Vice-Admiral BPF for a period. She returned to the United Kingdom in time for the Victory Parade.
[edit] Squadrons carried
- 30 Naval Fighter Wing: 800 NAS, 801 NAS (1943 - 1945)
- 8th Carrier Air Group: 801 NAS, 828 NAS, 880 NAS, 1771 NAS (1945 onwards)
In March 1945 she carried 81 aircraft: 48 Seafires, 21 Avengers and 12 Fireflies.
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
[edit] Bibliography
- Friedman, Norman (1988). British Carrier Aviation: The Evolution of the Ships and Their Aircraft. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-054-8.
- Ireland, Bernard. The Illustrated Guide to Aircraft Carriers of the World. Hermes House, London, 2005. ISBN 1-84477-747-2
[edit] External links
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