Audacious-class aircraft carrier
 | This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. (February 2010) |
 HMS Eagle
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators |  Royal Navy |
| Preceded by | Implacable class |
| Planned | 4 |
| Completed | 2 |
| Cancelled | 2 |
| Retired | 2 |
| Preserved | 0 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Aircraft carrier |
| Length | 804 ft (245 m) |
| Beam | list error: <br /> list (help) Ark Royal 112 ft (34 m) (as built) Eagle 135 ft (41 m) |
| Draught | 33 ft (10 m) |
| Propulsion | list error: <br /> list (help) 8 Admiralty 3-drum boilers in 4 boiler rooms 4 sets of Parsons geared turbines, 4 shafts Power: 152,000 shp (113,000 kW) |
| Speed | list error: <br /> list (help) Eagle 32 knots (37 mph/59 km/h) Ark Royal 31.5 kt (58 km/h) |
| Range | list error: <br /> list (help) Eagle 7,000 nmi (13,000 km) at 18 knots (21 mph; 33 km/h) Ark Royal 11,265 km (7000 miles) at 14 knots 5000 nmi at 24 knots |
| Armament | list error: <br /> list (help) Eagle (As built:) • 16 × 4.5 inch guns (8×2) |
| Armour | list error: <br /> list (help) Eagle Waterline belt: 4 in (100 mm) Armoured flight deck: 1–4 in (25–102 mm) Hangar side: 1 in (25 mm) Hangar deck: 1 in (25 mm) |
| Aircraft carried | list error: <br /> list (help) Eagle (As built:) 60 Post-1964: 45 Ark Royal (As built:) 50 38 after 1967-1970 refit |
Template:Fixbunching The Audacious class aircraft carriers were a class of ship proposed by the British government in the 1930s - 1940s.
History
The Audacious class was originally designed as an expansion of the Implacable class with double storied hangars. However, it was realised that the hangar height would not be sufficient for the new aircraft that were expected to enter service, so the design was considerably enlarged.
Four ships were laid down between 1942 and 1943 during World War II as part of the British naval buildup - HMS Africa (D06), HMS Ark Royal (R09), HMS Audacious (D29) and HMS Eagle (94). At the end of hostilities Africa and Eagle were cancelled. Work on the remaining two was suspended. They would be renamed and built to differing designs in the 1950s.
Ships in the class
- Audacious (D29)
Laid down in 1942 at Harland and Wolff, Belfast. Renamed at the start of 1946 as HMS Eagle after the carrier sunk in 1942. Launched in March 1946 and commissioned in October 1951.
- Ark Royal (R09)
Named after the earlier Ark Royal lost in 1942. Work on Ark Royal started in 1943 at Cammell Laird, Birkenhead. Launched in 1950 and commissioned in 1955.
As the builds of Eagle and Ark Royal progressed they differed so much that they became the lead (and sole) ships of each of their own classes. They formed the backbone of the postwar carrier fleet, and were much modified.
- Eagle (94)
Ordered from Swan Hunter, Wallsend-on-Tyne in August 1942. Transferred to Vickers-Armstrong in December that year. Cancelled.
- Africa (D06)
Ordered from Fairfield, Govan on 12 July 1943. Re-ordered as Malta class in 1944. Cancelled 15 October 1945
See also
Media related to Audacious class aircraft carriers at Wikimedia Commons
References
Notes
Bibliography
- Ireland, Bernard. The Illustrated Guide to Aircraft Carriers of the World. Hermes House, London, 2005. ISBN 1-84477-747-2