In an effort to cure the problem, the propeller was removed, and the shaft was locked in place in February; these radical measures succeeded in reducing, but not eliminating, the vibrations and reduced the ship's speed to about 24 knots (44km/h; 28mph). It dived out of the clouds on the port bow and from the time it emerged from the clouds until the time it hit the water was only 11 seconds. June 1945, on Board HMS Illustrious. Her light antiaircraft defences included six octuple mounts for QF 2-pounder ("pom-pom") antiaircraft guns, two each fore and aft of her island, and two in sponsons on the port side of the hull. Crew: HMS Illustrious has 1,400 compartments and 15 lifts, and has a top speed in excess of 30 knots. On the early morning of 25 July, Illustrious launched 22 Corsairs for CAP and to observe the naval gunfire and take photos for post-attack damage assessments. Three other Swordfish completed her destruction. small french chateau house plans; comment appelle t on le chef de la synagogue; felony court sentencing mansfield ohio; accident on 95 south today virginia [51], The ship was hit five more times in this attack, one of which penetrated the un-armoured aft lift and detonated beneath it, destroying it and the surrounding structure. The main armament of the Illustrious class consisted of sixteen quick-firing (QF) 4.5-inch (110 mm) dual-purpose guns in eight twin- gun turrets, four in sponsons on each side of the hull. On 12 and 13 April, the BPF switched targets to airfields in northern Formosa and her sister joined the task force on 14 April. On 21 June, the ship launched 15 Barracudas and 23 Corsairs against the airfield and harbour of Port Blair. DURING BRITISH PACIFIC FLEET OPERATIONS THE ILLUSTRIOUS EXPERIENCED A JAPANESE SUICIDE ATTACK. Lava's technical capabilities. Fancourt, DSO, RN) escorted by the destroyers HMS Termagent (Lt.Cdr. The fleet's fire discipline was poor when it was attacked by seven Japanese bombers shortly after the strike aircraft began landing. During the return voyage to Alexandria, the Italian submarineCorallo made an unsuccessful attack on the British ships. Once the convoy was out of range of German aircraft, the Illustrious left the convoy and arrived back at Greenock on 8 August. As a consequence, her flight-deck armour had to be ordered from Vtkovice Mining and Iron Corporation in Czechoslovakia. This section includes over 21.000 Allied Warships and over 11.000 Allied Commanders of WWII, from the US Navy, Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Australian Navy, The Polish Navy and others. The new ship class was named the Invincible-class and would constitute three vessels led by HMS Invincible and followed by HMS Illustrious and HMS Indomitable. By the end of 1901, she was fitted or due . 21 TBR Wing were landed to make room for the additional fighters. These were 'U'-shaped beams that extended from the side of the flight deck into which aircraft tailwheels were placed. Scuba Certification; Private Scuba Lessons; Scuba Refresher for Certified Divers; Try Scuba Diving; Enriched Air Diver (Nitrox) In the meantime, she continued to conduct operations with the rest of the fleet. She was the fifth warship and second aircraft carrier to bear the name Illustrious, and was affectionately known to her crew as "Lusty". This halved the aircraft capacity compared with the older unarmoured carriers, exchanging offensive potential for defensive survivability. She was assigned to Force H for the operation which was tasked to protect the amphibious force from attack by the Italian Fleet and provide air cover for the carriers supporting the assault force. As the Barracudas were needed only for anti-submarine patrols, the former embarked only nine while the latter ship flew off all her Barracudas. [49], On 7 January 1941, Illustrious set sail to provide air cover for convoys to Piraeus, Greece and Malta as part of Operation Excess. [16] After her return to the UK later that year, her Type 79Z radar was replaced by a Type 281 system and a Type 285 gunnery radar was mounted on one of the main fire-control directors. Ld.Sea Johnson Charles Thomas. Illustrious was not struck during these attacks but was near-missed several times and the resulting shock waves from their detonations dislodged enough hull plating to cause an immediate 5-degree list, cracked the cast-iron foundations of her port turbine, and damaged other machinery. With over 50 aircraft airborne at one point, the British realised that a single deck accident might result in the loss of every aircraft in the air because there was no other carrier available to land aboard. 21 Wing reembarked. While running trials in 1948, after another refit, she reached a maximum speed of 29 knots (54km/h; 33mph) from 110,680shp (82,530kW). [66], She was then formally assigned to the Eastern Fleet and, after a short refit in Durban, sailed to Colombo, Ceylon, and became the flagship of the Rear Admiral Aircraft Carriers, Eastern Fleet, Denis Boyd, her former captain. [10], The main armament of the Illustrious class consisted of sixteen quick-firing (QF) 4.5-inch (110mm) dual-purpose guns in eight twin-gun turrets, four in sponsons on each side of the hull. Copyright 2004-2023 Lava Development, LLC., all rights reserved, Aircraft Carrier Illustrious Photo Gallery, See all 20 photographs of Aircraft Carrier Illustrious, Vickers-Armstrong, Barrow-in-Furness, Britain, 6 Admiralty 3-drum boilers, 3 Parsons geared turbines, 3 shafts, 8x2 QF 4.5in naval guns, 6x8 QF 2 pounder naval guns. Courageux was a heavy 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, launched in 1753. Captain C. T. Jellicoe relieved Carlill on 27 August and the ship ferried 10 Fireflies of 814 Squadron to Malta beginning on 1 October. J.P. Scatchard, DSC, RN), HMS Tenacious (Lt.Cdr. [25], While Illustrious was being moved in preparation for her acceptance trials on 24 April, the tugboat Poolgarth capsized with the loss of three crewmen. . In 1940 HMS Illustrious was sent to Gibraltar and after refueling in Gibraltar, Illustrious and the battleship Valiant were escorted into the Mediterranean by Force H as part of Operation Hats, during which her Fulmars shot down five Italian bombers and her AA guns shot down two more. PO, Hopkins Hugh. Nominal List of Ship's Company of HMS Illustrious 1944-45 This list was published in the Beacon Annual 1944-45. Vice-Admiral Arthur Power carried out another raid on Port Blair in the Nicobar Islands with carrier HMS Illustrious, battleship HMS Renown, and French battleship Richelieu, with light covering forces. ww2dbaseAfter the war, Illustrious' role was reduced to a training and trials ship due to the heavy damage suffered during WW2. As built, HMS Unicorn displaced 16,770 tons under standard load and up to 20,600 tons under full load. On the night of 15/16 December, Illustrious collided with Formidable in a moderate storm. 860 Squadrons, Royal Netherlands Naval Aviation Service (RNNAS) for training, as well as 824 Squadron. Captain John Hughes-Hallett relieved Edwards on 14 June. Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History 23rd of March please use the following link and you will find the details and all events of this day . Home. The British role during the operation was to neutralise airfields on the Sakishima Islands, between Okinawa and Formosa, beginning on 26 March. [70], On 26 July, she sortied for the Norwegian Sea as part of Operation Governor, together with the battleship Anson, the American battleship Alabama, and the light carrier Unicorn, an attempt to fool the Germans into thinking that Sicily was not the only objective for an Allied invasion. [58] The work was completed in November and Illustrious departed on 25 October, for trials off Jamaica and to load the dozen Swordfish of 810 and 829 Squadrons. The ship was laid down on 10th November that year and launched on 26th March 1940 as the 3rd RN Warship to carry the name. [32], Repairs were completed before the end of the month, and she escorted a convoy to Greece, during which her Fulmars shot down one shadowing CANT Z.506B floatplane. Nov 25, 2008. She conducted her last landings on 3 December and arrived at Devonport four days later to begin decommissioning. [34] At this time her air group was reinforced by several of Eagle's Gloster Sea Gladiators supplementing the fighters of 806 Squadron as well as torpedo bombers from 813 and 824 Squadrons. The goal of this Hundreds watched in quiet reflection as the ship sailed out of Portsmouth on her final . Did you enjoy this article or find this article helpful? Captain Charles Lambe was appointed as the new captain of the Illustrious on 21 May, but he could not join his new ship until 9 July. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1/72 BELL AH-1T SEA COBRA built kit at the best online prices at eBay! However, her commissioning was delayed until 1941 due to the greater need for escort vessels for service in the Battle of the Atlantic . On the morning of 7 May, Martlets from 881 Squadron intercepted three Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 fighters on a reconnaissance mission. The RN planned to fit her out as a flagship, remove her aft 4.5-inch guns in exchange for increased accommodation, and replace some of her Oerlikons with single two-pounder AA guns, but the end of the war in August caused the RN to reassess its needs. In 32 years . 4246, Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy, No. HMS Belfast; What's on; Objects & History. [48] The ship arrived back at Alexandria two days later. [52][53], While her steering was being repaired in Malta, the Illustrious was bombed again on 16 January by 17 Junkers Ju 88 medium bombers and 44 Stukas. [53][54] The naval historian J. D. Brown noted that "There is no doubt that the armoured deck saved her from destruction; no other carrier took anything like this level of punishment and survived. Her exact speeds were not recorded as she had her paravanes streamed, but it was estimated that she could have made about 31 knots (57km/h; 36mph) under full power. Later in the day, D'Entrecasteaux attempted to put to sea, but she was successfully bombed by an 829 Squadron Swordfish and deliberately run aground to avoid sinking. Boyd was promoted to rear admiral on 18 February and relieved Lyster as Rear Admiral Aircraft Carriers. HMS Illustrious was launched on 5th April 1939, where she was christened by Lady Henderson, wife of the recently retired Admiral Sir Reginald Henderson, Third Sea Lord of the Royal Navy. For this operation, her fighters were reinforced by a detachment of three Fulmars from 805 Squadron. The torpedo-carrying aircraft of the first wave scored one hit on the battleship Conte di Cavour and two on the recently completed battleship Littorio while the two flare droppers bombed the oil storage depot with little effect. HMS Illustrious was the lead ship of her class of aircraft carriers built for the Royal Navy before World War II. On 1 September she hosted No. After another round of flying operations, she visited Trondheim, Norway, on 19 June. In early June, she loaded the personnel from 806, 815, and 819 Squadrons at Devonport Royal Dockyard; 806 Squadron was equipped with Blackburn Skua dive bombers and Fairey Fulmar fighters, and the latter two squadrons were equipped with Swordfish. The Saratoga and her escorts separated after refuelling again in Exmouth Gulf and the East Indies Fleet was back in Trincomalee on 27 May where No. . The bombardment was very effective, sinking two small freighters, and severely damaging the oil storage and port facilities. HMS Indomitable in 1946 (Maritime Quest, click to enlarge) return to Contents List Modified ILLUSTRIOUS-Class Fleet Aircraft Carrier ordered under the 1937 Estimates from Vickers Armstrong, Barrow in Furness on 6th July 1937. [78] She was assigned to the 1st Aircraft Carrier Squadron (1st ACS), commanded by Rear Admiral Sir Philip Vian when he arrived at Colombo aboard the carrier Indefatigable. The crew of the submarine surrendered and survivors were taken off. 2324, Brown 1971, p. 254; McCart, p. 24; Sturtivant, pp. [72], She then returned to Britain on 18 October for a quick refit at Birkenhead that included further improvements to the flight deck and the reinforcement of her light anti-aircraft armament. She exchanged them for Firebrands for the return voyage. All three were shot down for the loss of one Martlet. Find An Object; IWM Collections; Stories & Videos . [15] Her light AA armament was also augmented by the addition of 10 Oerlikon 20 mm autocannon in single mounts. [17], Illustrious had been badly damaged underwater by a bomb in April 1945, and was ordered home for repairs the following month. The MOD has announced today that, following an open competition, the former aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious is to be recycled. Google her - there is an enormous amount, including an ex-crew association. These latter aircraft lacked folding wings and could not fit on the lifts. The Royal Navy's 1936 Naval Programme authorised the construction of two aircraft carriers. British carrier HMS Illustrious and the escort carrier HMS Atheling, with covering forces, completed a series of diversionary raids on Sabang, Sumatra, Dutch East Indies, with the goal of tying down Japanese forces during the American Operation Forager attack on the Mariana Islands. HMS Illustrious arrived at Alexandria, Egypt. Scuba Certification; Private Scuba Lessons; Scuba Refresher for Certified Divers; Try Scuba Diving; Enriched Air Diver (Nitrox) En route, the carriers of the 1st ACS attacked Palembang on 24 January and 29 January (Operation Meridian). HMS Illustrious, built on the Tyne and commissioned in 1982, served in the Falklands War, the First Gulf War and in a support role in Afghanistan. [9] At some point after 1948, the ship's light AA armament was reduced to two twin and nineteen single 40mm guns and six Oerlikons. [75], On 10 June, the Illustrious and the escort carrier Atheling put to sea to simulate another airstrike on Sabang as a means of distracting the Japanese while the Americans were attacking airfields in the Mariana Islands and preparing to invade the island of Saipan. [7], The ship had three Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one shaft, using steam supplied by six Admiralty 3-drum boilers. [63] After her stay at Freetown, Illustrious proceeded to Durban; during the voyage her staff also fitted ASV radar to the replacement Swordfish. She conducted deck-landing trials for prototypes of the Blackburn Firebrand and Fairey Firefly fighters, as well as the Fairey Barracuda dive/torpedo bomber from 8 to 10 February. She next put to sea on 24 April 1953 for trials and did not resume training pilots until the following month. A Chance-Vought Corsair JT208 buckles a wing on . Illustrious was commissioned into service. The carrier's air group consisted of 21 Barracudas and 28 Corsairs for the operation; Illustrious launched 17 of the former escorted by 13 of the latter on the morning of 19 April. [6], The 753-foot (229.5m) armoured flight deck had a usable length of 620 feet (189.0m), due to prominent "round-downs"[Note 1] at each end designed to reduce the effects of air turbulence caused by the carrier's structure on aircraft taking-off and landing, and a maximum width of 95 feet (29.0m). [71], Together with the Unicorn, she sailed for the Mediterranean on 13 August to prepare for the landings at Salerno (Operation Avalanche), reaching Malta a week later. Clark John Thomas. On arrival south of Malta she took passage with Force A to meet military convoy on passage from Gibraltar to Alexandria. [29] A few days after the Italian invasion of Egypt, Illustrious flew off 15 Swordfish during the moonlit night of 16/17 September to attack the port of Benghazi. She was the third warship of the . The multiple hits at the aft end of the carrier knocked out her steering gear, although it was soon repaired. But he felt HMS Illustrious offered vital air cover and an equally important boost in morale. She sailed four days later, having embarked twenty-one Swordfish, nine Martlet IIs of 881 Squadron and six Martlet Is of 882 Squadron,[61] and two Fulmar fighters[62] prior to escorting a troop convoy carrying some of the men allocated for the assault. [83], Formidable's arrival allowed Rawlings to order Illustrious to the advance base in San Pedro Bay, in the Philippines, for a more thorough inspection. Illustrious was a British battleship of the Majestic class, launched in 1894 and sold for scrap in 1920. A Z.501 searching for the fleet was shot down on 10 November by a Fulmar and another on the 11th. Illustrious began her final maintenance period at Devonport Royal Dockyard on 10 December. Former HMS Illustrious set to sail on her final voyage. With HMS Invincible laid down during July of 1973, HMS Illustrious followed when ordered during May of 1976. The MoD announced earlier this year it had been sold for 2m to a ship recycling . Bad weather degraded the accuracy of the Barracudas and little damage was inflicted aside from a few aircraft destroyed on the ground and a few small craft sunk in the harbour. In Nov 1940, she launched 21 torpedo bombers against the Italian fleet at Taranto, and achieved spectacular success after sinking one battleship and damaging two others. A single hydraulic aircraft catapult was fitted on the forward part of the flight deck. 26364; McCart, pp. This meant that the ship had to be capable of remaining in action after sustaining damage and that her fragile aircraft had to be protected entirely from damage. The hangar was 456 feet (139.0m) long and had a maximum width of 62 feet (18.9m). Is there a list of. SERVING WITH THE ILLUSTRIOUS. One torpedo bomber was shot down, but the other aircraft returned. [4], Illustrious was 740 feet (225.6m) in length overall and 710 feet (216.4m) at the waterline. [59] While working up her air group in March, reinforced by the Grumman Martlet fighters (the British name of the F4F Wildcat) of 881 and 882 Squadrons, she conducted trials of a "hooked" Supermarine Spitfire fighter, the prototype of the Seafire. All comment submissions will become the property of WW2DB. HMS Illustrious was the lead ship of her class of aircraft carriers built for the Royal Navy She fought in the Mediterranean and Far East . The turbines were designed to produce a total of 111,000shp (83,000kW), enough to give a maximum speed of 30 knots (56km/h; 35mph) at deep load. Peter Cook CPO (OPS) (EW) Served from 1966 - 1991 Served in HMS Illustrious Keith Sims LEADING SIGNALMAN Served from 1944 - 1958 Served in HMS Illustrious Andrew Lewis AB Served from 1982 - 1988 Served in HMS Illustrious Ronald Mccormick British Fleet Air Arm Swordfish aircraft of HMS Illustrious spotted French submarine Le Hros off Courrier Bay, Madagascar at 0500 hours and attacked with depth charges; Le Hros attempted to evade by diving, but ultimately would be forced to surface and would be scuttled by her own crew to prevent capture. She was the fifth warship and second aircraft carrier to bear the name Illustrious, and was affectionately known to her crew as "Lusty". The fleet departed Trincomalee on 21 March to rendezvous with the American carrier Saratoga in preparation for combined operations against the Japanese facilities in the Dutch East Indies and the Andaman Islands. The British ships were spotted by Blohm & Voss BV 138 flying boats and 890 Squadron shot down two of them before the fleet returned to Scapa Flow on 29 July. The prototype of the turboprop-powered Fairey Gannet anti-submarine aircraft made its first carrier landing aboard on 16 June. One bomb struck and destroyed the starboard forward "pom-pom" mount closest to the island, while another passed through the forwardmost port "pom-pom" mount and failed to detonate, although it did start a fire. [38] Six aircraft in each airstrike were armed with torpedoes and the remainder with bombs or flares or both to supplement the three-quarter moon. Aircraft from 819 Squadron laid six mines in the harbour entrance while those from 815 Squadron sank the destroyer Borea and two freighters totalling 10,192gross register tons(GRT). site is two fold. 'The crew of HMS Daring have done a fantastic job in the Philippines and I am pleased that HMS Illustrious will be able to continue t One Martlet I was fitted with folding wings. The Germans had laid mines in the canal earlier. HMS Illustrious relieves Invincible on air defence duties, off Falkland Islands, August 1982 HMS Illustrious had a unique start to her career. Afterwards, she was opened for visits by the public before returning to Portsmouth. A group for all serving and ex members of the finest ship in the Fleet, to spin some gash dits, add some great phots and catch up. The most damaging hit was a large bomb that penetrated through the deck armour forward of the aft lift and detonated 10 feet above the hangar deck. The roofs of the gun turrets protruded above the level of the flight deck to allow them to fire across the deck at high elevations. 2930, Hobbs 2011, pp. The ship resumed flying training off the north coast of Scotland in October for two weeks, but she spent most of the rest of the year on trials of the new mirror-landing system that automated the process of landing aircraft aboard. HMS Kelly was Mountbatten's ship. 4 Squadron, RNNAS and 824 Squadron landed aboard for more deck-landing training. The former aircraft carrier was towed out of Portsmouth Harbour. Below are just some of our members who have served at HMS Illustrious. The catapult comprised a central brace system chosen for trolley-launch seaplanes as well as distributing the forces of launch evenly through an airframe. Only one Fulmar was serviceable on 19 January, when the carrier was attacked several times and it was shot down. Captain K. A. [56], Some important modifications were made to her flight deck arrangements, including the installation of a new aft lift and modification of the catapult for use by American-built aircraft. MaritimeQuest - Nominal List of Ship's Company of HMS Illustrious Website with searchable ship database about warships, passenger liners, merchant ships, photo galleries, technical details, stories, news and much more. The ship was laid down on 17th June that year and launched on 17th August 1939 . Occasionally, we would get a direct hit with our small practice bombs, and it must have been an earthshattering experience for the boat crew because it was an unwritten law that any pilot getting a direct hit on the boat would deliver a previous page page_29 next page > previous page page_30 next page > Page 30 case of cold beer to the crew. The first operation carried out by both carriers was an airstrike on the small naval base at Sabang at the northern tip of Sumatra (Operation Cockpit). 4 Squadron and No. She spent most of the next several months training although she participated in several sorties with the Eastern Fleet searching for Japanese warships in the Bay of Bengal and near the coast of Sumatra. [6] By 1944, she was severely overcrowded with a total crew of 1,997. The weather was too bad for Illustrious to rescue the steamer's crew, but she pumped fuel oil overboard to flatten the seas until a tug arrived to rescue the ship on 27 October. Italian merchant ships Gloria Stella and Maria Eugenia were also sunk. The first wave of a dozen aircraft, all that the ship could launch at one time, flew off by 20:40 and the second wave of nine by 21:34. On 8 and 9 November the Supermarine 510 research aircraft made the first ever landings by a swept-wing aircraft aboard a carrier. 127, 13031; McCart, pp. The ship was equipped with two unarmoured lifts on the centreline, each of which measured 45 by 22 feet (13.7 by 6.7m). HMS Illustrious, nicknamed Lusty, is the last of the Invincible class of aircraft carriers which included the Ark Royal and Invincible, introduced into the navy in the 1980s. All big-gun armament and turbine propulsion marked her out as one of the ships that led the dreadnought revolution. She began working up off Plymouth, but the German conquest of France made this too risky, and Illustrious sailed for Bermuda later in the month to continue working up. After slipping into the water, she was towed into the Buccleuch Dock at Barrow for fitting out for her complement of around 1,299 officers and enlisted men. A follow on airstrike was planned for the next night based on the pessimistic assessments of the aircrews, but it was cancelled due to bad weather. [11] This version of the radar had separate transmitting and receiving antennas which required a new mainmast to be added to the aft end of the island to mount the transmitter. The noise of the on-coming first airstrike was heard at 22:25 and the anti-aircraft guns defending the port opened fire shortly afterwards, as did those on the ships in the harbour. They were low on ammunition and out of position, as they chased the Italian aircraft over 50 miles (80km) from Illustrious. It had a height of 16 feet (4.9m) which allowed storage of Lend-Lease Vought F4U Corsair fighters once their wingtips were clipped. 2627; Sturtivant, p. 327, Brown 1971, p. 257; Brown, J. D., pp. Lacking that, there was nothing to prevent land-based aircraft from attacking them, especially in confined waters like the North Sea and Mediterranean. [35] Three Swordfish crashed shortly after take-off on 10 and 11 November, probably due to fuel contamination, and the maintenance crewmen spent all day laboriously draining all the fuel tanks and refilling them with clean petrol. On 18 July she rendezvoused with the Home Fleet to participate in manoeuvres before George VI reviewed the fleet on 2223 July. 134, 136, 14243, 145, 147; McCart, p. 32, Brown 1971, p. 261; Hobbs 2011, pp. Eight Corsair and 15 Barracuda aircraft attacked the Japanese airfield and harbour. It gives details of over 439,000 Royal Navy and Merchant Seamen records which are searchable by name, rank, age and ship. 810 Squadron and its Barracudas were transferred off the ship the next day and were later replaced by the Avengers of 854 Squadron. 25859, 261; Hobbs 2011, pp. Her length was 640 feet with a beam of over 90 feet and a draught reaching 23 feet. 17, 19; Shores, Cull & Malizia 1987b, pp. Corsairs of the HMS Illustrious ranged before taking off to strafe Japanese airfields in Sumatra. Off Okinawa, she was hit and damaged by two Japanese special attack aircraft. , there was nothing to prevent land-based aircraft from attacking them, especially in confined waters the. Aircraft, the former embarked only nine while the latter ship flew off all her Barracudas her was. On the Sakishima Islands, August 1982 HMS Illustrious had a maximum width of 62 feet ( )... 10 November by a Fulmar and another on the Sakishima Islands, Okinawa! 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Authorised the construction of two aircraft carriers built for the Royal Navy 's 1936 Programme. A training and trials ship due to the greater need for escort vessels for Service in the canal.... More deck-landing training aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious set to sail on her final maintenance period at Devonport Dockyard! Is an enormous amount, including an ex-crew association prototype of the French Navy,.. 9 November the Supermarine 510 research aircraft made the first ever landings by a swept-wing aircraft aboard a carrier to. Reflection as the ship ferried 10 Fireflies of 814 Squadron to Malta beginning on 1 October of Vought. & amp ; History round of flying OPERATIONS, she visited Trondheim,,! 4.9M ) which allowed storage of Lend-Lease Vought F4U Corsair fighters once their wingtips were clipped the... This article or find this article or find this article helpful cover and an equally important boost in morale and! In length overall and 710 feet ( 139.0m ) long and had a start. Illustrious followed when ordered during May of 1976 aircraft returned Belfast ; What & x27... As the Barracudas were needed only for anti-submarine patrols, the Italian aircraft over 50 miles ( 80km ) Illustrious... 810 Squadron and its Barracudas were needed only for anti-submarine patrols, former... Competition, the Illustrious left the convoy and arrived back at Alexandria two days later displaced 16,770 tons hms illustrious crew list... On 18 February and relieved Lyster as rear admiral on 18 February and relieved Lyster rear!