Above : Collossal Class Aircraft Carriers. The Brazil stamp depicts Minas Gerais (A11) ex HMS VENGEANCE.

This is the last in the series on VIKRANT for ther time being. Watch out for a series on INS VIRAAT.

Colossus class aircraft carrier
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

HMS Triumph, Colossus class carrier. Planes on her deck include Supermarine Seafires, forward, and Fairey Fireflys aft.

Class overview
Builders:
Vickers ArmstrongSwan HunterCammell LairdHarland & WolffAlexander Stephens and SonsHawthorn LeslieFairfield
Operators:
Argentine Navy
Royal Australian Navy
Brazilian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
French Navy
Royal Netherlands Navy
Royal Navy
In commission:
16 December 1944 – 16 October 2001
Completed:
10
General characteristics
Displacement:
13,400 tons (13,600 t)
Length:
695 ft (211.8 m)
Beam:
80 ft (24.4 m)
Draught:
23.5 ft (7.2 m)
Propulsion:
Steam Turbines (4 Admiralty 3-drum boilers, Parsons geared turbines); 40,000 shp
Speed:
25 knots (46 km/h)
Range:
12,000 nmi at 14 knots (26 km/h)
Complement:
1,300 (including air group)
Armament:
30 x Bofors 40 mm guns
Aircraft carried:
48 aircraft
Aviation facilities:
Axial flight deckSingle main hangar
The Colossus class aircraft carriers were a class of Royal Navy light aircraft carriers. A total of sixteen ships were foreseen.
Two ships of the Colossus class (HMS Perseus and Pioneer) were tailored for aircraft maintenance rather than combat duty. Another five were suspended, to be completed later as Majestic class carriers. A sixth converted Majestic, the Leviathan, was not completed at all. All five Majestics were sold to Commonwealth or friendly navies.
Contents
1 Design
2 List of ships
Design
The sinking, in December 1941, of the HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse by land-based aircraft made clear the vulnerability of unsupported capital ships to air attack, and demonstrated the urgent need for a larger naval air arm.
At the start of the war, the Royal Navy operated both escort aircraft carriers and fleet aircraft carriers. However, escort carriers were designed solely for defensive convoy work and were of little use for in an offensive role. Their slow speed and small size ruled them out as platforms for high-performance fighter aircraft. On the other hand, the expensive fleet carriers were in short supply and would take too long to build. The conversion of merchant ships was considered for a time, but it was rejected because of the need for transport vessels.

The Colossus class emerged as an expedient solution to this critical shortage of combat aircraft carriers. These ships were based on the Illustrious class design, but reduced in size, and intended to be available within two years. To expedite construction, the hull of theColossus class was built to commercial scantlings up to the hangar deck.
The first four Colossus carriers were completed in December 1944 and were immediately dispatched to the Far East. None of the ships saw action. The Colossus class ships did not possess the armoured flight decks that had effectively protected the Illustrious class fleet carriers against kamikaze attacks during Operation Iceberg. After the Second World War, the class provided a cheap way of projecting the Royal Navy's presence. Some of the ships saw service in the Korean Conflict. Less costly to operate than fleet carriers, they carried almost as many aircraft. Many ships were sold to foreign navies and continued to serve into the 1990s.
List of ships
Colossus—first loaned, then sold, to France. Renamed Arromanches. Broken up in 1978.
Glory—broken up in 1961.
Ocean—broken up in 1962.
Perseus—originally designated Edgar, but rechristened Perseus upon commission in 1945. Broken up in 1958.
Pioneer—originally the Ethalion; later, the Mars. Finally renamed Pioneer. Broken up in 1954.
Theseus—broken up in 1962.
Triumph—broken up in 1981.
Venerable—sold to the Netherlands in 1948 and renamed Karel Doorman II. Resold to Argentina and renamed Vienticinco de Mayo. Towed to India as of 2006 and believed to have been scrapped.
Vengeance—served with the Royal Australian Navy from 1953–1955. Sold to Brazil in 1956 and renamed Minas Gerais. Decommissioned in 2001. Broken up in 2004.
Warrior—loaned to the Royal Canadian Navy, returned to the UK in 1956 and sold to Argentina to be renamed Independencia in 1958. Broken up in the 1970s.
Royal Navy
Colossus · Glory · Ocean · Perseus · Pioneer · Theseus · Triumph · Venerable · Vengeance · Warrior
Argentine Navy
Independencia (ex-Warrior) · Veinticinco de Mayo (ex-Venerable)
Royal Australian Navy
Vengeance
Brazilian Navy
Minas Gerais (ex-Vengeance)
Royal Canadian Navy
Warrior
French Navy
Arromanches (ex-Colossus)
Royal Netherlands Navy
Karel Doorman (ex-Venerable)
List of aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy

Majestic class aircraft carrier
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Class overview
Builders:
Harland and WolffHM Dockyard DevonportSwan HunterVickers-Armstrongs
Operators:
Royal Australian NavyRoyal Canadian NavyIndian Navy
Preceded by:
Colossus class
Succeeded by:
Centaur class
Built:
1942–1961
Planned:
6
Completed:
5
Cancelled:
1 (scrapped prior to completion)
Preserved:
1 (museum ship)
General characteristics (original design)
Type:
Light fleet carrier
Displacement:
14,224 tons standard, 18,085 tons at full load
Length:
695 ft (212 m)
Beam:
80 ft (24 m)
Draught:
23.5 ft (7.2 m)
Propulsion:
4 Admiralty 3-drum boilers, Parsons geared steam turbines; 40,000 shp
Speed:
25 knots (46 km/h)
Range:
12,000 nmiles at 14 knots (26 km/h)
Complement:
1,200 (including air group)
Armament:
25 × Bofors 40 mm guns
Aircraft carried:
37 aircraft of various types
Notes:
Individual ships' characteristics vary greatly depending on the time major construction resumed, the operating navy, and the intended role of the ship
The Majestic class was a ship class of six light fleet aircraft carriers constructed for the Royal Navy, but serving in the Royal Australian Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, and Indian Navy.
Contents
[hide]
1 Design
2 Construction and acquisition
3 Ships
4 Notes
5 References
6 External links
Design
The Majestic class was conceived as a modified version of the Colossus class carrier, incorporating improvements in flight deck design and habitability.[1] Majestic and Colossus carriers were almost identical in hull design and both were considered subclasses of the "1942 design" light aircraft carrier program.[2] These carriers were intended to be "disposable warships": they were to be operated during World War II and scrapped at the end of hostilities or within three years of entering service.[3]
Six ships were ordered: Hercules, Leviathan, Magnificent, Majestic, Powerful, and Terrible. These six ships replaced the cancelled final six Colossus class carriers.
Construction and acquisition
The six carriers were built by four shipyards: Harland and Wolff, HM Dockyard Devonport, Swan Hunter, and Vickers-Armstrongs. Construction of the ships began in 1942 or 1943, and they were launched during 1944 and 1945, but following the end of World War II, the Admiralty ordered the suspension of many British shipbuilding projects, including the fitting out of the six Majestics.[1]
Majestic and Terrible were purchased by the Royal Australian Navy in June 1947 for the combined cost of AU£2.75 million, plus stores, fuel, and ammunition.[1][4] As Terrible was the closer of the two ships to completion, construction was finished without modification, and she was commissioned into the RAN on December 16, 1948 as HMAS Sydney.[1] Work progressed on Majestic at a slower rate, as she was to be upgraded with the latest technology and equipment, including an angled flight deck, steam catapult, and mirror landing aid.[5] Majestic was completed and commissioned into the RAN as HMAS Melbourne on 28 October 1955.[6]
The Royal Canadian Navy acquired Magnificent (which was the only ship to retain her original name) after the war, and commissioned her April 7 1948. In 1952, the RCN purchased Powerful, which was upgraded along similar lines to Majestic/Melbourne. Powerful was renamed HMCS Bonaventure and commissioned into the RCN in January 17, 1957, replacing her near-sister ship.
Hercules was also upgraded along the lines of Majestic/Melbourne. She was sold to the Indian Navy in 1957, who commissioned her as INS Vikrant in 1961.
Leviathan was the only ship of the class not to be completed. In 1968, her boilers were removed and used to repair those destroyed in a fire aboard ARA Veinticinco de Mayo, a Colossus class carrier acquired by the Armada of the Argentine Republic, and she was scrapped without ever being commissioned later in the year.

Ships
Hercules
She was launched in 1945, but was neglected for 10 years until bought by India. She was commissioned into the Indian Navy in 1961, being named INS Vikrant. Decommissioned in 1997 and converted into a museum ship, Vikrant is the only World War II-era British-built carrier to be preserved after decommissioning.
Leviathan
She was launched in 1945, though never completed or commissioned. Her boilers were removed to repair ARA Veinticinco de Mayo in 1968, and she was scrapped later that year.
Magnificent
She was launched in November 1944 and commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy in 1948. She was returned to the Royal Navy June 14, 1957, who held her in reserve until 1965, when she was struck from records and broken up for scrap in Faslane, Scotland.
Majestic
She was launched in 1945, and sold to Australia in 1947. Majestic was heavily upgraded, and became the third ship in the world to be constructed with an angled flight deck and steam catapult.[7] The ship was renamed HMAS Melbourne and commissioned into service in 1955. During her career, Melbourne had minimal, non-combat roles in the major conflicts of the era, but was involved in two major peacetime accidents: colliding with and sinking HMAS Voyager in 1964 and USS Frank E. Evans in 1969. She was decommissioned in 1982, and sold to China for scrap in 1985. Instead of scrapping Melbourne, the People's Liberation Army Navy studied the carrier and used her to train pilots.
Powerful
She was launched in 1945, and was purchased by Canada in 1952 to be upgraded to a similar standard to Majestic. She was renamed HMCS Bonaventure and commissioned into RCN service in January 1957, to replace sister ship HMCS Magnificent that was exchanged for the Colossus class carrier HMCS Warrior in 1948. She was decommissioned in 1970, and was scrapped in Taiwan in 1971.
Terrible
She was launched in 1944, and was transferred to the Royal Australian Navy, under the name of HMAS Sydney in 1948. She was decommissioned in 1958, recommissioned as a fast troop transport in 1962. Sydney participated in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars. She was decommissioned for the second time in 1973, sold to a South Korean steel mill in 1975, and broken up for scrap.

On the top is the franking meter of the Intergrated Defence Head-Quarters- Ministry of Defence NAVY.

It reads thus:

"FOR THE PHYSICALLY FIT

MENTALLY TOUGH"

Indian male Philatelists (age 19 1/2 to 25 years-born between 2nd Jan 1986 and 1st July 1991) who can stand up to this requirement, and want to make a career as an officer in the Indian navy , can access:-

http://www.nausena-bharti.nic.in/

for further details.

This is how we blow our trumpet.
A TRIBUTE TO INDIAN NAVY BAND
You have to search really hard to find better and more spirited musicians, than the men of the Indian Navy Band. Here they are performing in front of INDIA GATE New Delhi.

The NAVAL ENSIGN flies high as always, from the quarter deck of I.N.S VIKRANT, when in commission.

INIAN HOCKEY TEAM WOULD HAVE PERFORMED BETTER IF:
They had practiced on the deck of an aircraft carrier, whilst the carrier was sailing on high seas, as the brave sailors on board INS VIKRANT did whilst the ship was in commission.