HMS Illustrious (87) was an aircraft carrier that was in service under Great Britain during World War II.
Description[]
Illustrious was the lead ship in its class, the Illustrious-class aircraft aircraft carrier. Illustrious was notable for being the first aircraft carrier in the world to feature a completely armored hangar. While protecting the hangar from fire even up to relatively large calibers, only one hangar could be put on the carrier.[1]
Baptism of fire[]
In August 1940, HMS Illustrious joined the Mediterranean Fleet, providing air cover, anti-shipping strikes and carrying out raids in Italian-occupied Libya.
Under the cover of darkness of 11 November 1940, the British carrier launched a surprise twenty-one aircraft strike on the Italian fleet at Taranto, sinking one battleship and heavily damaging two others.
Stuka attacks[]
HMS Illustrious was hit and badly damaged by heavy bombs delivered by German Stukas and/or Italian 1,000-pound bomb armed Stukas on 10 January 1941. According to British Vice Admiral Sir Wilbraham Ford five of the deadly Stuka attacks with the heavy bombs were German:
H.M.S. ILLUSTRIOUS was attacked at 1240 by about 25 dive bombers, by high level bombers at 1330 and again by 15 dive bombers at 1610 and by torpedo aircraft at 1920 and received six bomb hits and several near misses from heavy bombs estimated about one thousand pounds. Five bombers were JU. 87 with German markings ... Steering gear was put out of action and ship brought into Malta steering by engines.[2]
According to former Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) pilot and military historian Wayne Ralph:
Around midday on January 10, waves of Italian air force Ju87 Stukas attacked the ship, and six or seven thousand-pound bombs hit their target, set fire to aviation fuel below decks and destroyed the carrier's steering system, the attack took only ten minutes.[3]
According to Italian military historian Francesco Mattesini, the German Stukas were in the main part armed with smaller bombs and heavy bomb armed Stukas from Captain Ercolano Ercolani's 96° Gruppo scored a direct hit on the aft lift killing 30 sailors and forcing the carrier to limp back to Malta for urgent repairs.[4]
Invincible remained there making emergency repairs (and under air attack) until 23 January when she was finally able to sortie for Egypt, reaching Alexandria the next day. The carrier remained in Alexandria under repair until 10 March, then set sail for Port Said to pass through the Suez Canal, ultimately arriving in Norfolk, Va, USA for extensive repairs on 12 May.
Repairs were declared complete by 27 May and the carrier then sailed for Jamaica. She stayed at Kingston conducting flying trials for a week, and then returned to Norfolk. She stayed there until 12 December 1941 when she sailed for Britain in company with HMS Formidable.
The two ships were sailing in the Atlantic in extremely rough seas and low visibility on 16 December when Illustrious rammed Formidable, resulting in extensive damage of both ships. Formidable arrived at Belfast on 21 December and was under repair until 3 February 1942 before she sailed for trials and then Greenock where she prepared for duty in the Far East, leaving on 17 February to join the Eastern Fleet. Meanwhile, Illustrious sailed straight for Greenock, arriving on 21 December and remained carrying out repairs until late February and then joined Formidable in the Far East in early March 1942.
References[]
- ↑ http://www.wwiivehicles.com/great-britain/ships/fleet-aircraft-carriers/illustrious-class-fleet-aircraft-carrier.asp
- ↑ The Fleet Air Arm in the Second World War, Ben Jones, p. 313, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd, 2012
- ↑ Aces, Warriors and Wingmen, Wayne Ralph, p. 15 , John Wiley & Sons, 2008
- ↑ L’Attività Aerea Italo Tedesca nel Mediterraneo (Ufficio Storcico dell’Aeronautica, 2a Edizione, Roma, 2003)