HMS Courageous was the oldest aircraft carrier
in the Royal Navy when the war began. She had been built in 1916 as a fast
cruiser, armed with four 15 inch guns and eighteen 4 inch guns as well as
anti-aircraft weapons. She was designed to be fast enough to catch the smaller
surface raiders being used by the Germans, but with guns big enough to outmatch
them conclusively. To make high speeds possible she and her fellow fast
cruisers were given only light armour, which made them unsuitable for facing up
to larger German ships. She fought in the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight in
1917.
HMS Courageous in dock in 1939.
After the end of World War I, Courageous was
at first destined to be scrapped as the combination of big guns and light
armour was deemed to have been something of a failure. She was saved when in
1924 it was decided to convert her large, fast hull to become an aircraft
carrier. The guns and turrets were taken out to be reused in the battelship HMS
Vanguard. The hull was equipped with hangars and maintenance facilities for 48
aircraft. The funnel and other superstructure were pushed to one side to form
an "island" while the hull was covered by a vast, flat flight deck.
The Courageous was refitted in the 1930s. She
entered World War II with two squadrons of Fairey Swordfish torpedo and
reconnaissance aircraft. Her defensive armament consisted of several
anti-aircraft guns and she had no offensive armament at all except her
aircraft. She had, in 1938, been taken out of frontline service and used as a
training ship but the outbreak of war brought her back into action.
A party
held on board HMS Courageous in Gibraltar in 1937 when she met the German
battleship Deutschland. The German officers were entertained on board,
including the man playing the piano.
No comments:
Post a Comment