HMS Eagle
Class overview
NameAudacious class
Operators Royal Navy
Preceded byImplacable class
Succeeded by
Planned4
Completed2
Cancelled2
Retired2
General characteristics
TypeAircraft carrier
Displacement36,800 tons (as built)
Length804 ft (245 m)
Beam
  • Ark Royal
  • 112 ft (34 m) (as built)
  • Eagle
  • 135 ft (41 m)
Draught33 ft (10 m)
Propulsion
  • 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
  • Eagle
  • 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph)
  • Ark Royal
  • 31.5 knots (58.3 km/h; 36.2 mph)
Range
  • Eagle
  • 7,000 nmi (13,000 km; 8,100 mi) at 18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph)
  • Ark Royal
  • 7,000 nmi (13,000 km; 8,100 mi) at 14 kn (26 km/h; 16 mph)
  • 5,000 nmi (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 24 kn (44 km/h; 28 mph)
Armament
  • Eagle (As built:)
    • 16 × 4.5 inch guns (8 × 2)
    • 61 × 40 mm guns (8 × 6, 2 × 2, 9 × 1)
  • Post-1964 re-fit:
  • Ark Royal (As built:)
  • 1969 refit: none
Armour
  • 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
  • Eagle (As built:)
  • 60
  • Post-1964: 45
  • Ark Royal (As built:)
  • 50
  • 38 after 1967-1970 refit

The Audacious-class aircraft carriers were a class of aircraft carriers proposed by the British government in the 1930s - 1940s and completed after the Second World War. The two ships built were heavily modified and diverged over their service lives. They were in operation from 1951 until 1979.

History

HMS Ark Royal (left) next to USS Nimitz in 1978.

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.[1]

Four ships were laid down between 1942 and 1943 during World War II as part of the British naval buildup - Africa, Irresistible, Audacious and Eagle. 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.

As the builds of Audacious (renamed Eagle) and Irresistible (renamed Ark Royal) progressed they differed so much that they effectively 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.

Ships in class

Name Pennant Number Builder Laid Down Launched Commissioned Fate
HMS Eagle (Ex Audacious) R05 Harland and Wolff, Belfast 19 March, 1946 5 October, 1951 Decommissioned 26 January, 1972.
HMS Ark Royal (Ex Irresistible) R09 Cammell Laird, Birkenhead
  • 3 May, 1943 as HMS Irresistible
  • Later renamed after the third Ark Royal that was lost in 1941.
 3 May, 1950 22 February, 1955 Decommissioned 14 February, 1979.
HMS Eagle N/A 19 April, 1944 N/A N/A Cancelled January 1946 when 23% complete.
HMS Africa N/A N/A N/A N/A Cancelled 15 October, 1945.

References

  1. ↑ "Audacious Class: Armoured Flight Decks". Armoured Aircraft Carriers in World War II. Retrieved 14 January 2018.

Further reading

  • Ireland, Bernard. The Illustrated Guide to Aircraft Carriers of the World. Hermes House, London, 2005. ISBN 1-84477-747-2
  • Johnstone-Bryden, Richard. Britain's Greatest Warship: HMS "Ark Royal IV". Sutton Publishing Ltd., Stroud, 2000. ISBN 0-7509-2504-3
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