HMS Victorious (R38)
Service
- as Victorious14 May 1941 — 13 March 19681,572 days of the war
- Name
- HMS Victorious
- Pennant / hull number
- R38
- Builder
- Vickers-Armstrong
- Ordered
- 13 January 1937
- Laid down
- 4 May 1937
- Launched
- 14 September 1939
- Commissioned
- 14 May 1941
- Decommissioned
- 13 March 1968
- Fate
- Scrapped, 1969 (1969)
- Status
- Scrapped
Specifications
- Displacement, full load
- 23,207 long tons (23,579 t)
- Length
- 226.47 m (743 ft) OA
- Beam
- 28.96 m (95 ft)
- Draught
- 8.53 m (28 ft)
- Speed
- 30.5 knots (56.5 km/h, 35.1 mph)
- Range
- 11,000 nmi (20,372 km)
- Complement
- 817
- Main gun
- 114 mm (4.5 in)
HMS Victorious was a Illustrious-class aircraft carrier in service with the Royal Navy. She carried the pennant number R38. Her keel was laid at Vickers-Armstrong on 4 May 1937. Launched on 14 September 1939, she entered service on 14 May 1941.
She was one of three ships of her class. The class followed the HMS Ark Royal (91) and was succeeded by the Implacable class.
Displacement was 23,207 long tons. She measured 226.5 m (743 ft) long with a beam of 29.0 m (95 ft). Her designed speed was 30.5 knots, and she carried a complement of 817. Her main battery was of 114 mm (4.5 in) calibre.
111,000 shp drove three shafts.
She was in commission for 1,572 days of the Second World War. She was decommissioned on 13 March 1968.
She was broken up for scrap in 1969.
Written from the harvested record. Every figure above is sourced; the wording is this site's own.
Armament and machinery
Armament and machinery
- Propulsion
- 3 shafts, 3 geared steam turbines
- Power
- 6 × Admiralty 3-drum boilers
- 111000 shp
- Armament
- 16 × 4.5 inch (8 × 2)
- 48 × 2-pounder (6 × 8)
- 21 × 40 mm AA (2 × 4, 2 × 2, 9 × 1)
- 45 × 20 mm AA (45 × 1)
- Armour
- flight deck: 3"
- hangar deck: 2"
- side belt 4"
- hangar sides: 4"
- Aircraft
- During World War II:
- included: Albacore, Avenger, Barracuda, Corsair, Fulmar, Seafire, Sea Hurricane, Swordfish, Wildcat, F6F Hellcat
- 1941:
- 36 Fulmar/Albacore
- 1943:
- 52 Martlet IV/Avenger
- 1945:
- 54 Corsair/Avenger
- Post-refit aircraft included:
- Gannet, Scimitar, Sea Fury, Sea Hawk, Sea Vixen, Buccaneer
Sister ships
Sources
- Facts harvested from HMS Victorious (R38) on Wikipedia. Figures only — no wording is taken from it.
- Photograph: U.S. Navy — U.S. Navy National Museum of Naval Aviation photo No. 1996.488.037.041 — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons