HMS Eagle (1918)
Aerial view of Eagle in the 1930s
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Class overview | |
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Preceded by | HMS Hermes |
Succeeded by | Courageous class |
History | |
United Kingdom | |
Name | Eagle |
Ordered | 29 July 1912 |
Builder | Armstrong Whitworth |
Yard number | 858 |
Laid down | 20 February 1913 |
Launched | 8 June 1918 |
Acquired | Purchased, 28 February 1918 |
Commissioned | 20 February 1924 |
Identification | Pennant number: 94 |
Fate | Sunk by U-73 during Operation Pedestal, 11 August 1942 |
General characteristics (as completed in 1924) | |
Type | Aircraft carrier |
Displacement | 21,850 standard ) |
Length | 667 ft 6 in (203.5 m) |
Beam | 115 ft (35.1 m) |
Draught | 26 ft 8 in (8.1 m) ( deep load ) |
Installed power |
|
Propulsion | 4 shafts; 4 geared steam turbine sets |
Speed | 24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph) |
Range | 4,800 nmi (8,900 km; 5,500 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) |
Complement | 791 |
Armament |
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Armour | |
Aircraft carried | 25–30 |
HMS Eagle was an early
Eagle spent the first nine months of World War II in the
The ship was relieved by a more modern carrier in March 1941 and ordered to hunt for
Design and description
Construction and conversion
In 1911, the
The
Based on trials with
The 4.5-inch (114 mm) armour planned for her upper
Construction was slowed by industrial action after the war, and was suspended on 21 October 1919 as Chile wanted to repurchase the ship and have it re-converted to a battleship.[8] The £2.5 million cost of doing so would have been higher than the £1.5 million offered by the Chileans and the Admiralty decided to retain the ship. The Royal Navy needed to carry out flying trials with a carrier fitted with an island, and the Admiralty approved the use of Eagle on 11 November. Armstrong Whitworth plated over the openings for the undelivered lifts on the flight deck that had been cancelled when they could not meet the specifications. Armstrong Whitworth also finished the rear funnel, removed the torpedo tubes, and plated over the forward funnel uptakes. She then sailed to the Royal dockyard at Portsmouth for the modifications necessary for the trials on 20 April 1920.[8][9] Only two of her boilers, converted to run on fuel oil only, could be used during the trials.[10]
Flight trials
The trials principally tested the longitudinal arresting gear used previously on the small aircraft carrier Argus.[11] They were not intended to stop landing aircraft—the landing speeds of the time were low enough that this was unnecessary given a good headwind—but rather to prevent aircraft from veering off to one side and falling off the flight deck.[12] Initially, the arresting gear was about 170 feet (51.8 m) long and was installed too far forward. Over the course of the trials it was moved further to the rear and lengthened to a total of 320 feet (97.5 m).[13]
The ship was commanded during the trials by
Description
The ship was
Eagle had an
The ship's flight deck was 652 feet (198.7 m) long and her
For self-defence against enemy warships, Eagle had nine
Career
Inter-war
Eagle was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet on 7 June 1924 after she commissioned on 26 February and finished
While in the Mediterranean, one flight usually operated ashore at either
When the ship returned to the Mediterranean after the completion of her refit in 1926, the Bisons of
When Eagle returned to the Mediterranean later in the year, both 440 and 448 Flights had re-equipped with Fairey IIIF reconnaissance aircraft. Eagle departed Malta on 8 January 1931, en route to Portsmouth to load the latest carrier aircraft for a demonstration at the British Industries Exhibition at Buenos Aires, Argentina. She returned to the Mediterranean to participate in the summer fleet exercises before sailing for Devonport where she began a lengthy refit in August.[23]
The ship's boilers were replaced during the refit and the 4-inch gun between the funnels was replaced by an eight-barrel QF 2-pounder Mark V pom-pom mount. A single quadruple
Following the refit, Eagle was sent to the Far East, serving on the China Station throughout 1934, with her aircraft being deployed against
Eagle was paid off until her refit began in early 1936.[28] Transverse arresting gear was installed and a second octuple pom-pom replaced the 2-pounders in front of the island. Two more quadruple .50 machine gun mounts were installed in sponsons on either side of the bow. The capacity of her bomb magazines was also increased during this refit,[26] and the ship's ventilation and insulation arrangements were improved as well. She was sent back to the Far East in 1937 with only nine Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers (cloth-covered biplanes) of 813 Squadron aboard[29] as well as nine more Swordfish to re-equip 824 Squadron when it transferred from Hermes in April.[30] Captain Clement Moody commanded Eagle from 1 January 1937 until relieved by Captain A. R. M. Bridge on 16 June 1939. In August 1939 the ship's crew was exchanged in Hong Kong and Eagle sailed for Singapore to begin a short refit on 12 August.[31]
World War II
1939–1941
When World War Two began the following month, the ship had just completed her refit in Singapore. She put to sea a few days later and began searching for German merchant ships in company with the
Eagle continued to patrol the Indian Ocean in 1940, but escorted a large Australian troop convoy to Suez early in the year. While in the vicinity of the Nicobar Islands on 14 March, a 250 lb (110 kg) bomb accidentally exploded, killing 14 men. The damage to the ship was mostly confined to the bomb magazines, although two generators were knocked out. The explosion flashed upwards through the port bomb lift and ignited the wing on one Swordfish stowed in the hangar. All but four of the aircraft were damaged by the corrosive salt-water spray system when the fire was doused. She was repaired at Singapore between 15 March and 9 May when the ship sailed for Colombo en route to the Mediterranean, which she reached on 26 May. In June three crated Gloster Sea Gladiators were found in storage at Dekheila and these aircraft became the only fighters available for the entire fleet in the Eastern Mediterranean.[33]
Flying from shore bases on 5 July, 813 Squadron attacked
On 22 August three Swordfish from 824 Squadron, flying from Sidi Barrani, attacked and sank the
While covering another convoy to Malta on 12 October, she was damaged by near misses from SM.79s based in
When the ship was examined on 5 November, her aviation fuel system was leaking and required repairs. Five of her aircraft were transferred to Illustrious for an attack on 11 November on Taranto (Operation Judgement), whilst Eagle remained in Alexandria. One of Eagle's Swordfish was shot down by the intense Italian anti-aircraft fire. The ship covered multiple convoys to Greece and Malta during the rest of November.[49] Six of her aircraft bombed Tripoli harbour during the night of 24/25 November without loss.[50] Eagle spent most of December in Alexandria, but her aircraft supported the ground war, most notably when they spotted for the battleships Warspite and Barham during the bombardment of Bardia on 2 January 1941. In mid-January, the ship covered a convoy to Greece, but bad weather foiled plans to attack Italian bases en route. After her return, her aircraft complement was reorganised to include more fighters, as Eagle now had sole responsibility for fighter cover over the fleet after the crippling of Illustrious by German dive bombers on 11 January. In order to make room for the fighters, one of the Swordfish squadrons was disembarked and used to support the ground war. When Eagle was covering another convoy to Malta in mid-February, the ship carried nine Fairey Fulmars of 805 Squadron, five Sea Gladiators and six Swordfish.[51]
After the carrier Formidable arrived on 9 March to relieve Illustrious, orders were cancelled that would have transferred Eagle to the South Atlantic to hunt for German commerce raiders and the ship did not leave Alexandria until 9 April.[52] In the meantime, both Swordfish squadrons were transferred to Port Sudan to operate against Italian shipping in Massawa, in Italian East Africa, on 25 March. They were very successful and returned to the ship on 13 April after she had passed through the Suez Canal.[53] After she reached Mombasa, Kenya, on 26 April, she was ordered to sea on 29 April on an unsuccessful search for a raider in the Indian Ocean. The ship was then ordered on 1 May to proceed to Durban, South Africa, to rendezvous with the battleship Nelson and to proceed to Gibraltar. After the two ships arrived in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on 25 May to refuel, Nelson was ordered to continue to Gibraltar, but Eagle's orders changed and she was now charged with hunting for German supply ships in the South Atlantic. Captain A. R. M. Bridge was relieved by E. G. H. Rushbrooke at this time.[54]
Eagle began searching the South Atlantic on 29 May, usually accompanied by Dorsetshire or the light cruiser Dunedin. The carrier's Swordfish discovered, bombed and sank the blockade runner Elbe on 6 June. The oil tanker Lothringen was captured on 15 June by Dunedin after it had been bombed and strafed by several Swordfish. The ship continued patrolling without incident except for a hangar fire that killed one aircraft mechanic on 20 September. All but four of the ship's Swordfish were damaged by the spray used to put out the fire, but the ship herself was undamaged.[55]
In October 1941, Eagle was ordered to return to Britain for a refit at Gladstone Dock, Liverpool. She arrived off Greenock on 26 October and was docked at Liverpool on 1 November.[56] The quadruple .50 machine guns were replaced by 12 manually operated automatic 20 mm Oerlikon light anti-aircraft guns, six in sponsons on each side of the flight deck, and the crews of the four-inch AA guns were given protection from splinters by the addition of zarebas around each weapon. The HACS was moved to the front of the control top and fitted with a Type 285 gunnery radar. A Type 290 air warning radar was also installed. The ship's oil fuel capacity was reduced to 2,990 long tons (3,040 t) in exchange for an increase in her petrol storage of 3,000 imperial gallons (14,000 L; 3,600 US gal). This reduced her range to 2,780 nautical miles (5,150 km; 3,200 mi) at a speed of 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph).[57]
Eagle's refit was completed on 9 January 1942 and she was working up for the next five weeks. She joined the convoy WS16 en route to Gibraltar on 16 February and reached it a week later. 813 and 824 Squadrons had rejoined the ship with their Swordfish and they were supplemented by four Sea Hurricane 1B fighters from a detachment of 804 Squadron and the Fighter Flight of 813 Squadron.[58][59] Because their wings could not fold, they could not use either lift and remained on the flight deck at all times. The ship reached Gibraltar on 23 February and was assigned to Force H.[60]
Battle of Malta
Upon Eagle's arrival in Gibraltar, 824 Squadron transferred to RAF North Front and the ship loaded 15 Supermarine Spitfire fighters brought to Gibraltar by the carrier Argus.[61][62] These aircraft were partly assembled dockside and hoisted aboard for final assembly. They were too big to fit below deck and remained on the flight deck, where they impeded the operations of Eagle's aircraft, except for those few also carried on the flight deck, until the ferried aircraft were flown off.[63] On 27 February 1942, she sailed to deliver the Spitfires to Malta, escorted by the battleship Malaya, Argus, the cruiser Hermione, and nine destroyers, but the operation had to be cancelled when the long-range fuel tanks of the Spitfires proved defective. The problems were not rectified until 7 March, when the 15 Spitfires were successfully flown off to Malta. Upon her return, the ship's engines required repairs that lasted until 13 March.[64] Nine more Spitfires were delivered to Malta on 21 March and an additional seven on 29 March.[65] After her return, her steering gear required extensive repairs that lasted until the end of April.[66]
As part of Operation Bowery, Eagle rendezvoused on the night of 7/8 May with the American carrier USS Wasp, carrying 47 Spitfires, while Eagle had landed her entire aircraft complement to make room for 17 Spitfires of her own. Sixty of them arrived safely at Malta. For the next operation on 17 May, the Swordfish and Sea Hurricanes of 813 Squadron flew back on board to join the 17 Spitfires and six Fairey Albacore torpedo bombers destined for Malta. The fighters flew off without incident, but engine problems forced all of the Albacores to return.[67] After they had landed, the ship was attacked by a half-dozen SM.79 torpedo bombers which failed to score any hits. The radar-guided guns of the escorting light cruiser, HMS Charybdis, were instrumental in driving off the determined Italian aircraft.[68]
Eagle disembarked all of her aircraft, except for her four Sea Hurricanes, to make room for 31 Spitfires and flew them off on 3 June during
Eagle covered
Notes
- ^ Brook, p. 146
- ^ Gardiner and Gray, pp. 38, 70
- ^ Colledge and Warlow, p. 108
- ^ Friedman, pp. 74–75
- ^ a b c Brown, p. 250
- ^ Friedman, pp. 74–76
- ^ Friedman, p. 75
- ^ a b c Friedman, p. 79
- ^ Brown, pp. 250–251
- ^ Brown, p. 251
- ^ a b c Brown, p. 252
- ^ Friedman, p. 95
- ^ Friedman, pp. 79–81
- ^ Friedman, pp. 81–82
- ^ Friedman, p. 82
- ^ Brown, pp. 252–253
- ^ a b Brown, p. 272
- ^ Friedman, pp. 82–83, 366
- ^ Brown, pp. 253–254, 273
- ^ Friedman, p. 83, 366
- ^ a b Brown, p. 254
- ^ O'Connor, Derek, "The Other Franco", Aviation History, January 2018, p. 59.
- ^ Brown, pp. 254–255
- ^ Brown, pp. 255, 257
- ^ a b Brown, pp. 257–258
- ^ a b Friedman, p. 86
- ^ Sturtivant, pp. 209, 266
- ^ a b Brown, p. 258
- ^ Brown, pp. 258–259
- ^ Sturtivant, p. 286
- ^ Smith, pp. 15–16
- ^ Smith, pp. 20–23, 29–30
- ^ Smith, pp. 30–40, 44
- ^ Smith, p. 47
- ^ Rohwer, p. 31
- ^ Smith, pp. 49–52
- ^ Rohwer, p. 32
- ^ Gustavsson and Slongo, pp. 78–79
- ^ Smith, p. 53
- ^ Rohwer, p. 33
- ^ Gustavsson and Slongo, p. 89
- ^ Gustavsson and Slongo, p. 117
- ^ Shores, et al., p. 128
- ^ Smith, pp. 55–56
- ^ Gustavsson and Slongo, p. 162
- ^ Smith, p. 66
- ^ Gustavsson and Slongo, pp. 165–166
- ^ Smith, pp. 66–67
- ^ Smith, pp. 67–75
- ^ Gustavsson and Slongo, p. 200
- ^ Smith, pp. 77–83
- ^ Smith, pp. 84–85
- ^ Brown, p. 264
- ^ Smith, pp. 108–116
- ^ Smith, pp. 116–132
- ^ Smith, pp. 134–137
- ^ Friedman, pp. 86–87
- ^ Smith, pp. 141–143
- ^ Sturtivant, pp. 178, 212–213
- ^ Smith, pp. 142–143
- ^ Sturtivant, p. 262
- ^ Nailer, p. 160
- ^ Shores, Cull and Malizia 1991, pp. 108–109
- ^ Smith, pp. 144–146
- ^ Nailer, p. 161
- ^ Smith, p. 146
- ^ Nailer, p. 162
- ^ Smith, pp. 151–153
- ^ Smith, pp. 156–158
- ^ Brown, p. 268
- ^ Nailer, p. 163
- ^ Smith, pp. 159–161
- ^ Smith, p. 163
- ^ a b Smith, p. 189
- ^ Brown, p. 271
References
- Brown, David (1973). HMS Eagle. Warship Profile. Vol. 35. Windsor, Berkshire, UK: Profile Publications. OCLC 33084560.
- Brook, Peter (1999). Warships for Export: Armstrong Warships 1867–1927. Gravesend, Kent, UK: World Ship Society. ISBN 978-0-905617-89-3.
- ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- Crabb, Brian James (2014). Operation Pedestal. The Story of Convoy WS21S in August 1942. Donington, Lincolnshire, UK: Shaun Tyas. ISBN 978-1-907730-19-1.
- ISBN 0-87021-054-8.
- Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
- Gustavsson, Håkan & Slongo, Ludovico (2010). Desert Prelude: Early Clashes June–November 1940. Sandomierz, Poland: Stratus. ISBN 978-83-89450-52-4.
- Nailer, Roger (1990). "Aircraft to Malta". In Gardiner, Robert (ed.). Warship 1990. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 151–65. ISBN 1-55750-903-4.
- ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
- Shores, Christopher; Cull, Brian & Malizia, Nicola (1987). Air War for Yugoslavia, Greece, and Crete. London: Grub Street. ISBN 0-948817-07-0.
- Shores, Christopher; Cull, Brian & Malizia, Nicola (1991). Malta: The Spitfire Year: 1942. London: Grub Street. ISBN 0-948817-16-X.
- ISBN 0-947554-60-2.
- ISBN 0-85130-120-7.
Further reading
- Dodson, Aidan (2023). "HMS Eagle & the Chilean Connection". The Aviation Historian (42): 36–44. ISSN 2051-1930.
External links