HMS Indefatigable (R10)

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For other ships with the same name, see HMS Indefatigable.

Aerial view of Indefatigable at sea, 7 November 1944
History
United Kingdom
NameIndefatigable
BuilderJohn Brown & Co., Clydebank, Scotland
Laid down3 November 1939
Launched8 December 1942
Completed3 May 1944
Commissioned8 December 1943
Recommissioned28 May 1950
DecommissionedDecember 1946
IdentificationPennant number: 10[2]
Honours and
awards
  • Palembang 1945
  • Okinawa 1945
  • Japan 1945[1]
FateSold for scrap, September 1956
General characteristics
Class and typeImplacable-class aircraft carrier
Displacement32,110
deep load
)
Length
  • 766 ft 6 in (233.6 m) (o/a)
  • 730 ft (222.5 m) (waterline)
Beam95 ft 9 in (29.2 m)
Draught29 ft 4 in (8.9 m) (deep load)
Installed power
  • 8
    Admiralty 3-drum boilers
  • 148,000 
    kW
    )
Propulsion4 shafts; 4 geared steam turbines
Speed32.5 knots (60.2 km/h; 37.4 mph)
Range6,900 nmi (12,800 km; 7,900 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement2,300 (1945)
Sensors and
processing systems
Armament
Armour
Aircraft carried81
Aviation facilities1 catapult

HMS Indefatigable was one of two

Japanese Home Islands
in July and August. Following the end of hostilities she visited ports in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

After returning to the UK in early 1946, Indefatigable was modified for transport duties, and ferried troops and civilians for the rest of the year before she was reduced to

decommissioned her later that year. Indefatigable was sold for scrap
the following year.

Design and description

The Implacable class were ordered under the 1938 Naval Programme by the

deep load. The Implacable-class ships were significantly overweight and displaced 32,110 long tons (32,630 t) at deep load.[5] The ships had metacentric heights of 4.06 feet (1.2 m) at light load and 6.91 feet (2.1 m) at deep load as completed.[6] Indefatigable's complement was approximately 2,300 officers and ratings in 1945.[7]

The ships had four

kW), enough to give the Indefatigable-class ships a maximum speed of 32.5 knots (60.2 km/h; 37.4 mph).[9] On sea trials, Indefatigable reached a speed of 32.06 knots (59.38 km/h; 36.89 mph) with 150,935 shp (112,552 kW). She carried enough fuel oil to give her a range of 6,900 nautical miles (12,800 km; 7,900 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).[5]

The 760-foot (231.6 m) armoured flight deck had a maximum width of 102 feet (31.1 m).[10] A single hydraulic aircraft catapult was fitted on the forward part of the flight deck. The Implacable-class carriers were equipped with two lifts on the centreline, the forward of which measured 45 by 33 feet (13.7 by 10.1 m) and served only the upper hangar, and the aft lift (45 by 22 feet (13.7 by 6.7 m)), which served both hangars. The upper hangar was 458 feet (139.6 m) long and the lower hangar was 208 feet (63.4 m) long; both had a maximum width of 62 feet (18.9 m). Each hangar had a height of only 14 feet which precluded storage of Lend-Lease Vought F4U Corsair fighters as well as many post-war aircraft and helicopters. Designed to stow 48 aircraft in their hangars, the use of a permanent deck park allowed the Implacable class to accommodate up to 81 aircraft. The additional crewmen, maintenance personnel and facilities needed to support these aircraft were housed in the lower hangar. The ships were provided with 94,650 imperial gallons (430,300 L; 113,670 US gal) of aviation gasoline.[11]

Armament, electronics and protection

Water-level view of Indefatigable at anchor

The ship's main armament consisted of sixteen

anti-aircraft (AA) guns, two on the flight deck forward of the island, one on the aft part of the island, and two in sponsons on the port side of the hull. A single quadruple 2-pounder mount was also fitted on the port side of the hull.[13] The 2-pounder gun had a maximum range of 6,800 yards (6,200 m).[14]

The ship was also fitted with 55

40 mm Bofors AA guns when the ships were transferred to the Pacific Theatre as the 20 mm (0.79 in) shell was unlikely to destroy a kamikaze before it hit the ship. The Bofors gun had a maximum range of 10,750 yards (9,830 m).[15] By August 1945, Indefatigable had 10 single Bofors guns, plus 14 twin and 12 single Oerlikon mounts. By April 1946 these had been reduced to 11 Bofors guns, 6 twin and 7 single Oerlikon guns.[16]

Details of the Implacable-class ships' radar suite are not readily available. They were fitted with the

foremast. Victorious, one of the Illustrious-class ships upon which Indefatigable's design was based, also carried Type 279 and Type 281B early-warning radars. Type 282 and Type 285 gunnery radars were mounted on the fire-control directors.[17]

The Implacable-class ships had a flight deck protected by 3 inches (76 mm) of armour.[7] The sides of the hangars were either 1.5 inches (38 mm) or 2 inches (51 mm).[Note 1] The ends of the hangars were protected by 2-inch bulkheads[7] and the armour of the hangar deck ranged from 1.5 to 2.5 inches (38 to 64 mm) in thickness. The waterline armour belt was 4.5 inches (114 mm) thick, but only covered the central portion of the ship. The belt was closed by 1.5 to 2-inch transverse bulkheads fore and aft. The underwater defence system was a layered system of liquid- and air-filled compartments as used in the Illustrious class. The magazines for the 4.5-inch guns lay outside the armoured citadel and were protected by 2 to 3-inch roofs, 4.5-inch sides and 1.5 to 2-inch ends.[20]

Construction and career

The launching of Indefatigable, 8 December 1942

Indefatigable was

launched on 8 December 1942 by Victoria of Hesse, Dowager Marchioness of Milford Haven. Captain Quintin Graham was appointed to command the ship in August 1943.[22] While fitting out, in order to confound the enemy, a ruse known as Operation Bijou, initiated by London Controlling Section, was launched whereby it was made known that Indefatigable had already entered service. Ultra decrypts revealed that the Japanese believed the deception, with operatives including Malcolm Muggeridge and Peter Fleming supplying disinformation for more than a year, sufficient to make the enemy believe the vessel had gone to the Far East and returned to the Clyde for a refit, by which time she was actually finished.[23]

The ship was commissioned on 8 December 1943

working up over the next several months while the Fairey Fireflies of 1770 Squadron flew aboard on 18 May. The squadron was followed by the Fairey Barracuda torpedo bombers of 826 Squadron in June.[24]

Norwegian operations

Indefatigable's first mission was a brief sortie on 1 July 1944 to provide air cover for the

flak positions defending her. A smoke screen prevented most of the Barracudas from seeing their target and they failed to hit Tirpitz. One Barracuda was forced to ditch near the carrier and its crew was rescued by the destroyer Verulam.[28]

894 Squadron, equipped with Seafires, landed aboard after the attack on 24 July to complete No. 24 Naval Fighter Wing.[29] Indefatigable and several escort carriers attacked targets in Norway on 10 August, destroying 6 Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighters and sinking a minesweeper.[30] For Operation Goodwood, a series of attacks on Tirpitz, the Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters of 1840 Squadron replaced the Barracudas of 826 Squadron.[31] The first mission took place on the morning of 22 August when Indefatigable launched 12 Barracudas, 11 Fireflies, 8 Hellcats, and 8 Seafires against the German battleship and nearby targets. A smoke screen again protected Tirpitz and no damage was inflicted; two Seafires failed to return. Another attack was made later in the day without effect. A further attack could not be mounted until 24 August because of bad weather; for this mission the carrier contributed 12 Barracudas, 11 Fireflies and 4 Seafires, all of which returned.[32][Note 2] Tirpitz was lightly damaged by two hits during this attack, one a 500-pound (230 kg) bomb and the other a 1,600-pound (730 kg) armour-piercing bomb. The latter penetrated the armoured deck but failed to explode and would probably have inflicted serious damage, possibly even sinking the ship, had it done so.[35] A final attack was made five days later, again without effect.[36] 887 Squadron sank seven seaplanes at their moorings at Banak during the operation.[37]

Indian Ocean and Pacific operations

Profile view of Indefatigable at anchor

On 19 September 1944, Indefatigable sortied from Scapa Flow to attack targets near

Ceylon, on 10 December and Vian transferred his flag to Indomitable.[38]

Together with Victorious and Indomitable, Indefatigable attacked an

Louis Mountbatten, Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia Command, addressed the crew on 11 January.[39]

En route to Sydney to prepare for operations in the Pacific, the BPF's carriers attacked oil refineries near Palembang, Sumatra, on 24 and 29 January (Operation Meridian). The ship's Seafires lacked the range to reach the targets so they were retained on combat air patrols (CAP) over the fleet for both attacks. She contributed 10 of her Avengers and all of her Fireflies to the first attack, which destroyed most of the oil storage tanks and cut the refinery's output by half for three months. Five days later, the BPF attacked a different refinery and 820 Squadron again contributed 10 Avengers to the attack while 1770 Squadron added nine Fireflies. The latter squadron also flew two Fireflies on an armed reconnaissance mission over an airfield that lay between the carriers and their target. The attack was very successful at heavy cost, but the losses of Indefatigable's squadrons are not available. Her Seafires shot down a Mitsubishi Ki-46 "Dinah" reconnaissance aircraft searching for the fleet and 5 Kawasaki Ki-48 "Lily" bombers that attacked at low level.[40]

The BPF arrived in Sydney on 10 February; the crews received leave and the ships got some maintenance before they sailed for the BPF's advance base at

Formosa, beginning on 26 March.[41] Her Seafires were again retained to defend the fleet and only her Avengers and Fireflies attacked the airfields. Her Seafire squadrons lacked 13 of their authorised strength of 50 pilots and could not sustain the pace of the first day of operations, when they flew 72 sorties.[42] After a break at the end of the month to refuel, Indefatigable became the first British carrier to be hit by a kamikaze the day after flying operations resumed, when one of the Japanese planes evaded the CAP and struck the base of the carrier's island on 1 April. The bomb it carried did not detonate and this limited casualties to 21 men killed and 27 wounded.[41] Damage to the ship was minimal and the flight deck was back in operation thirty minutes later.[43]

On 12 and 13 April, the BPF switched targets to airfields in northern Formosa. On the first day, a pair of Fireflies encountered five Mitsubishi Ki-51 "Sonia" dive bombers and shot down four of them. A flight of four Seafires on CAP spotted four Japanese fighters, three Mitsubishi A6M Zeroes and a Kawasaki Ki-61 "Tony" later that morning, and shot down one Zero. The BPF returned to the Sakishima Islands on 17 April before retiring to Leyte Gulf to rest and resupply. Wastage of Seafires to all causes was very heavy during the operation with 25 out of 40 lost or damaged beyond repair and only 5 replacements received. Their short range and lack of endurance was considered by Vian to be a severe handicap for the BPF, which returned to action on 4 May and again attacked targets in the Sakishima Islands. Its aircraft continued to do so until they flew their last missions of Operation Iceberg on 25 May. Statistics compiled by the BPF staff showed that 61 Seafires were lost or damaged beyond repair during both phases of the operation due to deck-landing accidents.[44]

The American carrier Randolph (right) and Indefatigable (left) off the Japanese coast, 30 August 1945

The BPF arrived back at Sydney on 5 June and sailed for Manus three weeks later.[45] Indefatigable was forced to remain behind as she required repairs to her machinery.[46] Her air group flew aboard on 7 July (1772 Squadron and its Fireflies replacing 1770 Squadron) when she sailed for Manus. She reached the coast of Japan on 20 July and her aircraft began attacking targets near Osaka and in the Inland Sea four days later. Her Seafire squadrons had adapted larger external fuel tanks for their aircraft and they were no longer limited to CAP duty.[47] The BPF's aircraft crippled the escort carrier Kaiyo and sank numerous smaller ships on 24 July.[48] After replenishing, airstrikes resumed on 28 and 30 July, the British sinking the escort Okinawa near Maizuru. A combination of bad weather, refuelling requirements and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima delayed the resumption of air operations until 9 August. During the day, Indefatigable's aircraft attacked targets in northern Honshu and southern Hokkaido. The attacks were repeated the next day, sinking two warships and numerous small merchantmen and destroying numerous railroad locomotives and parked aircraft.[49]

The BPF had been scheduled to withdraw after 10 August to prepare for

Operation Olympic, the invasion of Kyushu scheduled for November, and the bulk of the force departed for Manus on 12 August. Indefatigable, however, had been chosen to remain as part of the Allied occupation force. The next day her aircraft attacked targets in the vicinity of Tokyo. Flight operations resumed on the morning of the 15th after an operational pause to refuel. The first airstrike was tasked to attack Kisarazu Air Field with four Fireflies and six Avengers, escorted by eight Seafires, but was forced to divert to its secondary target because of bad weather. En route they were attacked by a dozen Zeros in the last British air combat of the war. The Japanese fighters shot down one Seafire on their first pass and crippled an Avenger. The Seafires claimed four Zeros shot down, four others probably shot down, and another four damaged. An Avenger also claimed one Zero as damaged. A Yokosuka D4Y "Judy" dive bomber attacked the carrier after the ceasefire went into effect, but its two bombs missed.[50] After the ceasefire, Indefatigable's aircraft continued to fly CAP and flew reconnaissance missions looking for Allied prisoners of war, dropping supplies to them as they were located.[43]

Post-war service

Indefatigable refitting at Woolloomooloo, Sydney, 1945

On 17 August 1945, Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser, commander of the BPF, came aboard and addressed the crew. Indefatigable continued flying operations until she entered Sagami Bay on 5 September. She departed three days later for Manus en route to Sydney. The ship arrived at Sydney on 18 September and began a leisurely refit that lasted until 15 November. On 1 November, Captain Ian MacIntyre relieved Graham as captain of the ship. She became Vian's flagship on 22 November and sailed to New Zealand to show the flag. She arrived in Wellington on 27 November and was opened for public tours, during which time the Prime Minister, Peter Fraser, also visited. Indefatigable then sailed to Auckland, arriving on 12 December, and was again opened for tours. She returned to Sydney for the holidays and visited Melbourne on 22 January 1946 before departing for home nine days later. Vian transferred his flag to her sister ship Implacable that day and the ship stopped off at Fremantle and Cape Town en route. While Indefatigable was visiting the latter city, she was opened to the public, and the Governor-General of South Africa toured the ship.[51]

Black and white photograph showing a World War II-era aircraft carrier in a body of water which is surrounded by low hills. The bow of a smaller ship is visible behind the aircraft carrier.
Indefatigable in Wellington Harbour during November 1945

The carrier arrived at Portsmouth Dockyard on 16 March 1946. Her hangars were modified to accommodate over 1,900 passengers, including women, and she departed for Australia on 25 April carrying 782 RN personnel and 130 Australian war brides. Most of the RN personnel disembarked at Colombo and most of the war brides did the same at Fremantle. Indefatigable continued on to Sydney, where she embarked a complete naval hospital, with patients, and over 1,000 RN officers and ratings. She departed on 9 June and arrived at Plymouth on 7 July. Her next voyage involved transporting a much smaller number of men to Malta and Colombo; only 47 officers and 67 ratings, most of whom left the ship at Malta. When she arrived at Colombo on 15 August, she loaded a full complement of passengers from all three services to return to the UK. The ship arrived at Portsmouth on 9 September and her next voyage involved over 1,200 RN personnel and civilians ferried to Malta, Colombo, and Singapore where almost 1,300 personnel embarked. She returned to Portsmouth on 29 October and began a brief refit in preparation for her final trooping voyage. Indefatigable sailed empty for Norfolk, Virginia, where she loaded RN personnel before returning to Portsmouth on 21 November. The next month, she was placed in reserve and Captain MacIntyre retired on 7 January 1947.[52]

The Admiralty decided to recommission Indefatigable for use as a training ship in mid-1949. Captain Henry Fancourt assumed command on 22 August to prepare for sea. The ship arrived at Devonport to begin the necessary modifications on 30 August and the following day Fancourt turned over command to the dockyard. Captain John Grindle was appointed to command on 24 March 1950 and the ship was recommissioned on 28 May. Two days later Captain Robert Sherbrooke, VC, relieved Grindle and Indefatigable began her sea trials on 28 June. She was inspected by Rear Admiral St John Micklethwaithe, Flag Officer Training Squadron, on 3 July and received her first trainees shortly afterwards. She participated in exercises with the Home Fleet and joined it in Gibraltar in September and October. On 12 March 1951 she sortied from Portland, flying Micklethwaite's flag, to exercise with the Home Fleet before beginning a brief refit at Devonport in May. Captain John Grant relieved Sherbrooke on 6 June and the ship was opened to visitors as part of the Festival of Britain on 17 July. Five days later the visitors were stranded aboard ship overnight when a storm came up and forced Indefatigable to put to sea. The seas moderated the next day and the visitors departed in safety. Rear Admiral Royer Dick hoisted his flag aboard the carrier in September until she began a short refit at Devonport in January 1952.[53]

Indefatigable joined Implacable for her annual winter visit to Gibraltar after completing her refit in February 1952. Over the summer she exercised with the Home Fleet and visited the Danish port of

Faslane.[55]

Squadrons embarked

Folding the wing of a Fairey Firefly, 4 January 1945, after the attack on Pangkalan Brandan, Sumatra
Squadron Aircraft operated Embarked (from – to) Notes
820 Fairey Barracuda II
Grumman TBF Avenger		 10 July 1944 – March 1946 –[56]
826 Fairey Barracuda II 10 June – 7 August 1944
17–26 September 1944		 –[57]
887 Supermarine Seafire III 6 July – 24 September 1944
21 November 1944 – 15 March 1946		 –[58]
888 Grumman F6F Hellcat 24 December 1944 – 7 January 1945
Photoreconnaissance versions[59]
894 Supermarine Seafire III 24 July – 24 September 1944
21 November 1944 – 15 March 1946		 –[60]
1770 Fairey Firefly I 18 May – 25 July 1944
7 August 1944 – 5 June 1945		 Disbanded[61]
1772 Fairey Firefly I 7 July 1945 – 10 March 1946 Disbanded[62]
1840 Grumman F6F Hellcat 7 August – 1 September 1944 –[34]

Notes

  1. ^ Sources disagree about the thickness of this armour. Historians David K. Brown, H. T. Lenton, and Norman Friedman believe that it was probably only 1.5 inches thick,[18] but other sources give 2 inches.[7][8][19]
  2. ^ Thomas states that the commanding officer of 1840 Squadron was lost on 24 August,[33] but McCart does not list any Hellcats flying that day. Sturtivant does show the named pilot as commander of 1840 Squadron, although his successor is not named until 12 September.[34]

Footnotes

  1. ^ McCart, p. 168
  2. ^ Lenton, p. 713
  3. ^ Friedman, p. 141
  4. ^ Friedman, p. 366
  5. ^ a b c Brown, David, p. 49
  6. ^ Friedman, p. 151
  7. ^ a b c d e Hobbs 2013, p. 109
  8. ^ a b Chesneau 1980, p. 20
  9. ^ Friedman, p. 367
  10. ^ Friedman, p. 154
  11. ^ Brown 1977, pp. 48–49; Friedman, p. 144
  12. ^ Campbell, pp. 52, 55
  13. ^ Friedman, pp. 144, 367
  14. ^ Campbell, p. 71
  15. ^ Campbell, pp. 67, 75
  16. ^ Friedman, pp. 149, 154
  17. ^ Campbell, pp. 15–16, 18–19; Friedman, pp. 144–45, 149, 151; Hobbs 2013, pp. 111, 113
  18. ^ Brown, David K., p. 51, fn. 45; Friedman, p. 143; Lenton, p. 103.
  19. ^ Chesneau 1995, p. 129
  20. ^ Friedman, pp. 134, 139, 142–43
  21. ^ Hobbs 2013, p. 111
  22. ^ a b McCart, p. 148
  23. ^ Holt, pp. 389–90, 810
  24. ^ a b c McCart, p. 149
  25. ^ Howe, p. 106
  26. ^ Polmar, p. 68
  27. ^ Sturtivant 1984, pp. 247–48, 370
  28. ^ McCart, pp. 149–50
  29. ^ Sturtivant 1984, pp. 386, 471
  30. ^ Rohwer, p. 349
  31. ^ Sturtivant 1984, pp. 276, 420
  32. ^ Brown 2009, p. 28; McCart, p. 152
  33. ^ Thomas, p. 67
  34. ^ a b Sturtivant 1984, p. 420
  35. ^ Sturtivant 1990, p. 106
  36. ^ Garzke & Dulin, pp. 267–68
  37. ^ Brown 2009, p. 28
  38. ^ McCart, p. 152
  39. ^ Brown 2009, pp. 83–84; McCart, pp. 152–53
  40. ^ Brown 2009, pp. 92–93; McCart, pp. 153–54
  41. ^ a b McCart, p. 155
  42. ^ Hobbs 2011, p. 133
  43. ^ a b Hobbs 2013, p. 113
  44. ^ Hobbs 2011, pp. 147, 150, 152–53, 175, 195, 197
  45. ^ McCart, pp. 155–56
  46. ^ Hobbs 2011, p. 253
  47. ^ Hobbs 2011, pp. 212–13, 253; McCart, p. 156
  48. ^ Hobbs 2011, pp. 261, 263, 266–67
  49. ^ Hobbs 2011, pp. 273–81, 286–87
  50. ^ Hobbs 2011, pp. 288–92
  51. ^ McCart, pp. 156–57
  52. ^ McCart, pp. 156–64
  53. ^ McCart, pp. 164–65
  54. ^ Sturtivant 1990, p. 174
  55. ^ McCart, pp. 167–68
  56. ^ Sturtivant 1984, pp. 247–48
  57. ^ Sturtivant 1984, pp. 275–76
  58. ^ Sturtivant 1984, p. 370
  59. ^ Sturtivant 1984, p. 372
  60. ^ Sturtivant 1984, p. 386
  61. ^ Sturtivant 1984, p. 399
  62. ^ Sturtivant 1984, p. 401

Bibliography

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