HMS Indefatigable (R10)

 

HMS Indefatigable (R10) was an Implacable-class aircraft carrier of the British Royal Navy.

History

Built at the famous John Brown Yard on the Clyde, at Clydebank, Scotland, Indefatigable was laid down on 3 November 1939 and launched on 8 December 1942. She commissioned into the Royal Navy on 3 May 1944, joining the Home Fleet. The ship's first commander was Captain Q. D. Graham.

The first mission (rather in the form of a 'working-up' exercise) was a set of raids on the German battleship Tirpitz in the fjords of Norway. It was not a spectacular success with all sorts of equipment problems showing up.

After dockyard work on the problems the ship sailed on 19 November 1944 for the Far East to join the British Pacific Fleet as flagship of Rear-Admiral Philip Vian (former captain of Cossack) who commanded the carrier group of the BPF. He transferred his flag to Indomitable on arrival at Colombo on 10 December 1944.

On 1 April 1945, while operating in support of the Okinawa operation, the ship was hit at the base of the superstructure by a kamikaze suicide bomber. Fourteen men were killed. Thanks to her armoured deck however, Indefatigable was able to operate aircraft again after just five hours.

Indefatigable was present at the formal surrender of the Japanese on 2 September in Tokyo Bay. She later helped to repatriate Allied POWs held in Japan and was used as a spotting ship for later US nuclear tests in the Pacific ocean.She decommissioned after the war but recommissioned in 1950 as a training ship. After being decommissioned for the last time, Indefatigable was scrapped in 1956.

Squadrons carried
The ship's squadrons operated a number of aircraft types including the Supermarine Seafire, TBF Avenger and Fairey Firefly. In November 1944 Indefatigable carried 73 aircraft: 40 Seafires, 21 Avengers and 12 Fireflies.

The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II

Chronology of the USN in WWII

  1939   1940   1941   1942   1943   1944   1945

    Citations: +

  1. "Ships". Fleet Air Arm Officers Association. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
  2. Cocker (2008), p.79.
  3. Morison (2002), p.344.
  4. Poolman (1972), pp.74–75.
  5. Cocker (2008), p.80.
  6. Cocker (2008), pp.80–81.
  7. Poolman(1972), p.98.
  8. Morison (2002), p.342.
  9. Poolman (1972), p.57.
  10. Friedman (1988), p.188.
  11. Poolman (1972), pp.88–89
  12. Poolman (1972), p.89.
  13. Poolman (1972), p.155.
  14. Poolman (1972), p.135.
  15. Cocker (2008), p.147
  16. Poolman (1972), p.79.
  17. Poolman (1972), pp.102–103
  18. Plowman (2006), p.112.
  19. Plowman (2006), p.113.

    Bibliography:

  • Cocker, Maurice (2008). Aircraft-Carrying Ships of the Royal Navy. Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7524-4633-2.
  • Plowman, Peter (2006). Australian Migrant Ships 1946-1977. Kenthurst New South Wales: Rosenberg Publishing. ISBN 978-1-877058-40-0.
  • Poolman, Kenneth (1972). Escort Carrier 1941–1945. London: Ian Allen. ISBN 0-7110-0273-8.

    Magazine References: +

  • Airfix Magazines (English) - http://www.airfix.com/
  • Avions (French) - http://www.aerostories.org/~aerobiblio/rubrique10.html
  • FlyPast (English) - http://www.flypast.com/
  • Flugzeug Publikations GmbH (German) - http://vdmedien.com/flugzeug-publikations-gmbh-hersteller_verlag-vdm-heinz-nickel-33.html
  • Flugzeug Classic (German) - http://www.flugzeugclassic.de/
  • Klassiker (German) - http://shop.flugrevue.de/abo/klassiker-der-luftfahrt
  • Le Fana de L'Aviation (French) - http://boutique.editions-lariviere.fr/site/abonnement-le-fana-de-l-aviation-626-4-6.html
  • Le Fana de L'Aviation (French) - http://www.pdfmagazines.org/tags/Le+Fana+De+L+Aviation/
  • Osprey (English) - http://www.ospreypublishing.com/
  • Revi Magazines (Czech) - http://www.revi.cz/

    Web References: +

  • http://www.acesofww2.com/
  • http://www.navsource.org/archives/
  • http://www.battle-fleet.com/
  • Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/

 

This webpage was updated 22nd May 2021

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