HMS Victorious (R38)

HMS Victorious (R38) was one of the three Illustrious-class aircraft carriers used by the Royal Navy during World War II. Completed in 1941, she saw combat action in the Mediterranean, Atlantic, and Pacific Theater of Operations, taking part in the attack on the German battleship Tirpitz in 1944. After the war, in 1950, she was selected for a major rebuild, which took no less than seven years to complete. In March 1968, after more than 26 years of service, she was decommissioned and scrapped.

HMS Victorious was laid down on May 4, 1937, and built by Vickers-Armstrong at the Newcastle shipyard, in Northeast England. She was launched on September 14, 1939, and commissioned on May 14, 1941. She first saw combat action ten days later, on May 24, when her Fairey Swordfish torpedo-bombers were scrambled to attack the German battleship Bismarck in the North Atlantic. This raid was carried out alongside HMS Ark Royal, whose aircraft would severely damage the Bismarck on May 26, forcing the Germans to scuttle it. In 1942, she took part in Operation Torch, which was the Allied landing in North Africa. In 1943, she carried out combat duties alongside the US Navy in the Pacific, with her aircraft participating in numerous air raids against the Japanese positions on Pacific islands.

Modernization

Between 1950 and 1958, HMS Victorious was rebuilt and upgraded to make her fit for the Cold War. During this process, her hull was lengthened, widened, and deepened. Her major addition to the hull was a huge sponson on the port side for a fully angled deck, with an 8.75 degrees. Her propulsion system was completely replaced, with new machinery and boilers. Two steam catapults were also installed, together with four new type arrester wires. When she went to sea again, she carried 18 fixed-wing aircraft and 5 helicopters. During the Cold War period, she carried Sea Vixen and Scimitar fighters as well as Blackburn Buccaneer strike aircraft.

Below, HMS Victorious (R38) sailing on the Atlantic in 1965.