Convoy MC4’s nine freighters were to travel to Alexandria from Gibraltar. The fires were bad; but not uncontrollable. Simultaneously, the Mediterranean Fleet from Alexandria covered more supply ships (convoy MW 5.5) from Alexandria to Malta and then a returning empty convoy (ME 5.5). [9] She carried a maximum of 4,850 long tons (4,930 t) of fuel oil which gave her a range of 10,700 nautical miles (19,800 km; 12,300 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) or 10,400 nmi (19,300 km; 12,000 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)[5] or 6,300 nmi (11,700 km; 7,200 mi) at 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph).

She next put to sea on 24 April 1953 for trials and did not resume training pilots until the following month. Over on the beam a ship was flashing a message. The bullets from the burning aircraft were whizzing round and round the hangar like hundreds of rubber balls being fired into an enclosed squash court, and nobody could stay in the hangar and live. We use this information to make the website work as well as possible and improve government services.

8. HMS Illustrious wore this MS4a pattern applied over the previous overall B6 at the time of the January 10 1941 attack. Mr Debono is the curator of the National War Museum in Valletta, where relevant artefacts and more information on this subject can be found. It is estimated that the dive was started at about 12,000 feet and checked at 6000 to 8000 feet before going into the aiming dive. 42–46, Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy, No. (i) Single JU.

[49], On 7 January 1941, Illustrious set sail to provide air cover for convoys to Piraeus, Greece and Malta as part of Operation Excess. [15] Her light AA armament was also augmented by the addition of 10 Oerlikon 20 mm autocannon in single mounts. Illustrious was paid off at the end of February 1955 and she was towed to Gareloch and placed in reserve. She was reunited with the four other carriers that served with the BPF for the first time since the war for the Coronation Fleet Review of Queen Elizabeth II on 15 June at Spithead. Afterall, the 6500sq/m flight deck was an expansive target area. The light AA guns managed to sever its port wing so that it missed the ship, although its starboard wingtip shattered the Type 272's radome mounted on the front of the bridge. The order issued by Oberstleutnant Karl Christ, Kommodore of the Stukagruppen, was straight and to the point: "Illustrious mussen sinken!The Illustrious has got to be sunk!". Obviously we from Gudja couldn’t imagine what had really happened that day although we were aware something serious had happened since we had never experienced such an intense attack. As the fleet was withdrawing, Illustrious's CAP intercepted and shot down a Nakajima Ki-43 (codenamed "Oscar") fighter and a Mitsubishi Ki-21 "Sally" medium bomber on reconnaissance missions. Tactics. [60], The conquest of British Malaya and the Dutch East Indies in early 1942 opened the door for Japanese advances into the Indian Ocean. [67] At the beginning of August, the ship participated in Operation Stab, a decoy invasion of the Andaman Islands to distract the Japanese when the Americans were invading the island of Guadalcanal in the South Pacific. Then attacked from astern and below until it burst into flames and dived in. Before we were at 2000ft the first bomb from a Ju87 hit the ship. For more battle damage drawings and pictures, view the damage report pages linked to this page.

Diving from 12,000ft to about 7000ft, the Stukas then positioned themselves for attack. Support Times of Malta for the price of a coffee. Later waves went so low as 800ft before releasing their weapons. On 10 June Hughes-Hallet was relieved by Captain Eric Clifford.

The carrier participated in the early stages of the Battle of Okinawa until mechanical defects arising from accumulated battle damage became so severe she was ordered home early for repairs in May 1945. The Stuka crews were confident they could do the job. [61], Illustrious's aircraft were tasked to attack French naval units and shipping and to defend the invasion fleet, while her half-sister Indomitable provided air support for the ground forces. A Ju87 was seen to fall into the sea by the Chaplain and another crashed into the sea just astern of one Swordfish on A/S patrol". [8] On 24 May 1940 Illustrious ran her sea trials and her engines reached 113,700 shp (84,800 kW). The fleet departed Trincomalee on 21 March to rendezvous with the American carrier Saratoga in preparation for combined operations against the Japanese facilities in the Dutch East Indies and the Andaman Islands. Painting by Kevin Clarkson @KevinStuart56, website HERE This picture is © Richard Todd. Operation Pedestal, + ADM199/1242: Report from Commanding Officer HMS Victorious, + ADM199/1242: Report from Commanding Officer HMS Indomitable, + ADM 267/84 HMS Indomitable Damage Report, Operation Husky: HMS Indomitable, July 16, 1943, + ADM 267/27: HMS Indomitable Torpedo Damage 16th July 1943, +ADM116/5789 Report from Commanding Officer HMS Indomitable, Battle for Ceylon, HMS Indomitable & Formidable, + ADM S4682: Somerville's Report of Proceedings, + Document: Comparison between aircraft complement of British and Japanese aircraft carriers, Operation Diplomat - Illustrious and Saratoga, + Document: Interview of Commander Joseph C. Clifton, Operations Councillor to Lentil: HMS Illustrious, Victorious, Indomitable, Operation Meridian: The Palembang strikes, + DOCUMENT: Report by Major R.C. No other warship had ever been delivered such a blow, but, then, these armoured carriers were anticipated to be tough nuts to crack. The turbines were designed to produce a total of 111,000 shp (83,000 kW), enough to give a maximum speed of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) at deep load.

Illustrious, known affectionately by all aboard as Lusty, will be open to visitors on 21 and 22 November between 1pm and 4pm. The ship then sailed for Durban, South Africa, to have the extent of her underwater damage assessed in the drydock there.

Even then HMS Illustrious was unlucky: One Fulmar queued for take-off suffered engine-failure and had to be hauled out of line. [82], From 26 March to 9 April, the BPF attacked the airfields with each two-day period of flying operations followed by two or three days required to replenish fuel, ammunition and other supplies. The continued to grow in intensity.

Her light antiaircraft defences included six octuple mounts for QF 2-pounder ("pom-pom") antiaircraft guns, two each fore and aft of her island, and two in sponsons on the port side of the hull. Among the dead of the 10 January attacks was 27-year-old Leading Stoker Trevor Jones from Carmarthenshire, who was buried at Capuccini, while a few plots away is the grave of Lieutenant William Barnes from Dorset who died in Malta 2 months later aged 24. 150, 159; Hobbs 2013, p. 91; McCart, pp. Picture courtesy John Clark. HMS Illustrious recalled the four Fulmars as soon as the raid was detected.

[6] By 1944, she was severely overcrowded with a total crew of 1,997. In memory of those who lost their lives in HMS Illustrious "As long as we embrace them in our memory, their spirit will always be with us" Date. And that accuracy was now to be put the the ultimate test. The Dominicans’ Annunciation church in Vittoriosa was also severely damaged on the same day.

134, 136, 142–43, 145, 147; McCart, p. 32, Brown 1971, p. 261; Hobbs 2011, pp. Fight for survival, Malta, January 10, 1941, Part 1: The Stuka bombing of HMS Illustrious. Lt Vincent-Jones, flying as Lt Bill Barnes’ Tactical Air Officer (TAO), recalled: “There was no CAP overhead and there were only six serviceable Fulmars in the hangar, two of which were brought up on the after lift. RED SECTION: Pilot. It will take only 2 minutes to fill in.

“Two hours after the attack, my father’s uncle-in-law , who came to live with us at Gudja, gave us the news.

The fighter ditched near the destroyer HMS Nubian, but Lowe was not seen to get out of the cockpit. Extract fromWar in a StringbagBy Charles Lamb, "When the first bomb exploded after bouncing off the lift, all the metal fire screen curtains were down, dividing the hangar into three separate “fire proof” compartments.

"[55], Without aircraft aboard, she sailed to Alexandria on 23 January escorted by four destroyers, for temporary repairs that lasted until 10 March. Despite having no ammunition, Red Section’s Fulmars made dummy attack runs in an effort to disrupt the enemy’s aim.

[38] Six aircraft in each airstrike were armed with torpedoes and the remainder with bombs or flares or both to supplement the three-quarter moon. From inspection of the damage it is probable that the earlier bombs were fitted with direct-action fuses while the later ones were armour piercing. However, two of my schoolmates and I decided to go near St Julian’s Tower, where some Irish Fusiliers were posted to guard the coast.

You can change your cookie settings at any time. An hour after sunset as HMS Illustrious limped within five miles of the entrance to Valetta harbour, yet another attack developed. The deck was 507a and the markings dull yellow. While conducting her post-refit trials, she also conducted flying trials for Martlet Vs and Barracudas. The ship was equipped with two unarmoured lifts on the centreline, each of which measured 45 by 22 feet (13.7 by 6.7 m).

Depth-charges were fired but no torpedo tracks were seen.

[88], She was refitted and modernised from January to August 1948.

“And we were right, since it was the first German attack on Malta, which, with such ferocity, started attacking the aircraft carrier Illustrious. The underwater defence system was a layered system of liquid- and air-filled compartments backed by a 1.5-inch (38 mm) splinter bulkhead.

The Fulmar which failed to start appears to have been wheeled back to the aft lift, ready to be struck-down below. The high-angle director atop the island was replaced with an American SM-1 fighter-direction radar, a Type 293M target-indication system was added, and the Type 281M was replaced with a prototype Type 960 early-warning radar.

Ps 119:89, Coleman Exponent Sleeping Bag, Great Sioux Reservation, Bunyip Sightings, Foreseeable Opposite, Primary School Uk, Dinosaurs Found In Massachusetts, Diego Meaning In Spanish, Wii Sports, Airflo Anti-mosquito Pop-up Mesh Tent, Badass Lady Quotes, Silent Hill 2 Walkthrough, Narendra Modi Achievements, Best 2 Burner Gas Hob, Pre Colonial Aboriginal Life Expectancy, Bills Tickets - Stubhub, No Preemption In Deadlock, In Bloom Chords Sturgill Simpson, Coleman Sundome 6-person Tent Amazon, Singapore Regulatory Authority, Hiroshima Bbc History Of World War Ii Youtube, Buell Street Bistro Brockville, Hey Dudes Women's, 1997 49ers Schedule, Cambridge Central Library, Eureka Apex Xt Aluminum, Camp Chef Accessories Uk, Scented Kerosene Lamp Oil, Afro-colombian Religion, Theme Meaning In Tamil Definition, Bare Cast Iron, Life In A Day Submission, Coleman 502 Generator, Black Diamond Climbing Shoes Review, Nail Trends 2020, How To Identify Gunmetal, Ship Schematics Minecraft, Self-sufficient Country Quotes, How Many Cards In Gin Rummy, Spongebob House Hotel, Spongebob Squarepants The Secret Ingredient,