HMS ''Warrior'' was a
light aircraft carrier which was ordered in 1942 by the British
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. Construction was finished in 1945 and upon completion, the aircraft carrier was loaned to the
Royal Canadian Navy
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack submar ...
from 1946 to 1948 as HMCS ''Warrior''. ''Warrior'' was returned to the Royal Navy in 1948 and entered service with the British. While in service with the Royal Navy, ''Warrior'' was modernised twice, including the installation of an
angled flight deck in 1956. In 1948–1949, the ship was used in aircraft landing experiments and fitted with a rubber flight deck and in 1957, was used as the
headquarters ship during
nuclear testing at
Christmas Island
Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an Australian external territory comprising the island of the same name. It is located in the Indian Ocean, around south of Java and Sumatra and around north-west of the ...
. In 1958, the vessel was sold to the
Argentine Navy and entered Argentine service in 1959 as ARA ''Independencia''. The aircraft carrier remained in service until 1970 when ''Independencia'' was placed in
reserve
Reserve or reserves may refer to:
Places
* Reserve, Kansas, a US city
* Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish
* Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County
* Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...
. The following year, the ship was sold for
scrap.
Description
''Warrior'' was a ''Colossus''-class light aircraft carrier that was
long between perpendiculars and
overall
Overalls, also called bib-and-brace overalls or dungarees, are a type of garment usually used as protective clothing when working. The garments are commonly referred to as a "pair of overalls" by analogy with "pair of trousers".
Overalls were ...
with a
beam at the
waterline
The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water. Specifically, it is also the name of a special marking, also known as an international load line, Plimsoll line and water line (positioned amidships), that indi ...
of and an overall width of . The ship had a mean
draught of . ''Warrior'' had a
standard displacement
The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...
of when built and a full load displacement of . The aircraft carrier had a
flight deck
The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopte ...
long that was wide and was above the water. The flight deck tapered to at the
bow. For takeoffs, the flight deck was equipped with one BH 3
aircraft catapult
An aircraft catapult is a device used to allow aircraft to take off from a very limited amount of space, such as the deck of a vessel, but can also be installed on land-based runways in rare cases. It is now most commonly used on aircraft carrier ...
capable of launching aircraft at . For landings, the ship was fitted with 10
arrestor wire
An arresting gear, or arrestor gear, is a mechanical system used to rapidly decelerate an aircraft as it lands. Arresting gear on aircraft carriers is an essential component of naval aviation, and it is most commonly used on CATOBAR and STOB ...
s capable of stopping a aircraft, with two
safety barrier
A safety barrier is a component which prevents passage into a dangerous area, commonly used to mitigate risk. Safety barriers may be hard barriers physically restricting passage or soft barriers that control circuits based on the presence of forei ...
s rated at stopping a 15,000-pound aircraft at ''Warrior'' had two
aircraft lifts located along the centreline of the ship that were and could handle aircraft up to 15,000 pounds on a 36-second cycle. The aircraft
hangar
A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...
was with a further section beyond the aft elevator, all with a clearance of . The hangar was divided into four sections by
asbestos fire curtains. The hangar was fully enclosed and could only be entered by air locks and the lifts, due to the hazardous nature of
aviation fuel and oil vapours. The vessel had stowage for of aviation fuel.
The ship was powered by steam created by four
Admiralty 3-drum type boilers driving two
Parsons
Parsons may refer to:
Places
In the United States:
* Parsons, Kansas, a city
* Parsons, Missouri, an unincorporated community
* Parsons, Tennessee, a city
* Parsons, West Virginia, a town
* Camp Parsons, a Boy Scout camp in the state of Washingt ...
geared turbine
A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...
s, each turning one
shaft. The machinery was split into two spaces, each containing two boilers and one turbine, separated by spaces containing aviation fuel. The spaces were situated ''
en echelon'' within the ship to prevent a single disabling
torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...
strike. The engines were rated at and the vessel had a capacity for of
fuel oil, with an range of at . The ship's maximum speed was . There was no armour aboard the vessel save for
mantlet
A mantlet was a portable wall or shelter used for stopping projectiles in medieval warfare. It could be mounted on a wheeled carriage, and protected one or several soldiers.
In the First World War a mantlet type of device was used by the French ...
s around the torpedo storage area. There were no longitudinal
bulkheads, but the transverse bulkheads were designed to allow the ship to survive two complete sections of the ship being flooded.
''Warrior'' was designed to handle up to 42 aircraft. The aircraft carrier carried a wide range of ordnance for their aircraft from torpedoes,
depth charges, bombs, 20 mm cannon ammunition and flares. For anti-aircraft defence, the aircraft carrier was initially armed with four twin-mounted and twenty single-mounted
40 mm Bofors gun Bofors 40 mm gun is a name or designation given to two models of 40 mm calibre anti-aircraft guns designed and developed by the Swedish company Bofors:
*Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun - developed in the 1930s, widely used in World War II and into the 1990s
...
s. The original
radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...
installation included the
Type 79 and
Type 281 long-range air search radars, the
Type 293 and Type 277 fighter direction radar and the "YE" aircraft homing beacon. The ship had a maximum
ship's company of 1,300, which was reduced in peacetime.
Construction and career
The contract to construct ''Warrior'' was placed on 7 August 1942. ''Warrior'' was built by
Harland and Wolff
Harland & Wolff is a British shipbuilding company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It specialises in ship repair, shipbuilding and offshore construction. Harland & Wolff is famous for having built the majority of the ocean liners for the W ...
at their yard in
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
and given the
1224, originally to be called ''Brave''. Before construction began, once-innovative
armoured frigate (at the time just a floating oil jetty) was renamed to ''Oil Fuel Hulk C77'' in August 1942 to free up her name, and the carrier was renamed to ''Warrior''. Her
keel
The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...
was
laid down
Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship.
Keel laying is one o ...
on 12 December 1942, she was
launched on 20 May 1944 and became the last of the ''Colossus'' class to finish construction. The
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
had originally intended to rush ''Warrior'' into service for operations in the Indian Ocean during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, thus she was built without heaters for some onboard equipment since heat was unnecessary in tropical operations.
Royal Canadian Navy service
As the focus of future operations at sea during the Second World War shifted to the
Pacific theatre, planning began in May 1944 that the
Royal Canadian Navy
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack submar ...
(RCN) would require a larger fleet both in numbers and in size of ships. In the effort to get bigger, the RCN returned the
escort carriers then on loan, and , in exchange for the loan of two light fleet carriers. A formal approach was first made in July, with negotiations being finalised in April 1945 when ''Warrior'' and were acquired on loan with the option to purchase them outright at a later date. Negotiations were completed in May for the naval air
squadrons that would be needed to man the aircraft carrier, however the war ended before the ships were completed.
After the agreement with Canada went through, Canadian naval aviation was established with the formation of four squadrons transferred from the
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...
intended to fly from ''Warrior'';
803 Squadron and
883 Squadron equipped with
Supermarine Seafires and
825 Squadron and
826 Squadron with
Fairey Firefly
The Fairey Firefly is a Second World War-era carrier-borne fighter aircraft and anti-submarine aircraft that was principally operated by the Fleet Air Arm (FAA). It was developed and built by the British aircraft manufacturer Fairey Avia ...
s. ''Warrior'' was completed, transferred to the RCN and
commissioned as HMCS ''Warrior'' on 24 January 1946 and placed under the command of
Captain Frank Houghton.
Sea trial
A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and ...
s were completed in March and flying trials were performed at
Spithead
Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast. It receives its name from the Spit, a sandbank stretching south from the Hampshire ...
following that. For the voyage to Canada, 803 and 825 Squadrons were embarked, while 883 and 826 Squadrons were paid off.
''Warrior'' entered
Halifax harbour on 31 March 1946, a week after leaving
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
. She was escorted by the
destroyer and the
minesweeper
A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping.
History
The earliest known usage of ...
, having officially joined the Canadian Atlantic Fleet on 23 March. April through May was spent alongside fixing builder's defects before the ship began major fleet operations. In August, the aircraft carrier had its first loss, when a Firefly from 825 Squadron ditched, though both the pilot and observer were recovered. That same month, on 23 August while transiting the
St. Lawrence River
The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...
, ''Warrior''
ran aground at Pointe Sainte Antoine, near
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
while en route to the city after her
rudder
A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally air or water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adve ...
jammed.
Tugboat
A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...
s got the aircraft carrier unstuck from the mud bank she had run into the same day and ''Warrior'' continued on to Montreal where she became the largest ship to visit that port to that date.
![CVA 1184-3458 - (H](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/CVA_1184-3458_-_%28H.M.C.S._Warrior_at_dock%29.jpg)
The RCN experienced problems with the unheated equipment during operations in cold
North Atlantic waters off eastern Canada during 1946. The ship was transferred west to
Esquimalt
The Township of Esquimalt is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, to the west by Esquim ...
, British Columbia in November 1946, visiting
Bermuda
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = National song
, song = "Hail to Bermuda"
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, mapsize2 =
, map_caption2 =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name =
, es ...
,
Acapulco, Mexico and
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
, California before arriving in December. On 18 January 1947, Commodore
Harry DeWolf took command of ''Warrior'' while the vessel was undergoing repairs to the damages to her hull that had been received during her August grounding. On 31 January, one 825 Squadron's Fireflys was lost along with its pilot off
Portland Island
Portland Island, also called Waikawa, is a small island off the southern tip of the Māhia Peninsula on the North Island of New Zealand. It is used for sheep farming.
The area of the island fluctuates rapidly between high and low tides due to ...
during a training mission. It was during this period, that the RCN, facing reduced defence spending and manning constraints, came to the conclusion that they could not operate two aircraft carriers. Negotiations began to return ''Warrior'' when ''Magnificent'' became ready, with the RCN deeming ''Warrior'' unfit for service due to her lack of heating. In February 1947, the aircraft carrier began her voyage back to Halifax, accompanied by the cruiser and destroyer . The Canadian group stopped at
San Pedro, California before the aircraft carrier transited the
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...
by herself, meeting the destroyers and ''Micmac'' on the other side. The three Canadian ships visited
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. , Cuba, marking the first time a Canadian warship had visited the Cuban capital since 1929. ''Warrior'' returned to Halifax on 27 March. The ship then sailed for Bermuda with ''Nootka'' to take part in a
naval exercise
A military exercise or war game is the employment of military resources in training for military operations, either exploring the effects of warfare or testing strategies without actual combat. This also serves the purpose of ensuring the com ...
with the Royal Navy. Most of mid-1947 was spent undergoing repairs at Halifax and performing short cruises along east coast. In August, ''Warrior'' sailed for the United Kingdom where her squadrons would be re-equipped with Firefly Mark IV and
Hawker Sea Fury
The Hawker Sea Fury is a British fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. It was the last propeller-driven fighter to serve with the Royal Navy, and one of the fastest production single reciprocating engine aircraft ...
aircraft, returning to Halifax on 28 August. Meanwhile, preparations were being made for the return of ''Warrior'' and the acquisition of ''Magnificent''. In November, ''Magnificent''s air group consisting of 826 and 883 Squadrons trained aboard ''Warrior'' off the coast of Nova Scotia. Following this, ''Warrior'', escorted by the destroyer sailed to Bermuda where the ship was prepared to be
paid off
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship in ...
. The ship sailed for the UK on 12 February, arriving at Belfast on 20 February. On 1 March the ship moved to Spithead where the aviation fuel was removed. ''Warrior'' was returned to the Royal Navy on 23 March 1948 at Portsmouth.
Royal Navy service
HMCS ''Warrior'' returned to the United Kingdom and was recommissioned as HMS ''Warrior'' on 23 March 1948. ''Warrior'' was then refitted at
Devonport and equipped with a
flexible flight deck to test the feasibility of receiving undercarriage-less aircraft; modified
de Havilland Sea Vampire
The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the RAF, after the Gloster Meteor, and the first to be powered by a s ...
aircraft were used to test the concept, which was successful but not introduced into service. The flexible deck was composed of a rubber sheet supported by air bags. The new deck extended from the bow to the barrier forward of the island and was superimposed on the existing flight deck. Aft of the flexible deck, a light steel ramp was placed over the flight deck rising to in height with a single arrestor wire. The trials lasted from November 1948 to March 1949 and upon completion, ''Warrior'' was paid off into the
reserve
Reserve or reserves may refer to:
Places
* Reserve, Kansas, a US city
* Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish
* Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County
* Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...
at Portsmouth.
''Warrior'' was reactivated in June 1950 and modified to carry troops and aircraft to the
Far East
The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.
The ter ...
during the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, departing in August on the first such mission. In June 1951, with
16 Parachute Brigade embarked, ''Warrior'' sailed to
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...
in response to a crisis in the Middle East. The ship underwent refit during most of 1952 and 1953 at Devonport Dockyard. The ship was fitted with a new
lattice mast
Lattice masts, or cage masts, or basket masts, are a type of observation mast common on United States Navy major warships in the early 20th century. They are a type of hyperboloid structure, whose weight-saving design was invented by the Russian ...
and new radars with Type 281Q fitted to the mast and Type 277Q radars installed fore and aft of the island.
Identification friend or foe aerials were also installed on the mast. The
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
was enlarged and enclosed. The Fleet Air Arm
811 Squadron in Sea Furys and 825 Squadron in Fireflys were embarked after sea trials. During 1954, ''Warrior'' was deployed to the Far East, patrolling off the coast of Korea, following the ceasefire. In September, during
Operation Passage to Freedom
Operation Passage to Freedom was a term used by the United States Navy to describe the propaganda effort and the assistance in transporting in 310,000 Vietnamese civilians, soldiers and non-Vietnamese members of the French Army from communist ...
, the ship was among those sent to evacuate non-Communist refugees from
Haiphong
Haiphong ( vi, Hải Phòng, ), or Hải Phòng, is a major industrial city and the third-largest in Vietnam. Hai Phong is also the center of technology, economy, culture, medicine, education, science and trade in the Red River delta.
Haiphong wa ...
,
North Vietnam
North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...
to
Vung Tau,
South Vietnam, transporting more than 3,221 people in two voyages and being awarded a South Vietnamese Presidential Citation.
After returning to England another refit was carried out in 1955 at Devonport. This time ''Warrior'' received an
angled flight deck of 5 degrees for trials. To install the angled deck, portside
sponson
Sponsons are projections extending from the sides of land vehicles, aircraft or watercraft to provide protection, stability, storage locations, mounting points for weapons or other devices, or equipment housing.
Watercraft
On watercraft, a spon ...
s were removed, the angled deck installed portside amidships and the deck itself was upgraded to take aircraft up to . Furthermore, the catapult was upgraded to launch 20,000-pound aircraft and the arrester wire system improved to take the same weight of aircraft at . The aircraft carrier also received a
mirror landing aid
An optical landing system (OLS) (nicknamed "meatball" or simply "ball") is used to give glidepath information to pilots in the terminal phase of landing on an aircraft carrier.
From the beginning of aircraft landing on ships in the 1920s to the ...
and Type 961 CCA radar. As the only ship in the class to receive the upgrade, it was intended to turn ''Warrior'' into a
training
Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...
and trials ship.
Following a short period as a training ship, ''Warrior'' was dispatched to the Pacific Ocean, where the aircraft carrier took part in
Operation Grapple
Operation Grapple was a set of four series of British nuclear weapons tests of early atomic bombs and hydrogen bombs carried out in 1957 and 1958 at Malden Island and Kiritimati (Christmas Island) in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands in the P ...
, the first British
hydrogen bomb tests, as the
headquarters ship embarking a
flight
Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...
of
Westland Whirlwind helicopters and
Grumman Avenger
The Grumman TBF Avenger (designated TBM for aircraft manufactured by General Motors) is an American World War II-era torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air and naval a ...
AS4 aircraft to collect air samples from the tests and ferry them back for examination. After the operation was completed the Avengers were catapulted into the sea as they were contaminated with radioactivity. Considered surplus to requirements by the late 1950s, the Royal Navy decommissioned ''Warrior'' in February 1958 and offered her for sale. The return voyage from the Grapple tests was via Argentina, with port visits and demonstrations to the
Argentine Navy, to whom the
Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
*Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
*Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
* Admiralty, Traf ...
was trying to sell her.
Argentine Navy service
![EscudoV-1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/EscudoV-1.jpg)
''Warrior'' was sold to
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
in 1958 and renamed ARA ''Independencia'' on 6 August 1958. The Argentine naval ensign was raised on 4 November at Portsmouth and sailed for Argentina on 10 December. The
Argentine Naval Aviation
)
Gulf War
, anniversaries =
, decorations =
, battle_honours =
, commander1 = President
, commander1_label = Commander-in-Chief
, commander2 ...
began air operations from ''Independencia'' on 8 June 1959, even before the vessel was officially commissioned into the fleet. The ship was commissioned into the Argentine Navy on 8 July 1959. The anti-aircraft armament was initially reduced to twelve 40 mm guns, soon further reduced to eight. In May 1962 the ship was however provided with one quadruple and nine double mountings of that caliber. After all the modifications the displacement of the ship had climbed to while the vessel's maximum speed had declined to .
The air group, which had a maximum of 24 aircraft, was mainly formed from
Vought F4U Corsair
The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft which saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production contract ...
s,
North American SNJ-5Cs Texans and
Grumman S2F-1 (S-2A) Trackers. Naval Aviation inventory also included
Grumman F9F Panther
The Grumman F9F Panther is one of the United States Navy's first successful carrier-based jet fighters, as well as Grumman’s first jet fighter. A single-engined, straight-winged day fighter, it was armed with four cannons and could carry a wi ...
(the first
jet fighter
Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...
s in service with the Argentine Naval Aviation, starting from August 1963 which launched from ''Independencia'') and
TF-9J Cougar jets, although ''Independencia'' proved to be unsuitable for operating them. The ship also used the
North American T-28 Trojan
The North American Aviation T-28 Trojan is a radial-engine military trainer aircraft manufactured by North American Aviation and used by the United States Air Force and United States Navy beginning in the 1950s. Besides its use as a trainer, ...
trainer. After the aircraft carrier entered service in 1969, ''Independencia'' moved to the reserve in 1970. She was
scrapped in 1971.
See also
*
List of aircraft carriers
This list of aircraft carriers contains aircraft carriers listed alphabetically by name. An aircraft carrier is a warship with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft, that serves a ...
*
List of ships of the Argentine Navy
This list includes all major warships that entered service with the Argentine Navy since being formally established in the 1860s.In 1861 the modern Argentine Republic was born, after the Battle of Pavón. It also includes ships that were purcha ...
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Maritimequest HMS Warrior photo gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warrior (R31)
Aircraft carriers of the Royal Canadian Navy
Colossus-class aircraft carriers
Ships built in Belfast
1944 ships
Cold War aircraft carriers of the United Kingdom
Korean War aircraft carriers of the United Kingdom
Cold War aircraft carriers of Canada
Cold War aircraft carriers of Argentina
Ships built by Harland and Wolff
ja:ウォリアー (空母)