HMS ''Perseus'' was a light fleet aircraft carrier built for 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 ...

during

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. The ship was initially named HMS ''Edgar'', but she was renamed in 1944 when 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 ...

decided to convert her into an aircraft maintenance carrier. She was completed in 1945, after the end of World War II, and she made a trip to Australia late in the year. Upon her return to the UK in early 1946, ''Perseus'' 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 ship was recommissioned in 1950 to serve as the trials ship for the

steam 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 ...

then under development. Over 1,600 test launches were conducted before the catapult was removed in 1952 and she was converted for use as a ferry carrier to transport aircraft, troops and equipment overseas. She was reduced to reserve again in 1954 and sold for scrap in 1958.

Design, description and construction

The ''Colossus''-class carriers were intended to meet a shortage of naval flight decks. Their design was based on that of the , but modified to permit rapid construction in commercial yards. ''Perseus'' was not completed to her original design; the success of the maintenance aircraft carrier prompted modification of the ship, whilst under construction, to an aircraft maintenance ship without

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 ...

s.Friedman, pp. 237, 239 ''Perseus'' had an

overall length The overall length (OAL) of an ammunition cartridge is a measurement from the base of the brass shell casing to the tip of the bullet, seated into the brass casing. Cartridge overall length, or "COL", is important to safe functioning of reloads i ...

of , a beam of , and a draught of at

deep load 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 ...

. She displaced at standard load. Each of the ship's two sets of

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geared steam turbines drove one propeller shaft. Steam was supplied by four Admiralty three-drum

water-tube boiler A high pressure watertube boiler (also spelled water-tube and water tube) is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which boils water in the steam-gen ...

s operating at a pressure of . The turbines were designed for a total of and gave ''Perseus'' a speed of .Lenton, p. 107 The ship carried of fuel oil which gave her a range of at .Hobbs, p. 73 In order maximize space for workshops and stores, the ship's

arresting gear 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 ...

and catapult were not fitted and all the facilities required for flying operations were removed. Two large deckhouses were added to port of the island and on the rear of the flight deck. The ship had a single

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 ...

, high. Aircraft were transported between the hangars and the flight deck by two aircraft lifts (elevators); each measured .Friedman, p. 367 Two large cranes were mounted on the flight deck to move aircraft and stores to and from the flight deck. The ship carried two small self-propelled lighters to allow unflyable aircraft to be transferred between ships or to shore facilities. Bulk

petrol Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic c ...

storage consisted of . The ship's crew totalled 854, plus 222 in her aircraft repair department. Aircraft could undergo maintenance, and most functional and equipment tests carried out aboard - either in the hangar or on the deck. Some components could be repaired on board, but other work was to be carried out by the workshops on the engine repair and component repair ships that would accompany the maintenance carrier. The ship was equipped with six quadruple mounts for the QF 2-pounder Mk VIII gun ("pom-pom"). These gun mounts could depress to −10° and elevate to a maximum of +80°. The Mk VIII 2-pounder gun fired a shell at a muzzle velocity of to a distance of . The gun's rate of fire was approximately 96–98 rounds per minute. She was also fitted with 19 Bofors 40 mm autocannon in single mounts. The Bofors fired a shell at a muzzle velocity of . It had a rate of fire of about 120 rounds per minute and a maximum range of . All of the guns were mounted on the flight deck, not in

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 on the side of the hull like her half-sisters that were completed as aircraft carriers. Each "pom-pom" mount was provided with a separate fire-control director fitted with a Type 262 gunnery radar. ''Perseus'' was ordered on 14 March 1942 under the name ''Edgar''. She 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 ...

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in Newcastle-upon-Tyne on 1 January 1943 and was launched on 26 March 1944.Lenton, p. 108 The ship was renamed ''Perseus'' in July 1944, after the decision had been made to convert her to an aircraft maintenance ship, and she was completed on 19 October 1945.

Service

''Perseus'' arrived in

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 ...

on 24 October 1945, after the end of

, to begin working up and sailed on 17 November for Australia. She arrived in Sydney on 21 December, just in time to take charge of winding up the "Air Train"The "Air Train" was the entire system of depots, repair centres, repair ships and ferry carriers that supplied the fleet carriers of the British Pacific Fleet with flyable aircraft. that had supported the

British Pacific Fleet The British Pacific Fleet (BPF) was a Royal Navy formation that saw action against Japan during the Second World War. The fleet was composed of empire naval vessels. The BPF formally came into being on 22 November 1944 from the remaining ships o ...

. The ship departed

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on 26 March 1946, carrying a load of aircraft to return to the

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, and arrived at

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on 17 May where she was placed in reserve. In 1950, ''Perseus'' was fitted with an experimental steam catapult. The catapult was placed on top of the carrier's existing flight deck and the deckhouse to port of the

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

was removed to accommodate it. Some 1,560 launches were made by the catapult, beginning with over 1,000 wheeled dead-loads, of gradually increasing weight, and moving on to unmanned aircraft with their wings truncated to reduce their ability to glide. The final tests were made by manned aircraft of every type flown by 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 ...

. After this, the ship arrived in

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on 14 January 1952 to demonstrate the catapult to the United States Navy. Between them, some 127 launches of manned aircraft were made by the British and the Americans. ''Perseus'' arrived back at Portsmouth on 21 March and had the catapult removed. All of her remaining maintenance equipment was removed and she was converted for use as a ferry carrier. On 10 December, the ship carried the Westland Whirlwinds of 848 Squadron to Singapore, arriving on 8 January 1953. She arrived back at Portsmouth on 11 February and then embarked part of the 100

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s transferred to the Royal Navy under the terms of the

Mutual Defense Assistance Act The Mutual Defense Assistance Act was a United States Act of Congress signed by President Harry S. Truman on 6 October 1949. For US Foreign policy, it was the first U.S. military foreign aid legislation of the Cold War era, and initially to Eur ...

in Norfolk, Virginia, on 16 March. She arrived back in Norfolk to load the remaining aircraft on 29 April. ''Perseus'' was fitted with temporary grandstand seating ("

bleacher Bleachers (North American English), or stands, are raised, tiered rows of benches found at sports fields and other spectator events. Stairways provide access to the horizontal rows of seats, often with every other step gaining access to a ro ...

s") in June for

Very Important Person A very important person or personage (VIP or V.I.P.) is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social status, influence or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War 2 by RAF pilots. Examples incl ...

s and the press during

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's Coronation Fleet Review in

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. Later in the year she made a trip transporting troops and equipment to the

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.Hobbs, p. 82 On 20 January 1954, 706 Squadron, a second-line unit, flew aboard to conduct trials of the anti-submarine version of the Whirlwind helicopter. They were successful enough that the squadron was redesignated as 845 Squadron afterwards and ''Perseus'' ferried them to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

in April. The ship continued on to deliver relief supplies to Singapore intended for Korea and was reduced to reserve again upon her return on 12 July. The Admiralty intended to convert her to a submarine depot ship and she was towed to

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 ...

to begin work in 1955. The cutbacks from the

1957 Defence White Paper The 1957 White Paper on Defence (Cmnd. 124) was a British white paper issued in March 1957 setting forth the perceived future of the British military. It had profound effects on all aspects of the defence industry but probably the most affected w ...

caused the conversion to be cancelled and the ship was towed to

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to await a decision on the ship's disposition. ''Perseus'' sold for scrap in May 1958 and towed to Port Glasgow to begin demolition.Hobbs, pp. 82, 85

Notes

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References

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External links