HMS Eagle (R05)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Eagle.

HMS Eagle at flying stations in the Mediterranean, January 1970
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Eagle
BuilderHarland and Wolff
Yard number1220[1]
Laid down24 October 1942
Launched19 March 1946
Completed1 October 1951[1]
Commissioned1 March 1952
Decommissioned26 January 1972
HomeportHMNB Devonport
IdentificationPennant: R05
Nickname(s)The Big E[citation needed]
FateScrapped 1978
General characteristics
Class and typeAudacious-class aircraft carrier
Displacement
  • 36,800 long tons (37,391 t) standard (1951)[4]
  • 46,000 long tons (46,738 t) full load (1951)[2]
  • 43,060 long tons (43,751 t) standard (1957)[4]
  • 54,100 long tons (54,968 t) standard (1964)[4]
Length
  • 803 ft (245 m)[4] (1951?)
  • 720 ft (220 m) p.p. (1964)[3]
  • 720 ft (220 m) oa (1964)[3]
Beam
  • 135 ft (41 m) overall[4] (1951?)
  • 112.8 ft (34.4 m) hull (1964)[3]
  • 171 ft (52 m) overall width (1964)[3]
Draught
  • 33.25 ft (10.13 m) (1951)[2]
  • 36 ft (11 m) (1964)[3]
Propulsion
  • 4 shaft geared steam turbines
  • 8 boilers
  • 152,000 shp (113,000 kW)[3]
Speed31 knots (36 mph; 57 km/h)[4]
Range7,000 nmi (13,000 km) at 18 knots (21 mph; 33 km/h)
Complement2,500 (average);[4] 2,750 (max.)[3]
Armament
  • As built:
  • 16 × 4.5 inch guns (8×2)
  • 61 × 40 mm guns (8×6, 2×2, 9×1)
  • Post-1964 re-fit:
  • 8 × 4.5 inch guns (4×2)
  • 6 × Seacat SAM missile launchers[3]
Armour
  • Waterline belt: 4 in (100 mm)
  • Armoured flight deck: 1–4 in (25–102 mm)
  • Hangar side: 1 in (25 mm)
  • Hangar deck: 1 in (25 mm)
Aircraft carried
  • As built: 60
  • Post-refit (1964): 45
  • Final (1971): 39
Notes
  • 1951: standard axial flight deck[4]
  • 1954: 5.5º angled flight deck[4]
  • 1964: 8.5º angled flight deck[4]

HMS Eagle was an Audacious-class aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy, in service 1951–1972. Until the arrival of the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers in the 21st century, she and her sister Ark Royal were the two largest Royal Navy aircraft carriers ever built.

She was laid down on 24 October 1942 at Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast as one of four ships of the Audacious class. These were laid down during the World War II as part of the British naval buildup during that conflict. Two were cancelled at the end of hostilities, and the remaining two were suspended. Originally called Audacious, she was renamed Eagle (the fifteenth Royal Navy ship to receive this name), taking the name of the cancelled third ship of the class on 21 January 1946. She was finally launched by Princess Elizabeth on 19 March 1946.[5][6]

Although Eagle was completed in October 1951 without an angled flight deck, one was added three years later. In 1952 she took part in the first large NATO naval exercise, Exercise Mainbrace.

  1. ^ a b McCluskie, Tom (2013). The Rise and Fall of Harland and Wolff. Stroud: The History Press. p. 154. ISBN 978-0-7524-8861-5.
  2. ^ a b Jane's Fighting Ships 1955–56 page 286
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Jane's Fighting Ships 1967–68 page 286
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j McCart, Neil HMS Eagle 1942–1978, pub Fan Publications, 1996, ISBN 0-9519538-8-5 page 148
  5. ^ Brown 1972, p. 20.
  6. ^ Bellamy, Martin (2022). "Editorial". The Mariner's Mirror. 108 (4). The Society for Nautical Research: 387. doi:10.1080/00253359.2022.2117453. S2CID 253161552.