HMS Pioneer (R76)

Pioneer at anchor, 3 February 1945
History
United Kingdom
NamePioneer
Ordered7 August 1942
BuilderVickers-Armstrong, Barrow-in-Furness
Laid down2 December 1942
Launched20 May 1944
Completed8 February 1945
Decommissioned1954
IdentificationPennant number: R76
FateSold for scrap, September 1954
General characteristics
Class and typeColossus-class aircraft-maintenance ship
Displacement
Length695 ft (211.8 m)
Beam80 ft 4 in (24.49 m)
Draught23 ft (7.0 m) (deep load)
Installed power
Propulsion2 × shafts; 2 × geared steam turbine sets
Speed25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph)
Range12,000 nmi (22,000 km; 14,000 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement1,076
Sensors and
processing systems
6 × Type 262 gunnery radars
Armament
Aircraft carriedNone

HMS Pioneer was a Colossus-class aircraft carrier built for the Royal Navy during World War II. She was modified whilst under construction into an aircraft maintenance carrier. The ship arrived in Australia in mid-1945 to support operations by the British Pacific Fleet against Japanese forces. She supported the British attacks on the Japanese Home Islands from mid-June until the end of the war in August from a base in the Admiralty Islands. The ship and her facilities were used to help repair Hong Kong's infrastructure in late 1945 and she returned to the UK in early 1946. Pioneer was immediately placed in reserve upon her arrival and she was sold in 1954 for scrap.