HMS Vengeance (R71)

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

The aircraft carrier Vengeance, during her loan to the Royal Australian Navy
History
United Kingdom
NameVengeance
BuilderSwan Hunter, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom
Laid down16 November 1942
Launched23 February 1944
Completed15 January 1945
Commissioned1945
Decommissioned1952
FateLoaned to Royal Australian Navy
Australia
NameVengeance
Commissioned13 November 1952
Decommissioned25 October 1955
ReclassifiedTraining ship (1954–1955)
Motto"I Strike I Cover"
FateReturned to Royal Navy, then sold to Brazilian Navy
BadgeShip's badge for Vengeance, in the RAN format
Brazil
NameMinas Gerais
Acquired14 December 1956
Commissioned6 December 1960
Decommissioned16 October 2001
FateScrapped 2004
General characteristics (RN/RAN service)
Class and typeColossus-class light aircraft carrier
Displacement
  • 13,190 tons standard
  • 18,040 tons full load
Length695 ft (212 m)
Beam80 ft (24 m)
Draught23.5 ft (7.2 m)
PropulsionParsons geared turbines, 2 shafts, 42,000 shp (31,000 kW)
Speed24.5 knots (45.4 km/h; 28.2 mph)
Range6,200 nautical miles (11,500 km; 7,100 mi) at 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)
Complement1,076
Armament
Aircraft carried30–40
NotesTaken from:[1][2]

HMS Vengeance (R71) was a Colossus-class light aircraft carrier built for the Royal Navy during World War II. The carrier served in three navies during her career: the Royal Navy, the Royal Australian Navy (as HMAS Vengeance, from 1952 to 1955), and the Brazilian Navy (as NAeL Minas Gerais, from 1956 to 2001).

Constructed during World War II, Vengeance was one of the few ships in her class to be completed before the war's end, but she did not see active service. The ship spent the next few years as an aircraft transport and training carrier before she was sent on an experimental cruise to learn how well ships and personnel could function in extreme Arctic conditions. In late 1952, Vengeance was loaned to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) as a replacement for the delayed aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne. She remained in Australian waters, operating as an aircraft carrier and training ship, for the majority of her three-year loan, and was returned to the Royal Navy (RN) in August 1955.

Instead of returning to RN service, the carrier was sold in 1956 to Brazil, and entered service after major upgrades, which allowed the ship to operate jet aircraft. Renamed Minas Gerais, the carrier remained in operation until 2001. Several attempts were made to sell the ship, including a listing on eBay, before she was sold for scrap and taken to Alang for breaking up.

  1. ^ Gillett, Warships of Australia, p. 131
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference GillettANZ was invoked but never defined (see the help page).