Friday 22 July 2016

HMS Furious - Weird War 1 Aircraft carrier





HMS Furious was built by Armstrong Whitworth, laid down on 8 June 1915 and launched 15 August 1916. She was commissioned on 26 June 1917 as a sea plane carrier. Between 1917-1918 she was reconstructed with landing-on deck, and recommissioned 15 March 1918. In the early 1920s she was rebuilt with full length flush flight deck, modified between 1931-1932 to increase the AA battery, and an island added in 1939. 

HMS Furious, along with her half-sister ships Courageous and Glorious, was laid down as a large light cruiser, mounting two 18-inch guns on a shallow draught for gunfire support of amphibious operations in the Baltic. Before completion the design was changed to only one 18-inch gun and a flying-off deck for sea planes at the bow. After completion the remaining 18-inch gun was removed and a landing-on deck added for half the length of the ship, with it causing  problems for landing aircraft it was later extended to the full length of the ship. A small starboard island was added in 1939.

 HMS Furious had a long an honourable service history and remained a Fleet Carrier 1925 - 1944. Her wartime naval aviation career started in World War I. HMS Furious had the distinction of mounting the first real carrier-based air strike when, on 19 July 1918, seven of her Sopwith Camels destroyed two Zeppelins and their sheds at Tondern.

Carrier name
HMS Furious
Class
Furious Class Fleet Carrier (CV) (ex Large Light Cruiser) 
Type
Fleet Aircraft Carrier
Ships in Class
Furious (half-sisters Courageous and Glorious)
Launched
Laid down 8 June 1915. Launched 15 August 1916. Commissioned 26 June 1917
Tonnage
Displacement: 22,450 tons standard ; 28,500 tons full load
Engines
Propulsion: Steam Turbines (18 Yarrow small-tube boilers, 4 shafts, Brown-Curtis geared turbines), 90,000 hp.
Speed in Knots
Speed: 29.5 knots (35 mph)
Armament
10 × 1 – BL 5.5-inch Mk I guns
6 × 1 – QF 4-inch Mark V AA guns
Crew Complement
748 Officers & Ratings, 350 Air Group
Range 
Range: 6,000 miles at 20 knots
Length (ft/inches)
Dimensions: 735 pp, 786.25 x 88 x 27.75 feet
Flight Deck length (ft/inches)
Reconstructed 1917-1918 with landing-on deck.  After completion the remaining 18-inch gun was removed and a landing-on deck added for half the length of the ship. 
Armour
 Belt: 2–3 in (51–76 mm)
Decks: .75–1 in (19–25 mm)
Bulkhead: 2–3 in (51–76 mm)
Torpedo bulkheads: 1–1.5 in (25–38 mm)
Number of aircraft carried
Aircraft: 36


Acc/Ts                    Toughness                Crew                   Notes
15/45                      20 (Heavy)              748+350       Heavy RHA Armour                 

Type                    Range             AP            Rounds   HE Rounds       RoF        Notes
5.5mm Cannon      50/100/200   2d12, AP 4                                          1     Heavy Weapon

QF Mk V AT Gun 50/100/200   4d6, AP 3      MBT                               1     Heavy Weapon

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