HMS
Courageous was a warship of the Royal NavyThe Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of HM Armed Forces . From the beginning of the 18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early...
. She was built at the Armstrong WhitworthSir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. Headquartered in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth engaged in the construction of armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles, and aircraft.-History:In 1847,...
shipyard as a "large light cruiser". Courageous
, her sister HMS Glorious
, and half-sister HMS Furious
HMS Furious was a modified Courageous class "large light cruiser" converted into an early aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy.- Genesis :...
, were the brainchildren of Admiral Jackie Fisher, and were designed to be "light cruiser destroyers". They were originally intended to be heavy support for shallow water operations in the BalticThe Baltic Sea is a brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and the...
, which ultimately never came to pass. Courageous
saw action in World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
, and then was converted into an aircraft carrierAn aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power great distances without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
. She was torpedoed and sunk in the opening weeks of World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, going down with more than 500 of her crew.
Genesis
The design was for a light battlecruiserBattlecruisers were large warships in the first half of the 20th century that were first introduced by the Royal Navy. The battlecruiser was developed as the successor to the armoured cruisers, but their evolution was more closely linked to that of the dreadnought battleships...
; while having 15-inch guns, she was actually classed by the British Navy as a light cruiserA light cruiser is a warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armoured cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armour in the same way as an armoured cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
because of her light armourArmour or armor is protective covering used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an individual or a vehicle through use of direct contact weapons or projectiles, usually during combat...
protection. Her keel was laid down on 28 March 1915, the ship was launched 5 February 1916, completed on 28 October 1916, and Courageous
was commissioned on 4 November 1916. Her machinery was essentially similar to an earlier light cruiser, HMS Champion
HMS Champion was a C-class light cruiser of the British Royal Navy. She was part of the Calliope group of the C-class of cruisers.She was laid down on 9 March 1914, launched 29 May 1915 and commissioned into the navy on 20 December 1915. She was assigned to the Grand Fleet upon completion, as the...
, with two sets to drive four shafts. Her secondary guns were a new type of triple 4-inch gun, intended to provide a high rate of fire against
torpedo boatA torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes...
s and other smaller craft. However, as it turned out, the loaders for the guns would get in each other's way, and the rate of fire was actually slower than three single mountings. Because of her light construction and other faults, causing more than average time in the repair yard, she was nicknamed 'Outrageous'.
During trials, Courageous
received structural damage to the forecastle area while steaming full speed in rough seas. Side plating buckled, and there were leaks in oil tanks and reserve feedwater tanks. Repairs included additional structural stiffening in the damaged area.
World War I
Upon commissioning, Courageous
served with the 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron of the Grand Fleet. In the spring of 1917, Courageous
was fitted as a minelayer. Over 200 mines could be carried on mine rails on the quarterdeck. She was fitted like this for only a short time, and was never used operationally as a minelayer. On 17 November 1917, along with Glorious
and Repulse
HMS Repulse was a Renown-class battlecruiser, the second to last battlecruiser built by John Brown and Company, Clydebank, Scotland, for the Royal Navy. She was originally intended to be a unit of the R class battleships, but was ordered to a modified design...
, she was briefly engaged with German light cruisers in the
Second Battle of Heligoland BightThe Second Battle of Heligoland Bight was a naval engagement in World War I. On 17 November 1917, German minesweepers clearing a path through the British minefield in the Heligoland Bight near the coast of Germany were intercepted by two British cruisers, HMS Calypso and HMS Caledon, performing...
, and sustained minor damage. Later in
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
, she served with the First Cruiser Squadron in the
North SeaThe North Sea is a marginal, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf. The Dover Strait and the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north connect it to the Atlantic Ocean. It is more than long and wide, with an area of around...
. In 1918, short take-off platforms for aircraft were mounted on both 15-inch turrets. On 21 November 1918, she was present at the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet.
Conversion
When the
Washington Naval TreatyThe Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, limited the naval armaments of its five signatories: the United States of America, the British Empire, the Empire of Japan, the French Third Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy. The treaty was agreed at the Washington Naval...
was signed in 1922, Courageous was surplus tonnage as a capital ship, so the decision was made to convert her to an
aircraft carrierAn aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power great distances without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
. The combination of a large hull and high speed, not to mention an unsuccessful original design, made her an ideal candidate for conversion. The vessel was converted to a carrier at
DevonportHer Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three UK operating bases for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England. It is the largest naval base in Western Europe and is the sole nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the...
starting in 1924, and she was re-commissioned in May 1928. Her conversion cost
£The pound sterling , often simply called the pound, is the currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and British Antarctic Territory...
2,025,800 (approximately £82 million in 2005 currency). The 15-inch turrets that were removed from Courageous
in the conversion were later installed as X and Y turrets on HMS Vanguard
HMS Vanguard was a fast battleship launched in the final days of World War II and commissioned shortly after. She was the only one of her class and was the biggest, fastest and last of the Royal Navy battleships. In terms of displacement, she was the second largest battleship class ever constructed...
. When recommissioned as an aircraft carrier, Courageous had two flight decks: the main flight deck, and at the bow, a lower smaller "flying off deck". During a 1935-36 refit, this smaller forward flight deck was converted to a gun deck with anti aircraft guns, and two
catapultAn aircraft catapult is a device used to launch aircraft from ships—in particular aircraft carriers—as a form of assisted take off. It consists of a track built into the flight deck, below which is a large piston or shuttle that is attached through the track to the nose gear of the aircraft.Older...
s capable of shooting off aircraft weighing 10,000 lb were installed on the main flight deck. She had two levels of hangars, both 550 feet long, both 24 feet (7.3 m) high. She could carry up to 48 aircraft; when first recommissioned, she carried
Fairey FlycatcherThe Fairey Flycatcher was a British single-seat biplane carrier-borne fighter aircraft made by Fairey Aviation which served in the period 1923 to 1934...
s,
Blackburn RiponThe Blackburn T.5 Ripon was a British carrier-based torpedo bomber and reconnaissance biplane which first flew in 1926. It was used by the Fleet Air Arm as a torpedo bomber from 1930 until 1935...
s, and Fairey IIIF reconnaissance planes; later, the
Fairey SwordfishThe Fairey Swordfish was a torpedo bomber built by the Fairey Aviation Company and used by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy during the Second World War...
and
Gloster GladiatorThe Gloster Gladiator was a British-built biplane fighter, used by the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s. It was the RAF's last biplane fighter aircraft and was rendered obsolete by newer monoplane designs even as it was...
types were carried. Courageous
could be distinguished from her sister Glorious
by a shorter round-down on her flight deck at the stern, by a different type of mast, and the addition of a charthouse on the island.
World War II and sinking
Courageous
served with the Home Fleet in the Channel Force at the start of World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. On 17 September 1939, under the command of CaptainCaptain is a senior officer rank of the Royal Navy. It ranks above Commander and below Commodore and has a NATO ranking code of OF-5. The rank is equivalent to a Colonel in the British Army or Royal Marines and to a Group Captain in the Royal Air Force. The rank of Group Captain is based on the...
W. T. Mackaig-Jones, she was on an anti-submarine patrol off the coast of IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
. Two of her four escorting destroyerIn naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, short-range but powerful attackers .Before World War II, destroyers were light vessels without the endurance...
s had been sent to help a merchant ship under attack. During this time, Courageous
was stalked for over two hours by the U-29
Unterseeboot 29 was a German Type VIIA submarine used in World War II. She was laid down on January 2, 1936 and commissioned November 10, 1936.During her career U-29 was involved in 7 patrols...
, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Otto SchuhartOtto Schuhart was a famous Korvettenkapitän with the Kriegsmarine during World War II. He sailed with the U-29, sinking twelve ships on nine patrols, for a total of 67.277 tons of Allied merchant shipping....
. Then Courageous
turned into the wind to launch her aircraft. This manoeuvre put the ship right across the bow of the U-29
, which then fired three torpedoThe modern torpedo is a self-propelled explosive projectile weapon, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater toward a target, and designed to detonate on contact or in proximity to a target...
es. Two of the torpedoes struck the ship on her port side, and she capsized and sank in 15 minutes with the loss of 518 of her crew, including her captain. She was the first British warship to be lost in the war; the civilian passenger liner Athenia
The S.S. Athenia was the first British ship to be sunk by Nazi Germany in World War II.-Description:Athenia was built by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Ltd., and was launched at Govan, Scotland in 1923. She was built for Anchor-Donaldson Ltd.'s route between Britain and Canada...
having been sunk two weeks earlier.
An earlier unsuccessful attack on HMS Ark Royal
HMS Ark Royal was an aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy that served in the Second World War. She was torpedoed on 13 November 1941 by the German submarine U-81 and sank the following day....
by the U-39
, on September 14, and the sinking of Courageous three days later, caused the Royal Navy to withdraw its fleet carriers from anti-submarine patrol.
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