×
Aircraft / Aviation Vehicles & Artillery Small Arms Warships & Submarines Military Ranks Military Pay Chart (2024) Special Forces
HOME
NAVAL WARFARE INDEX
MODERN FLEETS
WARSHIPS BY COUNTRY
SHIPBUILDERS
COMPARE WARSHIPS
SHIPS BY CONFLICT
SHIPS BY TYPE
SHIPS BY DECADE
SHIPS BY CLASS
COLD WAR SHIPS
MODERN VESSELS
Naval Warfare

HMS Illustrious (R06)


Conventionally-Powered Light Aircraft Carrier [ 1982 ]



The light aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious R06 became the second of three-strong Invincible-class for the British Royal Navy in 1982.



Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 09/26/2016 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

VIEW SPECIFICATIONS [+]
During World War 2 (1939-1945), the aircraft carrier became the new symbol of power concerning high seas warfare. The United Kingdom joined other world powers - in particular the United States and Japan - in fielding a sizeable carrier force during the war and the ship type was largely responsible for early Japanese successes and the Allies' resounding triumphs during the Pacific Campaign. This war record officially put an end to the reign of the "big-gunned" capital ships in naval history. In the ensuing decades, the Royal Navy ultimately reduced its carrier force and lost much of its fixed-wing launch capabilities amidst budget constraints and a changing political landscape. The promising "CVA-01" initiative was to begin a new generation of British carriers in an effort to replace earlier, aging types that had been constructed even prior to the War. With two vessels planned, this initiative was ultimately scrapped in the 1966 Defence White Paper review.

In 1967, a new endeavor was put forth calling for a "command cruiser" vessel in the 12,500 ton displacement range. Instead of fixed-wing capabilities - which often required a large ship and proved expensive to construct and maintain - this vessel class would be used to support helicopter launching and retrieval (rotary-wing systems). As many as six "Sea King" Navy helicopters would be utilized simultaneously along a flight deck. The base design then increased in scope and a "through-deck" carrier arrangement was selected which increased displacement to 19,500 tons. The through-deck name helped to ensure that the design would go forward within the political sphere - "aircraft carrier" carrying with it the negative connotation of big and expensive. The greater displacement and dimensions would also allow provision for supporting the navalized form of the BAe "Harrier" Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) strike fighter (known as the "Sea Harrier"). The new ship class was named the Invincible-class and would constitute three vessels led by HMS Invincible and followed by HMS Illustrious and HMS Indomitable.

With HMS Invincible laid down during July of 1973, HMS Illustrious followed when ordered during May of 1976. The third of the class followed in December of 1978 and public pressure forced her to be renamed to HMS Ark Royal. The vessels were commissioned July 1980, July 1982 and November 1985 respectively and, despite their "command cruiser" categorization, these vessels were light aircraft carriers through-and-through.

The straight flight deck characterized the group with the lane set over the portside of the hull. At the bow was a ski jump lifting device installed to assist the fixed-wing VTOL Harrier jets during launching (this structure sat over the portside of the bow section). Helicopter launch areas were also positioned to this side as the island superstructure was arranged to starboard. Several elevators serviced the flight deck and hangar decks below. The complete crew complement numbered 685 with a further 366 serving in the air wing (as part of the Fleet Air Arm - FAA).

Dimensionally the completed vessel exhibited a length of 677 feet, a beam of 90 feet and a draught of 24 feet. Displacement was 19,500 tons. Her machinery included 4 x Rolls-Royce Olympus TN1313 gas turbines with 8 x Paxman "Valenta" diesel generators developing a combined 112,000 shaft horsepower to 4 x shafts. Maximum speed in ideal conditions could reach 28 knots with ranges out to 5,000 nautical miles. At the time of her commissioning, Illustrious and her group marked the largest vessels to be powered solely by gas turbines - others being typically powered through nuclear means.©MilitaryFactory.com
Because of the design nature of aircraft carriers in general, onboard armament beyond the air wing was largely defensive. Illustrious' long range reach was through a twin launcher firing the "Sea Dart" surface-to-air missile system. Twenty-two reloads were carried. Close-in defense was through 2 x 20mm Phalanx CIWS installations fore and aft. These were eventually replaced by the "Goalkeeper" system. A pair of single-barreled 20mm automatic cannons rounded out the defensive fit. Beyond the air wing and armament, Illustrious also carried a slew of defensive- and offensive-minded suites - air search radars, missile guidance radars, navigation/direction radars, a now sonar system, echo sounders and chaff launchers.

Illustrious' commissioning was on June 20th, 1982 which saw it appear operationally during the Falklands War with Argentina. This was not by sheer chance for the Illustrious was purposely hurried in its construction and trials to provide a relief vessel for Invincible during the conflict. She entered the active warzone with a complement of ten Sea Harrier aircraft and eleven Sea King helicopters. Nine of the helicopters were fitted with Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) kits while the remaining pair were for the Airborne Electronic Warfare (AEW) role (a typical peacetime air wing consisted of five Sea Harriers and ten helicopters).

Beyond the stated use of Sea Kings, Illustrious eventually fielded various medium-class helicopter types during her career. This has included the Boeing Ch-47 "Chinook" tandem-rotor transport, the Hughes AH-64 "Apache" attack helicopter, the AgustaWestland AW101 "Merlin" multi-role platform, and the AgustaWestland Lynx series. Before the end, she could field up to 22 Harrier strike fighters.

It was eventually decided to field a rotation of two aircraft carriers at any one time allowing the third to enter scheduled refits as needed. At one point, Invincible was considered for sale to Australia (as the HMAS Australia) but this process was cancelled due to the Falklands commitment. Illustrious was eventually brought up to a modernized standard that began with Ark Royal and Invincible followed.

Illustrious was then on station in the Middle East theater during "Operation Southern Watch" which attempted to curtail airborne actions by the government of Iraq, at odds with the West since its invasion of neighboring oil-rich Kuwait. The warship was then on station during the United Nations involvement in the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s. Her next major commitment became Sierra Leone during 2000 and she followed this up with a refit period in 2002 - forcing her to miss all of the coalition invasion of Iraq in 2003. Her services were in play once more, this time in a humanitarian role, while retrieving British citizens from war-torn Lebanon in 2006.

All things changed for the vessel when the aging Harrier line (by this time improved "Harrier II" models) was eventually removed from her flight deck in 2010. From this point forward, the warship was used strictly as a conventional helicopter carrier until she was decommissioned on August 28th, 2014. It is intended that the vessel will be spared the scrapman's torch and set aside for preservation. Her successor is to become HMS Queen Elizabeth, the new generation of British carrier that includes HMS Prince of Wales. Commissioning of these vessels is scheduled around 2016.

During her time at sea, she fought under the motto of "Vox Non Incerta", meaning
No Uncertain Sound", and earned herself the nickname of "Lusty".©MilitaryFactory.com
Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.

Specifications



United Kingdom
Operators National flag of the United Kingdom
1982
Commissioned
United Kingdom
National Origin
1,050
Complement
Invincible-class
Hull Class
3
Number-in-Class
HMS Invincible (R05); HMS Illustrious (R06); HMS Ark Royal (R07)
Ships-in-Class


Flag Ship / Capital Ship
Serving in the fleet Flag Ship role or Capital Ship in older warship designs / terminology.


686.0 feet
(209.09 meters)
Length
118.0 feet
(35.97 meters)
Beam
25.0 feet
(7.62 meters)
Draught
22,000
tons
Displacement


8 x Paxman Valenta diesel generators with 4 x Rolls-Royce Olympus TM3B gas turbines developing 97,000 horsepower.
Propulsion
30.0 knots
(34.5 mph)
Surface Speed
4,997 nm
(5,750 miles | 9,254 km)
Range
1 knot = 1.15 mph; 1 nm = 1.15 mile; 1 nm = 1.85 km


1 x Sea Dart SAM twin-missile launcher
2 x 20mm Phalanx Close-In Weapon Systems (CIWSs) (later replaced by Goalkeeper CIWS).
2 x 20mm GAM-B01 air defense guns


22 x AV-8B Harrier II / Sea Harrier jump jets OR equivalent naval helicopters: Boeing CH-47 Chinook, Boeing AH-64 Apache, AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Lynx and Westland Sea King types.


Military lapel ribbon for the Cold War period
Military lapel ribbon for early warship designs
Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War
Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War
Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War
Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft
Military lapel ribbon for the Attack on Pearl Harbor
Military lapel ribbon for the Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2

Images



1 / 8
Image of the HMS Illustrious (R06)
Image from the United States Department of Defense imagery database.
2 / 8
Image of the HMS Illustrious (R06)
Image from the United States Department of Defense imagery database.
3 / 8
Image of the HMS Illustrious (R06)
Image from the United States Department of Defense imagery database.
4 / 8
Image of the HMS Illustrious (R06)
Image from the United States Department of Defense imagery database.
5 / 8
Image of the HMS Illustrious (R06)
Image from the United States Department of Defense imagery database.
6 / 8
Image of the HMS Illustrious (R06)
Image from the United States Department of Defense imagery database.
7 / 8
Image of the HMS Illustrious (R06)
Image from the United States Department of Defense imagery database.
8 / 8
Image of the HMS Illustrious (R06)
Image from the United States Department of Defense imagery database.

Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies

2024 Military Pay Chart Military Ranks DoD Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. No A.I. was used in the generation of this content; site is 100% curated by humans.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing military medals and ribbons. Special Interest: RailRoad Junction, the locomotive encyclopedia.


©2023 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2023 (20yrs)