1
THE END OF THE Second World War saw the Royal Navy at the zenith of its strength in material terms. The only superior power was the United States of America, which was now the undisputed leading military and economic power in the world. The fleets of the Axis Powers and those of France and the USSR were devastated, so there was now no major foe which the Royal Navy would have to counter.
The end of the war in the summer of 1945 came rather more rapidly than expected, but the first steps towards planning for peace began in the summer of 1944, following the invasion of France, when it was anticipated that the Japanese war would be won by the end of December 1946. The object was to move the shipyards back to a normal peacetime footing and to this end it was decided that only warships which could be completed by the end of 1946 should proceed, with the exception of some vessels where construction would continue in order to clear the slipways.1
The warship building programme was in a somewhat chaotic state when the war ended. Plans had been badly dislocated by the needs of the invasion fleet and the tank landing ship programme began for the Pacific campaign. Repairs to both warships and merchant ships, as well as delays in the delivery of equipment, were also constraints on efficient warship production. As a result the construction of the fleet carriers ordered under the 1940 (Ark Royal), 1942 (Eagle and Audacious) and 1943 Programmes (Gibraltar, Malta, New Zealand and Africa) had either not started or was severely delayed by shortages of labour and steel. The situation was compounded by late design changes in the 1943 ships. The eight light fleet carriers of the Hermes class also suffered and, through the intervention of the First Lord of the Admiralty, A V Alexander, only four were allowed to proceed, although all of them had been formally sanctioned by the War Cabinet.
Bow view of Eagle at speed on 2 May 1954. Note axial deck and eight Westland Whirlwind helicopters. (D K Brown collection)
Lion and Temeraire (1945 Design). Conjectural drawing of 1945 Battleship design which was included in the original 1945 Programme. Although the names are the same there was little relationship with the Lion class of 1938. (Drawing by John Roberts)
The cruiser situation, where the programme had been curtailed in 1942 by the orders for sixteen light fleet carriers of the Colossus class which lead to the immediate cancellation of four cruisers and work slowing on a further four, was no better. Other priorities, such as the construction of the battleship Vanguard, also took their toll. The result was that Blake (1942), Defence (1941 Supplementary) Tiger ex-Bellerophon (1941 Supplementary) and Hawke (1942) were well behind schedule and far from completion when the war ended. The 1944 Programme included five ships of the Neptune class which were also the subject of considerable design and policy changes. From being small cruisers (Design N2) of some 8650 tons mounting eight 5.25in guns of a new design they gravitated to expensive vessels (Design Y) of 15,560 tons mounting twelve 6in guns in triple turrets, again of a new design. The smaller cruiser design was thrown out in January 1944 at the instigation of the new First Sea Lord, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Andrew Cunningham. A sixth ship was added to the programme when it was decided that the original Tiger should be built to the new design. No work had been done or material ordered for these ships when the war ended, although the original Tiger (now renamed Bellerophon), remained formally on order from Vickers Armstrong’s Tyne yard. Destroyer construction was also in some disarray with ‘C’ (1942), ‘Battle’ (1942 and 1943) and ‘Weapon’ (1943) class destroyers all well behind schedule. One cause was delays in the delivery of ‘K’ director towers for the ‘Ca’ class destroyers and Mark VI directors for the later ‘C’ and 1942 ‘Battle’ class destroyers. In addition, the 1944 Programme authorised the construction of twenty-two Daring class and eight Gallant class destroyers. Submarine construction had shifted from the production of the pre-war designed ‘S’, ‘T’ and ‘U’ classes to the new ‘A’ class design in 1943, which required less man hours to build than the earlier designs. The end of the war saw the conclusion of the earlier programmes with the completion of the last stragglers of the ‘S’ and ‘T’ classes.2
The 1945 Programme approved by the Board of Admiralty included the reinstated battleships Lion and Temeraire, where new designs were being considered, as well as four escort vessels of a new design and one experimental submarine. The war was to end before these aims were formally placed before the Cabinet.3 The cessation of hostilities inevitably resulted in an substantial curtailment of the planned new construction programme. Some deletions had, however, occurred in 1944, when three ‘Weapon’ class destroyers were cancelled. Twenty ‘A’ class submarines ordered under the 1943 Programme and a further twenty members of the class planned under the 1944 Programme but not yet ordered were also abandoned. Three of the latter group were reinstated for a few months under plans to build them as units of an improved ‘A’ class. The autumn of 1945 saw the cancellation of the fleet aircraft carriers Gibraltar and Africa and four of the 1943 light fleet carriers. However, no work had been done on any of these ships and, although construction was approved by the Cabinet, their existence as firm projects was purely notional. The cruiser Hawke also went, perhaps surprisingly, for although she was still on the slip in Portsmouth Dockyard, her boilers and machinery were complete whilst her 6in gun armament was nearly so. The destroyer programme saw the demise of sixteen ‘Battle’ class destroyers, eight of which had been launched. Eight ‘Weapon’ class destroyers also went, together with twelve more submarines of the ‘A’ class. The planned battleships Lion and Temeraire also died at this point although, incredibly, development of the 16in Mark IV gun intended for the ships continued – albeit slowly – until 1948.
The final tranche of cancellations in December 1945 cut into the planned post-war new construction programme. The aircraft carriers Malta and New Zealand were abandoned; here preparatory work, largely paid for by the Admiralty, had been completed at John Brown so that work on Malta could get underway. The aircraft carrier Eagle, which was said to be 26 per cent complete at Vickers Armstrong’s Tyne yard, also had to go: another cancellation where work had been done and material manufactured. Some 3000 tons of armour plate intended for the ship cluttered up the yard for a while after her demise. Eight Daring class and the eight Gallant class destroyers were also cancelled with some work being underway on both. Four ‘Weapon’ class destroyers, close to being launched, were also abandoned. The 1945 New Construction Programme was reduced further with two escort vessels deleted, the remaining major ships being only two escort vessels and one experimental submarine.4
The six cruisers of the Neptune class remained in the long-term programme at this point and indeed the First Lord of the Admiralty, A V Alexander, had hoped to make a start on two of them immediately when the 1945 Programme was finally presented to the Cabinet. However, the Cabinet effectively deferred the matter and then the design was changed yet again early in 1946 when the Minotaur class with ten 6in guns in twin mountings was substituted. By 1947 the economic situation was so bleak that these ships died, although their armament was to live on. Destined to be completed for the post-war fleet of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s were the two fleet aircraft carriers Eagle (ex-Audacious) and Ark Royal, the light fleet carriers Centaur, Albion, Bulwark and Hermes, the cruisers Blake, Defence and Tiger and the eight Daring class destroyers. The two escort vessels surviving from the 1945 Programme ultimately appeared as the aircraft direction frigate Salisbury and the anti-aircraft frigate Leopard, whilst the submarine evolved into Explorer. Also launched but incomplete at the close of 1945 were the last six units of the Colossus class, which at this stage had been modified to incorporate new messing arrangements and were now known as the Majestic class. Their future was uncertain and four of the class came very close to being abandoned in the 1945 economies. The contracts for three of them, Hercules, Leviathan and Powerful, were ultimately cancelled in the spring of 1946. The ships were not scrapped but laid up effectively in the care of the Reserve Fleet organisation or the shipbuilder. None was to see service in the Royal Navy.5
Gallant. The clear relationship with the ‘Weapon’ class can be seen. The class was cancelled at the end of the war but the design formed the basis of the austere design ‘A1’ which was considered in the early post-war years.
(Drawing by Len Crockford from an original in NMM ADM 138/711)
Fleet Aircraft Carriers Ark Royal and Eagle
The origins of these ships go back to 1940 when Irresistible was authorised as a unit of the Implacable class. Nothing was done about building her, initially due to the war situation. The 1942 Programme provided for a new aircraft carrier design and after the loss of the Ark Royal it was decided that Irresistible (by then renamed Ark Royal) should be built as a unit of the new class. Principal changes from the Implacable design were improved underwater protection, the disposition of machinery spaces so that total loss of motive power by enemy action was unlikely, more electric generating machinery, thicker flight deck armour and larger lifts. The height of each hangar was 14ft 6in. Displacement, when the design was originally approved by the Board of Admiralty in July 1942, was 31,600 tons (standard). By November 1942 it was clear that the new carriers would have to operate American aircraft, which meant increasing the hangar height to 17ft 6in. With deck armour being kept at 4in thickness it meant that the beam of the vessel had to be increased by 4ft in order to retain stability. The standard displacement now grew to 32,600 tons. The next major change was to enhance lifts, arrester gear and catapults so that aircraft weighing 30,000lbs could be operated. Many other piecemeal changes were made as war experience was incorporated in the ships, with the result that by 1946 the standard displacement had increased to 36,800 tons. This was a substantial development from the 1942 project but inevitably a better result would have been achieved had it been feasible to incorporate all the new requirements in a revised design. One example of a short-coming was that far less aviation fuel could be carried than was now needed to operate the new aircraft designs coming forward effectively and in sufficient numbers. However, with work underway in the shipyards and most of the design work completed, it was just not practical to scrap all that had been achieved: the in-service date of the ships would have slipped dramatically. The Eagle (ex-Audacious) was built to the revised design and was finally completed in 1952. Her sister-ship Ark Royal lingered in the shipyard until 1955. Her design embodied four further major changes: a deck-edge lift, steam catapults, a repositioned forward lift and an angled flight deck. The result of these additions and other improvements was that displacement increased to 43,060 tons (standard), a far cry from the 31,600 tons anticipated in 1942. The two ships were now the main elements of the aircraft carrier fleet, but the speed of technological change was such that even better ships were wanted in order to retain effectiveness, which meant that modernisation had to be contemplated.6
Ark Royal, an overhead view on 26 August 1955. Note interim angled deck, which has caused little impact on the structure of the ship.
(D K Brown collection)
Malta (1945 Design) This ‘open hangar’ design indicates how the hangar is built upon the hull of the ship. The openings in the hangar structure show the line of the hull.
(Drawing by John Roberts from original in NMM Ships Plans Collection)
Eagle, an overhead view early in her career, illustrating the formidable anti-aircraft armament.
(D K Brown collection)
Ark Royal on 3 January 1957. Aircraft visible are Sea Hawks and Sea Venoms.
(D K Brown collection)
The weakness of Ark Royal in particular was highlighted in 1963 when the ship had only been in service for some eight years. She had been laid down in 1942 and much of her equipment dated back to this era. The result was inevitable deterioration due to age as well as usage, which affected reliability. Furthermore, the old DC electrical system in the ship produced inadequate power to meet the demands of new and more capable equipment. Habitability was also regarded as poor whilst the design of the flight deck restricted operations. The ship was then not expected to remain in the fleet beyond 1972 unless very heavy expenditure was incurred, an option which was not felt to be desirable by the Director of Naval Construction.7
Centaur, Albion and Bulwark
These ships, Hermes class light fleet carriers, were originally part of a group of eight ships to be built under the 1943 New Construction Programme. Initially the ships were expected to be members of the Colossus class but the design was modified following a report produced at the end of December 1942 by the Joint Technical Committee on Aviation. Significant new requirements were for the maximum allowable weight for carrier-borne aircraft to be increased from 20,000lbs to 30,000lbs and for the hangar height to be increased to 17ft 6in. The design also called for an increase in maximum speed from 25kts to 30kts. The penalties for this enhancement in the new light fleet carrier specification were that the standard displacement increased from some 14,000 tons to 18,300 tons, with the building time increasing from a scheduled 1¾ years in the case of the Colossus class to 2½ years for the new class. Four of the class, although not formally cancelled at the end of the war, were effectively abandoned in June 1943 and it was not until early 1944 that approval was given for the first four ships to proceed. They were laid down during the year but with priorities assigned elsewhere progress was inevitably slow.8
Albion as a commando carrier exercising with RFA Tidereach in September 1962.
(D K Brown collection)
Bulwark as a commando carrier with Wessex and Sea King helicopters in April 1979.
(D K Brown collection)
Construction of all four ships continued slowly after the war, basically to clear the slips, for after the first three members of the class were launched in 1947 and 1948 they were laid up with little or no work being done. The fourth ship, Hermes, languished on her slip until 1953 when she was eventually launched. The design, although modified at the end of the war when it was decided not to carry four 4.5in twin mountings, was clearly dated by the end of the decade. The speed and size of newly planned jet aircraft was far in excess of expectations when the class was conceived. Centaur, the first to complete in 1953, benefited from an interim angled flight deck, which did not involve any structural modifications. Albion soon followed, with Bulwark completing in 1954. The design was now obsolete, so it was decided to complete the Hermes to what was effectively a new design, which involved reconstructing the ship. Her evolution will be covered in Chapter 3. Centaur served with the fleet with few modifications until 1966 after which she remained in reserve until scrapped in 1971. Her short operational life reflected her obsolescence. Albion and Bulwark were both altered to enable them to operate as commando carriers between 1959 and 1961, which resulted in the loss of their ability to operate fixed-wing aircraft. Alterations were, however, far from elaborate and their appearance was little changed from their days as light fleet carriers. Their manpower demands must have made them quite expensive to operate. Albion only survived until 1972 when she was discarded as an economy measure, but Bulwark was in commission in 1980 and she was finally scrapped in 1984 after a life of 30 years.9
Majestic class light fleet carriers
This class consisted of the last six ships of the Colossus class. Initially the only difference between the two classes was the incorporation of central messing arrangements. Work on Hercules, Leviathan and Powerful was stopped on 10 April 1946 with contracts cancelled, but this did not mean that plans for the modernisation of the class ceased, for work was still continuing on Magnificent, Majestic and Terrible. The major items involved were a stiffening of the flight deck so that aircraft on landing could weigh 20,000lbs compared with 15,500lbs specified for the Colossus class; the accelerator was also to be improved and more up-to-date radars and armament fitted, whilst 180 kW generators were to be replaced with 400 kW ones. The island spaces were also to be rearranged. Magnificent, lent to Canada, and Terrible which had been renamed Sydney on transfer to Australia, were both completed to the new specification in 1948.10
A more comprehensive plan to modernise the class was approved by the Board of Admiralty in October 1949. The aircraft lifts were improved so aircraft weighing 24,000lbs at take-off could be operated. Dimensions of the aircraft lifts were also increased from 45ft × 34ft as fitted in Colossus and Sydney to 54ft × 34ft. The arrester gear was strengthened so that it could accept a 20,0001b aircraft landing at 87kts. The Colossus and Sydney both carried 80,000 gallons of aviation fuel, increased to 130,000 gallons in Majestic. By 1951 the ships’ aviation fuel storage had been further expanded to 146,000 gallons, almost double that in the wartime design. Generating capacity showed a steady increase, being 1580 kW in Colossus, 1800 kW in Sydney and 2200 kW in Majestic. There were also improvements to the armament and radar and many other modifications of a more modest nature. Initially the only ship proceeding with the revised design was Majestic, which by now was scheduled for transfer to Australia. Before completion in 1955, Majestic, which was renamed Melbourne, incorporated further improvements, being fitted with a steam catapult and an angled flight deck.11
The three laid-up ships were not wanted by the Royal Navy unless an emergency arose, in which case they could be considered for completion as escort carriers. Powerful and Hercules were ultimately sold to Canada and India, both being completed essentially to the Majestic design but with the Canadian ship (now renamed Bonaventure) able to accept aircraft with a landing weight of 23,000lbs. The Indian ship, which was renamed Vikrant, was virtually indistinguishable from Majestic. The only member of the class not to see service was Leviathan, which was laid up at Portsmouth Dockyard for some 20 years. Her boilers and turbines were ultimately used in the Dutch Colossus class carrier Karel Doorman.
Melbourne in 1959 flying off Gannet ASW aircraft. She is accompanied by the Australian-built Daring class destroyers Voyager (to starboard) and Vendetta.
(RAN, by courtesy of Ross Gillett)
The modernisation of the Colossus class was also considered, and in 1951 Draft Staff Requirements were produced which sought improvements generally on the lines of Majestic. The only ship to be improved was Warrior where a limited modernisation was completed.12
The ‘Weapon’ class destroyer Scorpion refuelling from the carrier Eagle during a NATO exercise in September 1953.
(D K Brown collection)
‘Weapon’ class destroyers
This class was designed in late 1942/early 1943 as a suc-cessor to the ‘Q’–‘z’ and ‘C’ group of intermediate detroy-er. ew features were three twin 4in Mark XIX mountings in place of four single 4.5in (‘Z’ and ‘C’ flotillas) or four 4.7in(‘Q’–‘W’ flotillas) and a staggered machinery layout with boiler pressure and temperature raised to 400Ibs/750° against 300Ibs/650° in the earlier classes.
In March 1946 the design of the four survivors was modified. One 4in mounting was given up and replaced with a double Squid anti-submarine mortar (20 salvoes). The class, now described as anti-submarine escort vessels, were completed in 1947–8. They gave valuable experience which assisted in the design of the limited and full destroyer conversions to anti-submarine frigates.13
Daring class destroyers
These were the last major warship design to be approved by the Board of Admiralty during the Second World War to enter ervice. They proved to be a bridge between the war-built destroyers and the first post-war frigate, which were imilar in size. In order to ave weight and increase strength, construction was all welded and substantial sec-tions were prefabricated in the shipyard before being assembled on the slipways. Aluminium alloys were used in parts of the structure, an option not available during the war because of the scarcity of the metal resulting from the demands of the aircraft industry. Braided cables were used instead of lead-based cable, whilst in four ship an AC electrical system was installed which was to become standard practice in later years. The machinery was designed to operate at a higher pressure, 600psi compared with400psi in the ‘Battle’ class destroyers, which brought practice nearer to the standard accepted in the United States avy a decade earlier. All these developments were to lead to savings in weight and improvements in the per¬formance of the ships. The class was also the first to mount the twin 4.5in Mark VI gun in operational ervice. This gun wa pecified for the Type 12 series of frigates where construction continued until the early 1970s for the Royal Navy and it had an operational life of some 40 years.14 The Daring class, the last true destroyer, were considered successful but no significant modernisation was under¬taken largely due to budget constraints.
1 ADM 167/121: 1944 Admiralty Board Minutes and Memoranda (PRO).
2 G L Moore, Building for Victory: The Warship Programmes of the Royal Navy 1939 – 1945 (World Ship Society 2003). Although construction of Hawke at Portsmouth Dockyard had been severely delayed, work continued on other equipment. Her boilers and machinery were complete and the nine 6in Mark XXIV mountings were nearly ready. The earlier ‘Z’ class were also fitted with ‘K’ director towers.
3 CAB 66/67: New Construction Programme 1945 dated 29 June 1945 (CP (45) 54). Although this paper was prepared for presentation to the Cabinet it was never formally considered (PRO).
4 ADM 1/19096: 1945 Trial Programme Cancellations (PRO). Sections of Malta were completed and used for underwater explosive trials (see Ian Johnston, Ships for a Nation – John Brown and Company, Clydebank (Dumbarton 2000).
5 CAB 129/4: New Construction (Revised) Programme dated 22 November 1945 (CP(45)291) and CAB 128/2: Cabinet Minutes dated 27 November 1945 (PRO). An admirable source outlining British naval policy since the Second World War is Eric Grove, Vanguard to Trident (London 1987)
6 D K Brown, The Design and Construction of British Warships 1939 – 1945. Volume One – Major Surface Warships (London 1995), contains the design history of the class up to the point when Eagle was completed in March 1952. See also D K Brown, Nelson to Vanguard (London 2000). The adoption of jet propulsion later resulted in more fuel being carried in the same space; lower levels of fire precaution being needed.
7 ADM 1/28639: 1963 Aircraft Carrier Programme: Date of placing order for replacement of HMS Ark Royal (PRO).
8 ADM 229/29: Department of the Director of Naval Construction (Unregistered Papers March to May 1943); also ADM 205/32: First Sea Lords Records (PRO).
9 Conway’s All the Worlds Fighting Ships 1947–1995 (London 1995), p496.
10 ADM 138/744: Majestic class (NMM).
11 ADM 167/133: 1949 Admiralty Board Memoranda (PRO); and ADM 138/772: Majestic class (NMM).
12 ADM 138/811: Colossus Modernisation (NMM).
13 G L Moore, ‘The Weapon and Gallant class Destroyers’, Warship 2000–2001.
14 ADM 167/24: 1945 Admiralty Board Minutes and Memoranda (PRO); machinery particulars are recorded in NCD 31 (NMM).