HMS EAGLE AND HER TRAVELS AROUND THE WORLD

15 PHOTOGRAPHS

HMS Eagle was an aircraft carrier in service 1951-1972. With her sister ship Ark Royal, she was one of the two largest British aircraft carriers of that period.

She was initially laid down in 1942 in Belfast as one of four ships of the Audacious class but at the end of hostilities, the remaining two were suspended. Originally to be called Audacious, she was finally launched as Eagle in March 1946

A number of changes were incorporated into the design, although Eagle was launched too early to see an angled flight deck installed, and the ship was commissioned in October 1951.  A 5.5 degree 'interim' angled flight deck was fitted in 1954-1955 with a mirror landing sight, but she retained her two hydraulic catapults forward as they were adequate for the relatively light naval aircraft in service at the time. Her first wartime service came in 1956, when she took part in the Suez Crisis. The ship's aircraft of that period included Westland Wyverns, Douglas Skyraiders, Hawker Sea Hawks and de Havilland Sea Venoms.

In 1959 Eagle entered Devonport Dockyard to begin a near-5 year refit. By 1964 the refit was complete and Eagle was now the largest most capable aircraft carrier in the Royal Navy. The refit was intended to extend her operational life for another twenty years to the mid 1980s if necessary, and Eagle now operated Blackburn Buccaneers, de Havilland Sea Vixens and Fairey Gannets

Eagle was paid off in January 1972 at Portsmouth

*PLEASE NOTE THE DESPATCH TIME FOR THESE PHOTOGRAPHS IS 4-5 WORKING DAYS*