HMS Glorious
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| Missing image HMS_Glorious_-_Battlecruiser.gif HMS Glorious as battlecruiser As a battlecruiser Missing image HMS_Glorious_-_Aircraft_Carrier.gif HMS Glorious as aircraft carrier As an aircraft carrier | |
| Career | 
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|---|---|
| Ordered: | |
| Laid down: | 1 May 1915 |
| Launched: | 20 April 1916 |
| Commissioned: | January 1917 |
| Converted to aircraft carrier: | February 1924–March 1930 |
| Fate: | Sunk by Scharnhorst and Gneisenau during the evacuation from Norway in spring 1940. |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 26,518 tons full load |
| Dimensions: | 786.5ft x 27.75ft x ?ft (240m x 8.5m x ?m) |
| Armament: | 16-4.7in (119mm) 4-4pdr (1.8kg) 3-Octuple 2pdr (907g) |
| Aircraft: | 48 |
| Propulsion: | 18 Yarrow small tube boilers, Parson geared turbines producing 90,000 shp (67 MW) driving four shafts = 30.5kts (56km/h) |
| Range: | 5,860 miles (9,430km) at 16kts (30km/h) |
| Complement: | 1200 |
HMS Glorious was a warship of the Royal Navy. Built as a "large light cruiser" during World War I, she saw action and then was converted into an aircraft carrier, and sunk in World War II.
Glorious was built by Harland and Wolff, Belfast. The design was for a battlecruiser and the keel was laid down in May 1915, the hull was launched 20 April 1916 and Glorious was commissioned in 1917. She saw little action, and design flaws meant that Glorious was placed in the reserve fleet in February 1919. The vessel was converted to a carrier from 1924 and was re-commissioned 10 March 1930. It joined the Mediterranean Fleet, but with the invasion of Norway in April 1940 she was recalled to home waters. On April 23 she and HMS Ark Royal arrived in Norwegian waters. From June 5 Glorious took part in Operation Alphabet, the evacuation of Allied troops from Norway.
On June 8 the Glorious had taken on board a number of Gloster Gladiators and also Hawker Hurricanes, the first landing of modern aircraft without arrestor hooks on a carrier. Glorious left a larger convoy to proceed independently and while transiting through the Norwegian Sea to return to Scapa Flow the carrier and her two escorts, the destroyers HMS Acasta and HMS Ardent, were intercepted by the German battlecruisers (or light battleships) Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. The carrier and her escorts were quickly sunk with the loss of 1,519 men; there were only 41 survivors. The Scharnhorst was badly damaged by a torpedo from Acasta, and both German vessels took a number of shell hits. The carrier was sunk roughly 170 nautical miles (315 km) west of Harstad. Bletchley Park had received, and reported, indications that Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were out, but these were disregarded as insufficiently credible.
- Height: 24 ft (7.3 m)
- Aircraft: up to 48, either the Fairey Swordfish or Gloster Gladiators
- Defences: 16 x 4.7 in (119 mm), 3 x octuple 2 pdr (907 g)
- Propulsion: 18 Yarrow boilers, 90,000 shp (67 MW) = 30 knots (56 km/h)
- Range: 5,860 nautical miles (10,850 km) at 16 knots (30 km/h)
- Complement: 1,200 including fleet air arm
External link
- Maritimequest HMS Glorious photo gallery (http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/great_britain/pages/aircraft_carriers/hms_glorious_77.htm)
| Glorious-class aircraft carrier |
| Glorious | Courageous |
| List of aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy |