HMCS Bonaventure
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HMCS Bonaventure was the last aircraft carrier in the Royal Canadian Navy.
As HMS Powerful she was laid down at Harland and Wolff in Belfast on 21 November 1943, and launched 27 February 1945. Work was suspended after the end of World War II, and was not resumed until the ship was bought by Canada. She was acquired in the early 1950s by the Canadian Navy, which was looking to replace its aging WW2-vintage light carriers Magnificent and Warrior which were deemed too small and slow for the jet age. Several surplus US and UK ships were considered, and the then-mothballed HMS Powerful, a Majestic-class light fleet carrier, was purchased in 1952 from the Royal Navy on the condition that it be refitted with an angled flight deck and steam catapult.
Bonaventure - named after Bonaventure Island, a bird sanctuary in the Gulf of St. Lawrence - was commissioned into the Canadian Navy on January 17, 1957, upon completion of its refit and modernization. The navy's new flagship carried a force of about 34 McDonnell Douglas F2H-3 Banshee jet fighters, Grumman CS2F Tracker ASW aircraft (built by de Havilland in Toronto), and Sikorsky HO4S helicopters.
Even with the refit, landing a Banshee on the Bonaventure's relatively short deck was pushing the envelope. While Canadian pilots did it routinely, American Banshee pilots flatly refused to even attempt landing on Bonaventure during joint operations. The wide-winged Trackers were also a tight fit. Despite this, and because of the hard work and dedication of her crew, the Bonaventure was able by 1958 to conduct around the clock (SUSTOP) operations, keeping four Trackers and two HO4S's in the air at all times, saturating an area of 200 square miles (518 km²) with ASW aircraft. This made the Canadian Navy the only one in the world at the time other than the US Navy capable of conducting around the clock air operations for sustained periods.
In 1964 new Sea King helicopters were added to Bonaventure's arsenal, and in 1966 she docked in Quebec for a "mid-life" refit. This second refit took eighteen months and costs escalated to $11 million (a large amount at the time). With the unification of the Canadian Armed Forces the Bonaventure was de-commissioned in Halifax on July 3 1970 (only three years after her refit) and was scrapped in Taiwan in 1971.
See also: List of aircraft carriers
Statistics
Before 1967 Refit
Displacement: 16,000 t, 19,920 t full load
Dimensions: 192.02 by 24.38 by 7.47 m
Propulsion: Parsons single-reduction geared steam turbines, four Admiralty 3-drum type 350 lb/in² (2.4 MPa) boilers, two shafts; 40,000 shp (30 MW)
Speed Maximum: 24.5 knots (45 km/h)
Crew: 1200; 1370 war
Aviation: Around 34 aircraft, including:
- HS 50 Squadron's Sikorsky HO4S's
- VF 870 and VF 871 Squadrons' McDonnel F2H-3 Banshees
- VS 880 and VS 881 Squadrons' Grumman CS2F Trackers
Flight Deck: 214.58 m by 34.29 m
Radar: US SPS-10 surface search, SPS-12 air search, and SPS-8 height finder
Armament: 4 x 3 in (76 mm) 50 twin mounts, 3 x 6 pdr (3 kg) saluting guns
After 1967 Refit
Displacement: 16,000 tons, and 19,920 tons full load (no change)
Dimensions: 192.02 by 24.38 by 7.47 m (no change)
Propulsion: Parsons single-reduction geared steam turbines, four Admiralty 3-drum type 350 lb/in² (2.4 MPa) boilers, two shafts; 40,000 shp (30 MW)(no change)
Speed Maximum: 24.5 knots (45 km/h)(no change)
Crew: 1200; 1370 war (no change)
Aviation: Around 21 aircraft, including:
- HS 50 Squadron's Sikorsky HO4S's (no change)
-
VF 870 and VF 871 Squadrons' McDonnel F2H-3 Banshees - HS 50, HU 21, and VX 10 Squadrons' Sikorsky CHSS-2 Sea Kings
- VS 880 and VS 881 Squadrons' Grumman CS2F Trackers (no change)
Flight Deck: 214.58 by 34.29 m(no change)
Radar: US SPS-10 surface search, and SPS-501 air search
Armament: Four 3 in (76 mm) 50 twin mounts, three 6 pounder (3 kg) saluting guns (no change)