HMS Courageous (50)

HMS Brave (50) History

HMS Courageous (50) has lived two different lives for the Royal Navy during his sailing career. She was originally a light battlecruiser and fought during the First World War (1914-1918).

In the mid-to-late 1920s, she was selected for conversion into an aircraft carrier and assumed an entirely new role while retaining her name. She served in World War II (1939-1945), but was killed in a German submarine attack during the first month of the war.

Although its roots are much earlier, World War I began in the summer of 1914 with the first gunshots in August. Faced with the need for more modern surface fighters, on March 14, 1915, the Royal Navy ordered a new type of warship - the Brave class - to strengthen its light battlecruiser class and better match the strength of the German Navy. match.

The ship's crew consists of 842 officers and seamen. Armor protection is 3" on the belt, 3" on the deck, 7" on the turret, 9" on the main turret, and 10" on the conning turret.

The armament consists of 4 x 15" Mark I guns in two twin turrets, one at the front and one at the rear. This consists of 18 x 4" Mark IX guns in six three-arm mounts and 2 x 3 support" guns for air defense.

Like other warships of the time, the HMS Courageous was equipped with 2 x 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes as additional defense against long-range ground threats.

The ship went to sea in this form, but was damaged while still in progress, delaying her official entry into World War I. She then became the flagship of the 1st Cruiser Squadron by the end of 1916, and in April 1917 took on the minelaying mission (when properly equipped). Additional torpedo tubes were added in 1917.

In October of the same year, she failed to attack a German raiding team in the North Sea, which was sinking a convoy bound for Norway.

HMS Courageous at the Second Battle of the Gulf of Heligoland between the British and German navies on 17 November 1917. The battle proved a draw for both sides as the British damaged a light cruiser while the Germans damaged a light cruiser and lost a minesweeper.

She ended the war patrolling the North Sea and added equipment to launch Sopwith biplanes in 1918. On February 1, 1919, when the war ended with an armistice in November 1918, she was placed in the reserve.

During the ensuing two world wars and the rise of aircraft carriers in naval warfare, the HMS Courageous proved to be the perfect candidate for this type of conversion. From 1925 to 1928, she completely rebuilt her Second Life as the Royal Navy continued to operate under the constraints of the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty. The ship's profile was modified to accommodate a starboard island superstructure and a funnel, and a two-piece straight flight deck replaced the old main battery turret and hull superstructure. There is a short "take-off" deck above the forecastle, while a longer deck is located above the main body of the boat, covering the hull from the mid-forward to near the stern edge.

The inside of the hangar facility forms two complete layers, and a total of forty-eight fighter jets can be deployed.

18 x Yarrow boiler units power 4 x Parsons geared steam turbines driving 90,000hp to 4 x axles.

In all new works, her original hull form is still recognizable, and her performances remain more or less intact. The crew now totals 814, plus 403 dedicated to the Luftwaffe. Speed ??is only slightly reduced to 30 knots, with a range of 5,860 nautical miles at 16 knots of steam.

Designed for anti-aircraft missions, the weapon consists of a 16 x 4/7" (120 mm) Mark VIII anti-aircraft gun (AA) mounted on a single gun mount around the fuselage structure.

Work on the Intrepid ended in February 1928, and the ship underwent a period of testing and training. First used in Mediterranean waters, she was upgraded in the 1930s.

When World War II began on 1 September 1939, she was assigned to the British Home Fleet to operate Fairey Swordfish biplane torpedo bombers.

On September 17, 1939, HMS Courageous was pursued by German submarine U-29. As the carrier turned to fire the plane into the wind (and presented the German commander with an attractive target), the U-29 took the opportunity to fire three torpedoes on the Brave side. Two of the trio achieved their goal by cutting power to critical systems.

In just twenty minutes, the airline crashed with 519 crew members. During this operation, the HMS Courageous became the first British warship to be lost in the war to the Germans.

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