aircraftcarrier Archives - Destination's Journey

Canadian Aircraft Carrier HMCS Magnificent

HMCS Magnificent was a Majestic-class aircraft carrier operated by the Royal Canadian Navy from 1948 to 1957.

Towards the end of the Second World War, Canada anticipated the need for additional and larger aircraft carriers to operated in the Pacific against Japan. At this time it crewed two British Royal Navy escort carriers (HMS Nabob which was heavily damaged and HMS Puncher). Negotiations led to Britain offering the Colossus-class carrier, HMS Warrior (HMCS Warrior in Canadian service) and The Majestic-class HMS Magnificent (HMCS Magnificent in Canadian service).

Warrior entered service in 1946, but was considered unsuitable for Canadian conditions, as she had been built to operate in the tropics and lacked heating. In 1948 she was replaced by Magnificent. The carrier was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 21 March 1948.

Following the Suez Crisis, the Canadian Government agreed to send a peacekeeping for to Egypt. HMCS Magnificent transported 406 Canadian troops and their vehicles along with 4 Royal Canadian Air Force de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otters and a single H04S helicopter. For this trip, she had her guns removed and complement reduced to 600. She unloaded her cargo in Port Said in January 1957.

The increased in size, weight and speed of jet aircraft made Magnificent unsuitable for their operation. On 14 June 1957, she was decommissioned and replaced in RCN service by HMCS Bonaventure, another Royal Navy Majestic-class carrier (HMS Powerful) that had not been completed at the end of the war. The ship was broken up at Faslane, Scotland, in July 1965.

Menu to Photos of HMCS Magnificent

Photos of HMCS Magnificent

HMS Magnificent (left) and HMS Powerful under construction at Harland and Wolff's Musgrave shipyard, Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK) — HMS Magnificent (left) and HMS Powerful under construction at Harland and Wolff’s Musgrave shipyard, Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK)

HMCS Magnificent at Boston 1951 April 23rd — HMS Magnificent (left) and HMS Powerful under construction at Harland and Wolff’s Musgrave shipyard, Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK)

Transporting Canadian Air Force Sabres

In October 1951, HMCS Magnificent (CVL 21) transported 35 RCAF Canadair CL-13 Sabre Mk. 2 aircraft to Europe

Transporting Canadian Army Equipment

HMCS Magnificent (CVL 21), unloading Canadian Army vehicles in Port Said for UNEF January 1957

Aircraft Operations

Douglas A-1 Skyraider (US Navy)

U.S. Navy Douglas AD-1B Skyraider from Attack Squadron 75 (VA-75) and Grumman Avengers on HMCS Magnificent Sep 1953

Fairey Firefly

Grumman Avenger

Grumman TBM-3W Avenger aircraft on the flight deck of HMCS Magnificent (CVL 21), circa 1953

Grumman A.S.4 Avenger flying over HMCS Magnificent — Grumman TBM-3W Avenger aircraft on the flight deck of HMCS Magnificent (CVL 21), circa 1953

Hawker Sea Fury

Sea Fury catches the #2 wire on HMS Magnificent — Hawker Sea Fury taking off from HMCS Magnificent

British Aircraft Carrier HMS Warrior

HMS Warrior leaving Plymouth Sound bound for the Far East 1953

British Aircraft Carrier HMS Warrior (R31)

When completed on 2 April 1945, the Colossus-class aircraft carrier HMS Warrior was lent to the Royal Canadian Navy as HMCS Warrior. She remained in Canadian hands from 14 March 1946 until 23 March 1948.

Upon returning to British service, HMS Warrior was refitted at Devonport, where she was equipped with an experimental flexible deck. The concept of the rubber deck was to permit aircraft to land without an undercarriage, the impact of landing being absorbed by the flexible deck. Although successful it was not implemented and Warrior was paid off to reserve in 1949.

Re-commissioned in 1960, Warrior was used to transport troops and equipment for the Korean War. When she returned to the UK in 1955, she was refitted, and an angled deck installed, along with upgrades to the arrester system and catapults to enable the operation of aircraft up to 20,000lbs.

During 1957, Warrior was used as the headquarters ship for Operation Grapple the British hydrogen bomb tests. For this operations she embarked Grumman Avenger AS4s to collect samples and a flight of Westland Whirlwind helicopters. The Avengers became contaminated from flying through the radioactive dust clouds and were dumped overboard at the end of the operation.

Warrior was decommissioned on 28 February 1958 and sold to Argentina as ARA Independencia on 6 August 1958.

Photos of HMS Warrior

HMS Warrior in Service

HMS Warrior (R31) at anchor in 1945 — HMS Warrior (R31) fitting out

Armament

Twin-40mm anti-aircraft guns on HMS Warrior

Twin-40mm anti-aircraft guns on HMS Warrior

Aircraft Operations

Fairey Firefly and Hawker Sea Fury

Hawker Sea Fury and Fairey Firefly aircraft on HMS Warrior

Westland WS-51 Dragonfly

Rubber Deck Trials

de Havilland Sea Vampire landing on flexible flight deck on HMS Warrior

British Aircraft Carrier HMS Vengeance

Photos of HMS Vengeance

HMS Vengeance in Service

Completed on 15 January 1945, HMS Vengeance was a Colossus-class aircraft carrier built for the Royal Navy. Vengeance arrived in Sydney Australia in July 1945, but was still in port when the Japanese surrendered and therefore saw no action during the Second World War.

Post war she was converted for Arctic conditions, and from 5 February 1949 to 8 March 1949 operated in Arctic waters as part of Operation Rusty: an experimental cruise to determine how well ships, aircraft, and personnel functioned in extreme cold.

When the construction of the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne was delayed, Vengeance was loaned to the Royal Australian Navy and commissioned as HMAS Vengeance on 13 November 1952.

Vengeance was returned to the Royal Navy on 25 October 1955, but was not reactivated. Instead she was sold to Brazil on 14 December 1956 and commissioned into the Marinha do Brasil (MB, Brazilian Navy) as NAeL Minas Gerais on 6 December 1960.