Everything about Majestic Class Carrier totally explained
The
Majestic class was a
ship class of six light fleet aircraft carriers constructed for the
Royal Navy, but serving in the
Royal Australian Navy,
Royal Canadian Navy, and
Indian Navy.
Design
The
Majestic class was conceived as a modified version of the
Colossus class carrier, incorporating improvements in flight deck design and habitability. These carriers were intended to be 'disposable warships': they were to be operated during World War II and scrapped at the end of hostilities or within three years of entering service.
Six ships were ordered:,,,,, and . These six ships replaced the cancelled final six
Colossus class carriers.
Construction and acquisition
The six carriers were built by four shipyards:
Harland and Wolff,
HM Dockyard Devonport,
Swan Hunter, and
Vickers-Armstrongs. Construction of the ships began in 1942 or 1943, and they were launched during 1944 and 1945, but following the end of
World War II, the
Admiralty ordered the suspension of many British shipbuilding projects, including the fitting out of the six
Majestics.
Majestic and
Terrible were purchased by the
Royal Australian Navy in June 1947 for the combined cost of
AU£2.75 million, plus stores, fuel, and ammunition. As
Terrible was the closer of the two ships to completion, construction was finished without modification, and she was commissioned into the RAN on
December 16 1948 as .
Majestic was completed and commissioned into the RAN on
28 October 1955.
The
Royal Canadian Navy acquired (which was the only ship to retain her original name) after the war, and commissioned her in 1946. In 1952, the RCN purchased
Powerful, which was upgraded along similar lines to
Majestic/
Melbourne.
Powerful was renamed and commissioned into the RCN in 1957, replacing her sister ship.
Hercules was also upgraded along the lines of
Majestic/
Melbourne. She was sold to the
Indian Navy in 1957, who commissioned her as
INS Vikrant in 1961.
Leviathan was the only ship of the class not to be completed. In 1968, her boilers were removed and used to repair those destroyed in a fire aboard
ARA Veinticinco de Mayo, a
Colossus class carrier acquired by the
Armada of the Argentine Republic, and she was scrapped without ever being commissioned later in the year.
Ships
» She was launched in 1945, but was neglected for 10 years until bought by India. She was commissioned into the Indian Navy in 1961, being named INS Vikrant. Decommissioned in 1997 and converted into a museum ship, Vikrant is the only World War II-era British-built carrier to be preserved after decommissioning.
» She was launched in 1945, though never completed or commissioned. Her boilers were removed to repair ARA Veinticinco de Mayo in 1968, and she was scrapped later that year.
» She was launched in 1944 and commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy in 1946. She was decommissioned in 1956 and returned to the Royal Navy, who held her in reserve until 1965, when she was struck from records and broken up for scrap.
» She was launched in 1945, and sold to Australia in 1947. Majestic was heavily upgraded, and became the third ship in the world to be constructed with an angled flight deck and steam catapult. The ship was renamed and commissioned into service in 1955. During her career, Melbourne had minimal, non-combat roles in the major conflicts of the era, but was involved in two major peacetime accidents: colliding with and sinking HMAS Voyager in 1964 and USS Frank E. Evans in 1969. She was decommissioned in 1982, and sold to China for scrap in 1985. Instead of scrapping Melbourne, the People's Liberation Army Navy studied the carrier and used her to train pilots.
» She was launched in 1945, and was purchased by Canada in 1952 to be upgraded to a similar standard to Majestic. She was renamed and commissioned into service in 1951, to replace and sister ship . She was decommissioned in 1970, and was scrapped in Taiwan in 1971.
» She was launched in 1944, and was transferred to the Royal Australian Navy, under the name of in 1948. She was decommissioned in 1958, recommissioned as a fast troop transport in 1962. Sydney participated in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars. She was decommissioned for the second time in 1973, sold to a South Korean steel mill in 1975, and broken up for scrap.
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