HMS Victorious (R38)
1941-1968
Timeline
| Date | |
|---|---|
| Jan 13, 1937 | |
| May 4, 1937 | Yard No. 11 |
| Sep 14, 1939 | |
| May 15, 1941 | |
| Sep 27, 1943 | at Liverpool Gladstone Dock, until c Feb 1944 |
| 1945 | deck letter P, then S. |
| 1946 | deck letter changed to G, until 1958 |
| Oct 23, 1950 | until Dec 1957, major refit and modernisation to include an 8.75° angled flight deck, new radars and lengthened to 240m, two larger centreline lifts and first British carrier to be fitted with Jet Blast Deflectors (JBD), recommissioning on 14 Jan 1958 Major refit air direction radar Type 984 |
| Nov 1957 | until Jul 1958, 701 Squadron C Flight Dragonfly HR.3 embarked |
| Feb 5, 1958 | Landing accident to 701 Sq C Flt Whirlwind XJ399, severed tail boom. Accident |
| Jun 27, 1958 | To Le Havre |
| Aug 1958 | until Feb 1959, Whirlwind HAS.7 of 824 Squadron allocated and embarked on 24 Sep alongside at Portsmouth. Deck letter now V |
| Sep 24, 1958 | Whirlwind HAS.7 of 824 NAS embarked, whilst alongside in HMNB Portsmouth |
| Sep 27, 1958 | 824 NAS Whirlwind HAS.7 XL848 /336-V ditched off Portland Accident |
| Oct 1958 | while Whirlwind HAS.7 engine problems being were rectified, temporarily took on 2 Whirlwind HAR.3 from 848 NAS at Hal Far, as plane guards. |
| Nov 6, 1958 | Whirlwind HAS.7 XL838/332-V /P of 824 NAS lost off Malta. Accident |
| Feb 1959 | 824 NAS Whirlwind HAS.7 grounded again and were transferred in late Feb to HMS Eagle in the Mediterranean, to return to the UK for further rectification |
| Mar 1959 | Enhanced maintenance period for 2 months at HMD Portsmouth. |
| Apr 1959 | assigned Dragonfly HR.5 WP495/967-V as SAR Flt, until c Dec 1959 |
| Jun 1959 | to US east coast for exercises with USN Jul-Aug 1959. |
| Mar 1960 | until Aug 1960, at HMD Portsmouth |
| Aug 1960 | until Apr 1961, Whirlwind HAS.7 of 825 Squadron assigned and embarked at least 7 airframes on 18 Sep. |
| Oct 18, 1960 | departed HMNB Portsmouth and embarking 825 NAS Whirlwind HAS.7s, for 2 month Mediterranean work up, returning 19 Dec 1960 |
| Nov 4, 1960 |  Grand Harbour / il-Port il-Kbir / Valletta to Grand Harbour, Malta until 15 Nov Grand Harbour |
| Nov 25, 1960 |  off Naples anchored in Bay of Naples, for visit. Departed 29 Nov. |
| Nov 30, 1960 | joint US-UK exercise in Western Mediterranean, including HMS Ark Royal, HMS Hermes, USS Independence, USS Intrepid and USS Saratoga. Exercise Royal Flush IV |
| Dec 3, 1960 | exercising in Mediterranean with HMS Ark Royal and HMS Hermes |
| Jan 20, 1961 | departed HMNB Portsmouth for 11 month Far East deployment, returning 19 Dec 1961 |
| Feb 1, 1961 | departed Gibraltar for Cape Town, in company with HMS Blackpool (F77) and RFA Tidereach (A96) |
| Mar 1961 | relieved HMS Hermes of Far East duty, towards end of the month |
| May 8, 1961 |  Sembawang naval base disembarked 825 NAS to Sembawang, and subsequently transferred to HMS Bulwark. |
| May 9, 1961 | Sembawang naval base Short refit at Singapore, until mid Jun 1961 Refit |
| Jun 26, 1961 | departed Singapore for Hong Kong. Diverted en route for Persian Gulf. |
| Jul 9, 1961 | Ordered off Kuwait from Far East duty on 29 Jun to join HMS Bulwark during a period of international tension and arrived 9 Jul. Relieved by HMS Centaur on 31 Jul. Operation Vantage |
| Sep 2, 1961 |  Aden Harbour departed Aden for Singapore, in company with HMS Yarmouth, RFA Olna (A216) and RFA Reliant, arriving 15 Sep Aden |
| Nov 22, 1961 |  Lamu Assigned to assist in Kenyan flood relief Mombasa Flood Relief Operations |
| Dec 1961 | during Dec 1961 Wessex HAS.1 of 815 Squadron embarked |
| Feb 5, 1962 | departed HMNB Portsmouth for 2 month South Western Approaches and Mediterranean deployment, returning 2 Apr |
| Apr 1962 | HMD Portsmouth in HMD Portsmouth for flight deck strengthening and projector landing sight installation, until c May 1963 Buccaneer refit |
| Jul 1963 | until Aug 1963, Wessex HAS.1 of 819 Squadron embarked |
| Aug 1963 | until Jun 1967 Wessex HAS.1 of 814 Squadron embarked |
| Aug 14, 1963 | departed HMNB Portsmouth for 10 month Indian Ocean and Far East deployment, relieving HMS Hermes en route, completing at Singapore on 12 Jun 1964. |
| Sep 10, 1963 | Embarked 814 NAS lost Wessex HAS.1 XM925/347-V when it ditched in the Gulf of Aden. Accident |
| Jan 29, 1964 |  Dar-es-Salaam Harbour with 814 NAS embarked, relieved HMS Centaur off Dar es Salaam. East African Mutinies |
| May 1964 |  Yokosuka Naval Base port visit as prelude to exercising with USS Kitty Hawk. |
| Jun 1964 | Sembawang naval base refit at King George VI Dock, Singapore until c Aug. |
| Aug 1964 | departed Singapore for Far East deployment, returning HMNB Portsmouth summer 1965 Singapore |
| Mar 15, 1965 | Exercising off Singapore in multi-national Naval Force Exercise FOTEX 65 Exercise FOTEX 65 |
| Oct 1965 | at HMNB Portsmouth, until spring 1966 Refit |
| Jul 8, 1966 | After re-commissioning on 7 Apr and work up, HMS Victorious sailed from HMNB Portsmouth to relieve HMS Eagle as East of Suez Carrier. Wessex of 814 NAS embarked. Arrived Singapore 8 Aug 1966 and eventually departed to UK 4 May 1967, being relieved by HMS Hermes, for Victorious to return to Portsmouth on 20 Jun 1967. |
| Sep 23, 1966 |  Victoria Harbour Visit to Hong Kong until 4 Oct during East of Suez carrier deployment |
| Oct 7, 1966 |  Subic Bay Harbour Embarked 814 NAS lost Wessex HAS.1 XM928/277-V in the sea off the Philippines. Accident |
| Oct 29, 1966 |  HMAS Kuttabul Visit to Sydney, Australia until 11 Nov during East of Suez carrier deployment Sydney |
| Feb 21, 1967 | 814 NAS Wessex HAS.1 XP159/270-V damaged near Kuala Lumpur during landing in a clearing. Accident |
| May 1967 | passage from Far East to Aden in support of Civil Power. |
| Jun 1967 | assigned to Western Task Force off Cyprus, guarding interests during Middle East Six Day War |
| Jun 19, 1967 | 814 Sq disembarked its Wessex HAS.1, prior to re-equipping with Wessex HAS.3 |
| Oct 1967 | assigned Wessex HAS.1 XM326 / 266-V as Victorious SAR Flt until c Mar 1968 |
| Mar 13, 1968 | |
| Jul 1969 | scrapped at Faslane Breakers Yard |