Characteristics:
|
WARRIOR (COLOSSUS class)
|
MAGNIFICENT (MAJESTIC class)
|
BONAVENTURE (Modified MAJESTIC class)
|
Displacement:
|
18,300 tons full load |
19,550 tons
full load |
20,000 tons full load |
Dimensions:
|
192.02 x 24.38 x 7.01 meters
(630 x 80 x 23 feet) |
192.02 x 24.38
x 7.47 meters (630 x 80 x 24.5 feet) |
192.02 x 24.38 x 7.62
meters (630 x 80 x 25 feet) |
Propulsion:
|
2 shafts;
4-Admiralty 3 drum type 350psi boilers;
2-Parsons single reduction geared steam turbines, 40,000 shp;
25 knots (except 24.5 knots, BONAVENTURE)
|
Crew:
|
1,300 |
1,200 |
1,200 / 1,370 (war) |
Aviation:
|
211.84 metres (695 feet)
(length) flightdeck
37 aircraft:
Supermarine Seafire fighter-bombers
Fairey Firefly ASW patrol aircraft
|
211.84 metres
(695 feet) (length) flightdeck
37 aircraft:
Hawker Sea Fury fighter-bombers
Grumman Avenger ASW patrol aircraft
Sikorsky H04-S-3
ASW and rescue helicopters |
214.58 x 34.29
metres (704 x 112.5 feet) flightdeck
22 aircraft:
McDonnel Banshee fighters
(deleted after 1961)
Grumman Tracker ASW patrol aircraft
Sikorsky CH-124
Sea King ASW helicopter (replaced
H04S in ASW role)
Sikorsky H04-S-3
plane guard helicopter (in
ASW role before Sea King)
(standard
original airwing consisted of 8 Banshee, 12 Tracker, + several helos) |
Radar:
|
Type 293 air / surface search ?
Type 279 / 281 air warning ?
Type 277 height finder
Note: Radar fit is
extrapolated from photos.
|
Type 293 air / surface search ?
Type 279 / 281 air warning ?
Type 277 height finder
Note: Radar fit is
extrapolated from photos.
|
Original:
SPS 12 air search
SPS 10 low level air search
SPS 8 height finder
After 1967:
SPS 501 air search (SPS 12 transmitter with Signaal LW 03 antenna)
SPS 10 low level air search
TACAN
|
Sonar:
|
none
|
none
|
none
|
Fire Control:
|
|
|
|
EW:
|
|
|
|
Armament:
|
6 quad 2 pounder AA
up to 32 20 mm AA or
12-21 40 mm
AA
|
30 40mm guns |
4 3"/50 twin mounts (2 mounts removed in
1967 refit)
3 6 Pdr. saluting guns. |
Ships:
|
Name
|
Pendant
|
Commissioned
|
Notes
|
Paid Off
|
Fate
|
WARRIOR
|
31
|
24/1/1946 |
Returned to RN Service.
Became Argentine INDEPENDENCIA in 1958.
|
23/3/48 |
Scrapped after
1971.
|
MAGNIFICENT
|
21
|
7/4/1948 |
Returned to RN and placed
in reserve.
|
14/6/57 |
Scrapped after
1965.
|
BONAVENTURE
|
22
|
17/1/1957
|
ex-HMS
POWERFUL
|
1/7/1970
|
Scrapped in
Taiwan.
|
Notes:
All three ships were Royal Navy type Light Fleet
Carriers, of the similar COLOSSUS and MAJESTIC classes.
HMCS WARRIOR
served in the RCN from 1946 to 1948 while on loan from the Royal Navy.
When it was determined that she was not suited for conditions on the
North
Atlantic, she was transferred to the West Coast and served her
remaining
time with the RCN there. In 1948, she was exchanged back to the RN for
a slightly larger carrier, HMCS MAGNIFICENT. After leaving the RCN, she
was returned to the RN and altered to include an angled flight deck.
She served with the RN
until
1958, at which point she was transferred to Argentina and renamed
INDEPENDENCIA.
HMCS MAGNIFICENT
(" Maggie") replaced WARRIOR and was
borrowed from the Royal Navy between the years of 1948 and 1957. During
this time, 'Maggie' participated in endless training exercises. During
the Crisis in the Middle East in 1956, she arrived in Port Said with a
deck load of vehicles and army personnel as Canada's contribution to
the
UN force there. After returning to the RN, she was laid up for several
years and then scrapped in Faslane, Scotland.
BONAVENTURE ("Bonnie") was the last aircraft carrier to serve in the
RCN. Construction
was stopped in
1946 when the war ended, but began anew in 1952. At this late date,
certain
improvements had been developed and were incorporated, such as an
angled landing deck and a mirror landing system. Originally to be
named
HMS
POWERFUL, the RCN renamed her after a bird sanctuary in the Gulf of
St.
Lawrence. She was purchased outright, unlike her predecessors, and
served
until
1970. Prior to her role change in 1961 to that of an ASW carrier, she
carried a mixed airwing of fighters and ASW aircraft. After 1961, the
Banshee fighters were deleted and she carried only Trackers, Sea
Kings, and H04S plane guard aircraft for the rest of her career. During
1967-68, she underwent an
extensive refit to see her
through
the latter half of her service life; however, she was paid off just two
years
later and sold for scrap.
Photos:
(click on thumbnail for bigger image)
|
WARRIOR
|
|
Notes:
|
1. HMCS WARRIOR shortly
after handover to the RCN. (04/46) MOD (UK) photo.
2. A sequence showing the aftermath of a Fairey Firefly crash on
WARRIOR. Ralph Fisher photo.
3. WARRIOR preparing to launch aircraft. (1946) DND photo / D. Kealy
Collection, Courtesy Corvus Publishing Group.
|
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
|
|
|
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
MAGNIFICENT
|
|
Notes:
|
1. MAGNIFICENT, probably
at the time of the Suez Crisis, with peacekeepers and RCAF Otters
embarked. UK MOD photo.
2. MAGNIFICENT alongside. DND photo / W. Cridland collection, Courtesy
of Bonnie McIssac.
3. Maggie on her return to the Royal Navy, laid up prior to scrapping.
M.D. Thomas photo.
4. Maggie with several Fireflies on her foredeck. (03/50) USN photo.
5. DND photo / D. Kealy Collection, Courtesy Corvus Publishing Group. |
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
|
|
|
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BONAVENTURE
|
|
Notes:
|
1. Bonnie at sea. Her
deck is clear of aircraft, and the aft elevator is partly depressed.
This photo shows her appearance prior to her 1967 refit. DND photo / W.
Cridland collection, Courtesy of Bonnie McIssac.
2. Bonnie after her 1967 refit, with Trackers embarked. DND photo / W.
Cridland collection, Courtesy of Bonnie McIssac.
3. Bonnie passes Georges Island in Halifax Harbour, at the head of the
East Coast fleet. This photo probably dates to about 1960, and was
definately taken prior to her 1967 refit. DND photo / W. Cridland
collection, Courtesy of Bonnie McIssac.
4. Bonnie departs Halifax Harbour for the last time, under tow to the
scrapyard. DND photo / W. Cridland collection, Courtesy of Bonnie
McIssac.
5. A Tracker on landing approach to Bonnie, with HMCS OTTAWA in the
background. DND photo / W. Cridland collection, Courtesy of Bonnie
McIssac.
6. Bonnie and USS ESSEX participate in an ASW exercise. Both carriers
have Trackers ready to launch. DND photo / Courtesy Corvus Publishing
Group.
7. A post-refit Bonnie at sea, with Trackers and a Sea King on deck.
DND photo / Courtesy RCL White Ensign.
8. Bonnie departs the wharf at Shearwater, probably after her 1967
refit. DND photo / Robert St-Pierre collection.
9. DND photo / Robert St-Pierre collection.
10. HMCS BONAVENTURE, fresh from her 1967-68 refit. Note
the presence of the Sea Kings at the stern, and the absence of Banshees
or the forward 3"/50
guns and their sponsons. ('68) DND photo.
11. BONAVENTURE after her 1961 role change to ASW carrier,
but before her 1967 refit.. The aircraft on deck are all Trackers; note
the forward 3"/50 is present in this photo as opposed to the previous
photo. The Sea Kings had
not yet entered the fleet at this point in time. DND photo, Courtesy of
Bill
Croshaw.
12. BONAVENTURE with a deck load of Sea Kings and Trackers,
after her 1967 refit. DND photo, Courtesy of Dave Shirlaw.
13. A painting of BONAVENTURE during the early period when
she carried Banshees.
The starboard 3"/50 forward gun is visible just ahead of the bridge,
and
a Sikorsky H04-S is flying off the port side as a plane guard. Painting
by
Graham Wragg.
14. A photo of BONAVENTURE taken during the same period as
the painting above. Again, note the appearance of Banshees and the
forward 3"/50 guns and
the associated sponsons. DND photo.
15. Bonnie with Trackers embarked, probably after her 1961 ASW role
change, but prior to 1967. DND photo / Courtesy Corvus Publishing Group.
16. Another pre-refit photo of Bonnie. DND photo / Courtesy Corvus
Publishing Group.
17. HMS POWERFUL, as she appeared when laid up after the
Second World War. Courtesy of Paul Silverstone.
|
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
|
 |
|
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
|
|
|
|
13
|
14
|
15
|
16
|
|
|
|
|
17
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Sources:
Barrie, Ron and Macpherson, Ken. (2002). This Ships of
Canada's Naval Forces 1910-2002.
Vanwell Publishing Ltd. St. Catherines, Ont.
Rankin-Lowe, Jeff. (2001). International Air Power Review -
Carrier Aviation Issue. AirTime Publishing.
Steed, Roger G. (1999). Canadian Warships Since 1956.
Vanwell Publishing Ltd. St. Catherines, ON.
Snowie, Allan J. (1987 / 1999). The Bonnie - HMCS BONAVENTURE.
Boston Mills Press (1987) / Ampersand (1999).
Jane's Fighting Ships, Various Editions
Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships, 1947-1982.
|
