Aircraft Carrier histories. Royal Navy
Eagle Class aircraft carriers in which HMS Audacious was renamed HMS Eagle, HMS
Irresistible was HMS Ark Royal, HMS Africa was cancelled.
Aircraft carrier website dedicated to the history of HMS Eagle, HMS Ark
Royal
from their launch to their participation in major wars also notice board
for naval enthusiasts of Eagle class carriers.
HMS Eagle entered service in October 1951 and
was a sister ship to HMS Ark Royal. Her most well known role was in the
Suez assisting the Anglo-French ground forces.
Displacement: 43, 340 tons (1957), 54,100 tons (1964).
Draught: 33ft. Compliment: 2500. Length:
804 ft. Beam: 135 ft. Speed:
32
Knots. Armament: Sixteen 4.5 inch guns
in pairs with 40mm Bofors in various arrangements.
Aircraft: 65.
Eagle was broken
up at Cairnryan. I served on Eagle during 1971 - 1972 during her last
commission and on retiring from the Royal Navy shortly afterwards moved to
Northern Ireland and took employment with the Shipbuilder Harland and
Wolff, which was where Eagle was built. So there was a good deal of
interest by myself and my shipyard colleagues when Eagle was finally towed
to Cairnryan, on the Scottish shore just upposite Larne. I well
remember seeing Eagle at various stages of her dismantling on
occasions when travelling between Larne and Stranraer and Cairnryan and
thinking what a sad site it is to see a ship being broken up. (This
information supplied by Tony Sheppey)
