HMS Indefatigable (R10)

Water-level view of Indefatigable at anchor

The ship's main armament consisted of sixteen quick-firing (QF) 4.5-inch (114 mm) dual-purpose guns in eight twin-gun turrets, four in sponsons on each side of the hull. Unlike the Illustrious-class ships, the roofs of the gun turrets were flat and flush with the flight deck. The gun had a maximum range of 20,760 yards (18,980 m).[7][12] Indefatigable's light anti-aircraft defences included five octuple mounts for QF 2-pounder ("pom-pom") anti-aircraft (AA) guns, two on the flight deck forward of the island, one on the aft part of the island, and two in sponsons on the port side of the hull. A single quadruple 2-pounder mount was also fitted on the port side of the hull.[13] The 2-pounder gun had a maximum range of 6,800 yards (6,200 m).[14]

The ship was also fitted with 55 Oerlikon 20 mm autocannon in 17 single and 19 twin-gun mounts.[5] These guns had a maximum range of 4,800 yards (4,400 m), but some were replaced by 40 mm Bofors AA guns when the ships were transferred to the Pacific Theatre as the 20 mm (0.79 in) shell was unlikely to destroy a kamikaze before it hit the ship. The Bofors gun had a maximum range of 10,750 yards (9,830 m).[15] By August 1945, Indefatigable had 10 single Bofors guns, plus 14 twin and 12 single Oerlikon mounts. By April 1946 these had been reduced to 11 Bofors guns, 6 twin and 7 single Oerlikon guns.[16]

Details of the Implacable-class ships' radar suite are not readily available. They were fitted with the Type 277 surface-search/height-finding radar on top of the bridge and a Type 293 target indicator radar on the foremast. Victorious, one of the Illustrious-class ships upon which Indefatigable's design was based, also carried Type 279 and Type 281B early-warning radars. Type 282 and Type 285 gunnery radars were mounted on the fire-control directors.[17]

The Implacable-class ships had a flight deck protected by 3 inches (76 mm) of armour.[7] The sides of the hangars were either 1.5 inches (38 mm) or 2 inches (51 mm).[Note 1] The ends of the hangars were protected by 2-inch bulkheads[7] and the armour of the hangar deck ranged from 1.5 to 2.5 inches (38 to 64 mm) in thickness. The waterline armour belt was 4.5 inches (114 mm) thick, but only covered the central portion of the ship. The belt was closed by 1.5 to 2-inch transverse bulkheads fore and aft. The underwater defence system was a layered system of liquid- and air-filled compartments as used in the Illustrious class. The magazines for the 4.5-inch guns lay outside the armoured citadel and were protected by 2 to 3-inch roofs, 4.5-inch sides and 1.5 to 2-inch ends.[20]

Indefatigable's first mission was a brief sortie on 1 July 1944 to provide air cover for the ocean liner RMS Queen Elizabeth that was ferrying American troops to Britain.[24] Upon her return, Indefatigable embarked the Supermarine Seafire fighters of 887 Squadron and the Barracudas of 820 Squadron, completing No. 9 Naval Torpedo-Bomber Reconnaissance Wing, over the next week.[27] Her first combat mission was an attack on the battleship Tirpitz in Kaafjord on 17 July with two other Home Fleet carriers (Operation Mascot). She contributed 23 Barracudas and 12 Fireflies to the mission; the former attacked the battleship while the Fireflies strafed the flak positions defending her. A smoke screen prevented most of the Barracudas from seeing their target and they failed to hit Tirpitz. One Barracuda was forced to ditch near the carrier and its crew was rescued by the destroyer Verulam.[28]

894 Squadron, equipped with Seafires, landed aboard after the attack on 24 July to complete No. 24 Naval Fighter Wing.[29] Indefatigable and several escort carriers attacked targets in Norway on 10 August, destroying 6 Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighters and sinking a minesweeper.[30] For Operation Goodwood, a series of attacks on Tirpitz, the Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters of 1840 Squadron replaced the Barracudas of 826 Squadron.[31] The first mission took place on the morning of 22 August when Indefatigable launched 12 Barracudas, 11 Fireflies, 8 Hellcats, and 8 Seafires against the German battleship and nearby targets. A smoke screen again protected Tirpitz and no damage was inflicted; two Seafires failed to return.

Another attack was made later in the day without effect. A further attack could not be mounted until 24 August because of bad weather; for this mission the carrier contributed 12 Barracudas, 11 Fireflies and 4 Seafires, all of which returned.[32][Note 2] Tirpitz was lightly damaged by two hits during this attack, one a 500-pound (230 kg) bomb and the other a 1,600-pound (730 kg) armour-piercing bomb. The latter penetrated the armoured deck but failed to explode and would probably have inflicted serious damage, possibly even sinking the ship, had it done so.[35] A final attack was made five days later, again without effect.[36] 887 Squadron sank seven seaplanes at their moorings at Banak during the operation.[37]

Profile view of Indefatigable at anchor

On 19 September 1944, Indefatigable sortied from Scapa Flow to attack targets near Tromsø, but the operation was cancelled because of bad weather. The ship underwent a brief refit at her builder's yard between 28 September and 8 November. She became the flagship of the 1st Aircraft Carrier Squadron (1st ACS) when Rear Admiral Sir Philip Vian hoisted his flag on 15 November. The following day, King George VI inspected the ship; the ground crews later embarked for 820, 887, 894 and 1770 Squadrons. Their aircraft, 40 Seafires, 12 Fireflies, and 21 Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bombers, followed on 19 November, and she sailed for the Far East to join the British Pacific Fleet. Indefatigable arrived at Colombo, Ceylon, on 10 December and Vian transferred his flag to Indomitable.[38]

Together with Victorious and Indomitable, Indefatigable attacked an oil refinery at Pangkalan Brandan, Sumatra on 4 January 1945 (Operation Lentil). She embarked six photoreconnaissance Hellcats of 888 Squadron for the attack; her only contribution to the attack itself was the Fireflies of 1770 Squadron, which used RP-3 rocket projectiles on their targets. The squadron claimed to have shot down a Nakajima Ki-43 "Oscar", for the loss of a Firefly that ran out of fuel and had to ditch next to the ship. After Indefatigable's return, Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia Command, addressed the crew on 11 January.[39] En route to Sydney to prepare for operations in the Pacific, the BPF's carriers attacked oil refineries near Palembang, Sumatra, on 24 and 29 January (Operation Meridian).

The ship's Seafires lacked the range to reach the targets so they were retained on combat air patrols (CAP) over the fleet for both attacks. She contributed 10 of her Avengers and all of her Fireflies to the first attack, which destroyed most of the oil storage tanks and cut the refinery's output by half for three months. Five days later, the BPF attacked a different refinery and 820 Squadron again contributed 10 Avengers to the attack while 1770 Squadron added nine Fireflies. The latter squadron also flew two Fireflies on an armed reconnaissance mission over an airfield that lay between the carriers and their target. The attack was very successful at heavy cost, but the losses of Indefatigable's squadrons are not available. Her Seafires shot down a Mitsubishi Ki-46 "Dinah" reconnaissance aircraft searching for the fleet and 5 Kawasaki Ki-48 "Lily" bombers that attacked at low level.[40]

The BPF arrived in Sydney on 10 February; the crews received leave and the ships got some maintenance before they sailed for the BPF's advance base at Manus Island, in the Admiralty Islands, on 27 February. They arrived on 7 March and exercised together before sailing for Ulithi on 18 March. The BPF joined the American Fifth Fleet there two days later to participate in the preliminary operations for the invasion of Okinawa. The British role during the operation was to neutralise airfields on the Sakishima Islands, between Okinawa and Formosa, beginning on 26 March.[41] Her Seafires were again retained to defend the fleet and only her Avengers and Fireflies attacked the airfields. Her Seafire squadrons lacked 13 of their authorised strength of 50 pilots and could not sustain the pace of the first day of operations, when they flew 72 sorties.[42] After a break at the end of the month to refuel, Indefatigable became the first British carrier to be hit by a kamikaze the day after flying operations resumed, when one of the Japanese planes evaded the CAP and struck the base of the carrier's island on 1 April. The bomb it carried did not detonate and this limited casualties to 21 men killed and 27 wounded.[41] Damage to the ship was minimal and the flight deck was back in operation thirty minutes later.[43]

On 12 and 13 April, the BPF switched targets to airfields in northern Formosa. On the first day, a pair of Fireflies encountered five Mitsubishi Ki-51 "Sonia" dive bombers and shot down four of them. A flight of four Seafires on CAP spotted four Japanese fighters, three Mitsubishi A6M Zeroes and a Kawasaki Ki-61 "Tony" later that morning, and shot down one Zero. The BPF returned to the Sakishima Islands on 17 April before retiring to Leyte Gulf to rest and resupply. Wastage of Seafires to all causes was very heavy during the operation with 25 out of 40 lost or damaged beyond repair and only 5 replacements received. Their short range and lack of endurance was considered by Vian to be a severe handicap for the BPF, which returned to action on 4 May and again attacked targets in the Sakishima Islands. Its aircraft continued to do so until they flew their last missions of Operation Iceberg on 25 May. Statistics compiled by the BPF staff showed that 61 Seafires were lost or damaged beyond repair during both phases of the operation due to deck-landing accidents.[44]

The American carrier Randolph (right) and Indefatigable (left) off the Japanese coast, 30 August 1945

The BPF arrived back at Sydney on 5 June and sailed for Manus three weeks later.[45] Indefatigable was forced to remain behind as she required repairs to her machinery.[46] Her air group flew aboard on 7 July (1772 Squadron and its Fireflies replacing 1770 Squadron) when she sailed for Manus. She reached the coast of Japan on 20 July and her aircraft began attacking targets near Osaka and in the Inland Sea four days later. Her Seafire squadrons had adapted larger external fuel tanks for their aircraft and they were no longer limited to CAP duty.[47] The BPF's aircraft crippled the escort carrier Kaiyo and sank numerous smaller ships on 24 July.[48] After replenishing, airstrikes resumed on 28 and 30 July, the British sinking the escort Okinawa near Maizuru. A combination of bad weather, refuelling requirements and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima delayed the resumption of air operations until 9 August. During the day, Indefatigable's aircraft attacked targets in northern Honshu and southern Hokkaido. The attacks were repeated the next day, sinking two warships and numerous small merchantmen and destroying numerous railroad locomotives and parked aircraft.[49]

The BPF had been scheduled to withdraw after 10 August to prepare for Operation Olympic, the invasion of Kyushu scheduled for November, and the bulk of the force departed for Manus on 12 August. Indefatigable, however, had been chosen to remain as part of the Allied occupation force. The next day her aircraft attacked targets in the vicinity of Tokyo. Flight operations resumed on the morning of the 15th after an operational pause to refuel. The first airstrike was tasked to attack Kisarazu Air Field with four Fireflies and six Avengers, escorted by eight Seafires, but was forced to divert to its secondary target because of bad weather.

En route they were attacked by a dozen Zeros in the last British air combat of the war. The Japanese fighters shot down one Seafire on their first pass and crippled an Avenger. The Seafires claimed four Zeros shot down, four others probably shot down, and another four damaged. An Avenger also claimed one Zero as damaged. A Yokosuka D4Y "Judy" dive bomber attacked the carrier after the ceasefire went into effect, but its two bombs missed.[50] After the ceasefire, Indefatigable's aircraft continued to fly CAP and flew reconnaissance missions looking for Allied prisoners of war, dropping supplies to them as they were located.[43]

Indefatigable refitting at Woolloomooloo, Sydney, 1945

On 17 August 1945, Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser, commander of the BPF, came aboard and addressed the crew. Indefatigable continued flying operations until she entered Sagami Bay on 5 September. She departed three days later for Manus en route to Sydney. The ship arrived at Sydney on 18 September and began a leisurely refit that lasted until 15 November. On 1 November, Captain Ian MacIntyre relieved Graham as captain of the ship. She became Vian's flagship on 22 November and sailed to New Zealand to show the flag. She arrived in Wellington on 27 November and was opened for public tours, during which time the Prime Minister, Peter Fraser, also visited.

Indefatigable then sailed to Auckland, arriving on 12 December, and was again opened for tours. She returned to Sydney for the holidays and visited Melbourne on 22 January 1946 before departing for home nine days later. Vian transferred his flag to her sister ship Implacable that day and the ship stopped off at Fremantle and Cape Town en route. While Indefatigable was visiting the latter city, she was opened to the public, and the Governor-General of South Africa toured the ship.[51]

Indefatigable in Wellington Harbour during November 1945

The carrier arrived at Portsmouth Dockyard on 16 March 1946. Her hangars were modified to accommodate over 1,900 passengers, including women, and she departed for Australia on 25 April carrying 782 RN personnel and 130 Australian war brides. Most of the RN personnel disembarked at Colombo and most of the war brides did the same at Fremantle. Indefatigable continued on to Sydney, where she embarked a complete naval hospital, with patients, and over 1,000 RN officers and ratings. She departed on 9 June and arrived at Plymouth on 7 July.

Her next voyage involved transporting a much smaller number of men to Malta and Colombo; only 47 officers and 67 ratings, most of whom left the ship at Malta. When she arrived at Colombo on 15 August, she loaded a full complement of passengers from all three services to return to the UK. The ship arrived at Portsmouth on 9 September and her next voyage involved over 1,200 RN personnel and civilians ferried to Malta, Colombo, and Singapore where almost 1,300 personnel embarked. She returned to Portsmouth on 29 November and began a brief refit in preparation for her final trooping voyage. Indefatigable sailed empty for Norfolk, Virginia, where she loaded RN personnel before returning to Portsmouth on 21 November. The next month, she was placed in reserve and Captain MacIntyre retired on 7 January 1947.[52]

The Admiralty decided to recommission Indefatigable for use as a training ship in mid-1949. Captain Henry Fancourt assumed command on 22 August to prepare for sea. The ship arrived at Devonport to begin the necessary modifications on 30 August and the following day Fancourt turned over command to the dockyard. Captain John Grindle was appointed to command on 24 March 1950 and the ship was recommissioned on 28 May. Two days later Captain Robert Sherbrooke, VC, relieved Grindle and Indefatigable began her sea trials on 28 June. She was inspected by Rear Admiral St John Micklethwaithe, Flag Officer Training Squadron, on 3 July and received her first trainees shortly afterwards. She participated in exercises with the Home Fleet and joined it in Gibraltar in September and October.

On 12 March 1951 she sortied from Portland, flying Micklethwaite's flag, to exercise with the Home Fleet before beginning a brief refit at Devonport in May. Captain John Grant relieved Sherbrooke on 6 June and the ship was opened to visitors as part of the Festival of Britain on 17 July. Five days later the visitors were stranded aboard ship overnight when a storm came up and forced Indefatigable to put to sea. The seas moderated the next day and the visitors departed in safety. Rear Admiral Royer Dick hoisted his flag aboard the carrier in September until she began a short refit at Devonport in January 1952.[53]

Indefatigable joined Implacable for her annual winter visit to Gibraltar after completing her refit in February 1952. Over the summer she exercised with the Home Fleet and visited the Danish port of Aarhus, where she was visited by Queen Alexandrine of Denmark in July. Captain Ralph Fisher assumed command on 30 January 1953 and took her to sea three weeks later for exercises with the Home Fleet and her annual visit to Gibraltar. She returned to Portland in late March and visited Bournemouth at the end of May. She joined her sister and several other carriers on 9 June to sail for Spithead for the Coronation Fleet Review of Queen Elizabeth II on 15 June as one of a fleet of nine carriers.[54] Indefatigable joined her sister for fleet exercises off the Scilly Isles and in the Bristol Channel in September and October before beginning her annual refit on 6 October. The Admiralty announced on 26 January 1954 that both ships would be replaced as training ships and reduced to reserve. This had no short-term impact on their activities as they sailed for the Western Mediterranean on their annual winter cruise. The ship exercised with the Home Fleet and made a port visit to Casablanca, Morocco, before visiting Gibraltar.

Captain Hugh Browne assumed command on 10 May after Fisher had been promoted. The ship welcomed home Queen Elizabeth II and her husband four days later as they returned from their tour of the Commonwealth. The following month, Indefatigable exercised with the Home Fleet in Scottish waters and visited Aarhus again. In August she began transferring her training duties to the carrier Ocean and arrived at Rosyth on 2 September to be paid off, a process that took until the following month to complete. She was towed to Gareloch in June 1955 where she was listed for disposal. Indefatigable was sold for scrap in September 1956 and subsequently broken up at Faslane.[55]