HMS Argus was a British aircraft carrier

Aircraft carrier

An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...

 that served in the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 from 1918–1944. She was converted from an ocean liner

Ocean liner

An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...

 under construction when the First World War began, and became the world's first example of what is now the standard pattern of aircraft carrier, with a full-length flight deck

Flight deck

The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopters and other VTOL aircraft is also referred to as the...

 that allowed wheeled aircraft to take off and land. After commissioning, the ship was heavily involved for several years in the development of the optimum design for other aircraft carriers, various types of arresting gear

Arresting gear

Arresting gear, or arrestor gear, is the name used for mechanical systems designed to rapidly decelerate an aircraft as it lands. Arresting gear on aircraft carriers is an essential component of naval aviation, and it is most commonly used on CATOBAR and STOBAR aircraft carriers. Similar systems...

 and the general procedures needed to operate a number of aircraft together and in working with the fleet. Argus was too top-heavy as originally built and had to be modified to improve her stability in the mid-1920s. She spent one brief deployment on the China Station

China Station

The China Station was a historical formation of the British Royal Navy. It was formally the units and establishments responsible to the Commander-in-Chief, China....

 in the late 1920s before she was placed in reserve

Reserve fleet

A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed, and thus partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; an equivalent expression in unofficial modern U.S....

 to save money some time after her return. The ship was recommissioned and partially modernised shortly before the Second World War began and served as a training ship for deck-landing practice until June 1940.

The following month she made her first of many ferry trips

Malta Convoys

The Malta Convoys were a series of Allied supply convoys that sustained the besieged island of Malta during the Mediterranean Theatre of the Second World War...

 to the Western Mediterranean to fly-off fighters to Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 and she spent most of the next two years doing the same. The ship also delivered aircraft to Murmansk

Murmansk

Murmansk is a city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It serves as a seaport and is located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, Takoradi

Sekondi-Takoradi

Sekondi-Takoradi, population 335,000 , comprising the twin cities of Sekondi and Takoradi, is the capital of the Western Region of Ghana. It is Ghana's fourth largest city and an industrial and commercial center. The chief industries are timber, plywood, shipbuilding and railroad repair and...

, the Gold Coast

Gold Coast (British colony)

The Gold Coast was a British colony on the Gulf of Guinea in west Africa that became the independent nation of Ghana in 1957.-Overview:The first Europeans to arrive at the coast were the Portuguese in 1471. They encountered a variety of African kingdoms, some of which controlled substantial...

, and Reykjavik

Reykjavík

Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...

, Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

. By 1942, the Royal Navy was very short of aircraft carriers and Argus was pressed into front-line service despite her lack of speed and armament. In June, she participated in Operation Harpoon

Operation Harpoon (1942)

Not to be confused with Operation Harpoon Operation Harpoon was one of two simultaneous Allied convoys sent to supply Malta in the Axis-dominated Mediterranean Sea in mid-June 1942, during the Second World War. One convoy, Operation Vigorous, left Alexandria. The other, Operation Harpoon, travelled...

 by providing air cover for the Malta-bound convoy. In November, the ship provided air cover during Operation Torch

Operation Torch

Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....

, the invasion of French North Africa, and was lightly damaged by a bomb. After returning to the UK for repairs, Argus was used again for deck-landing practice until late September 1944. In December, she became an accommodation ship and was listed for disposal in mid-1946. Argus was sold in late 1946 and scrapped

Ship breaking

Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially...

 the following year.

Design, description and construction

Argus had her genesis in the Admiralty

Admiralty

The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...

's desire during the First World War for an aircraft carrier that could fly off wheeled aircraft and land them aboard. Existing carriers could launch wheeled aircraft, but had no way to recover them. The ship builder William Beardmore

William Beardmore and Company

William Beardmore and Company was a Scottish engineering and shipbuilding conglomerate based in Glasgow and the surrounding Clydeside area. It was active between about 1890 and 1930 and at its peak employed about 40,000 people...

 had proposed an aircraft carrier design to the Admiralty in 1912 with a continuous, full-length flight deck, but it was not accepted. As the limitations of existing carriers became more apparent, the design was dusted off and the Admiralty located two large, fast hulls suitable for conversion into an aircraft carrier. Construction of the Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 ocean liner

Ocean liner

An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...

s Conte Rosso and Giulio Cesare had been suspended at the outbreak of the war and both met the Admiralty's criteria. Conte Rosso was purchased on 20 September 1916, possibly because her machinery was more complete than that of Giulio Cesare and Beardmore began work on converting the ship.

The initial design had two islands with the flight deck running between them. Each island contained one funnel

Funnel (ship)

A funnel is the smokestack or chimney on a ship used to expel boiler steam and smoke or engine exhaust. They can also be known in as stacks.-Purpose:...

 and a large net could be strung between them to stop out-of-control aircraft. The islands were connected by braces and the bridge was mounted on top of the bracing which left a clear height of 20 feet (6.1 m) for the aircraft on the flight deck. Fairly early in the design process, the decision was made to delete the funnels to reduce turbulence over the flight deck. The exhaust gases were, instead, ducted aft in the space between the roof of the hangar deck and the flight deck and were enclosed by a casing through which cooler air was driven by electric fans. They normally exhausted underneath the aft end of the flight deck, but the exhaust could be vented through openings on the rear side of the hull by two large electric fans.

In November 1916, the ship's design was tested in a wind tunnel

Wind tunnel

A wind tunnel is a research tool used in aerodynamic research to study the effects of air moving past solid objects.-Theory of operation:Wind tunnels were first proposed as a means of studying vehicles in free flight...

 by the National Physical Laboratory to evaluate the turbulence caused by the twin islands and the bridge over them. They were found to cause problems, but no changes were made until the ship was nearly complete. In April 1918, Argus was ordered to be modified to a flush-decked

Flush deck

In naval architecture, a flush deck refers to when the upper deck of a vessel extends unbroken from stem to stern. There is no raised forecastle or lowered quarterdeck. Ships of this type may be referred to as "flush deckers", although this is often taken as referring to a series of United States...

 configuration after the sea trial

Sea trial

A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft . It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and can last from a few hours to many days.Sea trials are conducted to measure a vessel’s...

s of the carrier had revealed severe turbulence problems caused by her superstructure. The ship was given a bridge underneath her flight deck, extending from side to side, and she was fitted with a retractable pilot house in the middle of the flight deck for use when not flying aircraft.

Arguss stability had been a concern from the beginning as she was designed to minimise her rolling as an ocean liner and most of the changes made to the ship had added weights high in the ship, thus raising her centre of gravity. Despite the addition of 600 LT of ballast

Sailing ballast

Ballast is used in sailboats to provide moment to resist the lateral forces on the sail. Insufficiently ballasted boats will tend to tip, or heel, excessively in high winds. Too much heel may result in the boat capsizing. If a sailing vessel should need to voyage without cargo then ballast of...

, the ship had a very low metacentric height

Metacentric height

The metacentric height is a measurement of the static stability of a floating body. It is calculated as the distance between the centre of gravity of a ship and its metacentre . A larger metacentric height implies greater stability against overturning...

 of only 1.6 foot (0.48768 m) in light condition and 3.8 feet (1.2 m) at deep load. This meant that she was very steady, but she heeled noticeably when turning. The ship proved to be very manoeuvrable at medium and high speeds, but steered badly at low speeds and in a wind due to her large surface area.

Argus had an overall length of 565 feet (172.2 m), a beam of 68 feet (20.7 m), and a draught of 23 in 3 in (7.09 m) at deep load. She displaced 14450 LT at standard load and 15575 LT at deep load. Each of the ship's four sets of Parsons

Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company

Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company was a British engineering company based in Wallsend, North England, on the River Tyne.-History:The company was founded by Charles Algernon Parsons in 1897 with £500,000 of capital, and specialised in building the steam turbine engines that he had invented for...

 geared steam turbine

Steam turbine

A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....

s drove one propeller shaft. Steam was supplied by 12 cylindrical Scotch boilers. The turbines were designed for a total of 20000 shp, but they produced 21376 shp during her sea trial

Sea trial

A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft . It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and can last from a few hours to many days.Sea trials are conducted to measure a vessel’s...

s in September 1918, and gave Argus a speed of 20.506 knots (11.2 m/s). The ship carried 2500 LT of fuel oil

Fuel oil

Fuel oil is a fraction obtained from petroleum distillation, either as a distillate or a residue. Broadly speaking, fuel oil is any liquid petroleum product that is burned in a furnace or boiler for the generation of heat or used in an engine for the generation of power, except oils having a flash...

, which gave her a range of 3600 nautical miles (6,667.2 km) at 10 knots (5.4 m/s).

The ship's flight deck was 549 feet (167.3 m) long and her hangar

Hangar

A hangar is a closed structure to hold aircraft or spacecraft in protective storage. Most hangars are built of metal, but other materials such as wood and concrete are also sometimes used...

 was 330 feet (100.6 m) long, 48–68 ft (14.6–20.7 ) wide, and 16 feet (4.9 m) high. Aircraft were transported between the hangar and the flight deck by two aircraft lifts (elevators); the forward lift measured 30 by 36 ft (9.1 by 11 m) and the rear 60 by 18 ft (18.3 by 5.5 m). Argus was the only British carrier serving in the Second World War capable of striking down (stowing away) aircraft with non-folding wings because of her wide lifts and tall hangar ceiling. Three fire curtains divided the hangar and another separated the hangar and the quarterdeck

Quarterdeck

The quarterdeck is that part of a warship designated by the commanding officer for official and ceremonial functions. In port, the quarterdeck is the most important place on the ship, and is the central control point for all its major activities. Underway, its importance diminishes as control of...

. She could accommodate between 15 and 18 aircraft. No arresting gear was fitted as completed. Two large cranes

Crane (machine)

A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of...

 were positioned on the quarterdeck

Quarterdeck

The quarterdeck is that part of a warship designated by the commanding officer for official and ceremonial functions. In port, the quarterdeck is the most important place on the ship, and is the central control point for all its major activities. Underway, its importance diminishes as control of...

, beneath the rear of the flight deck. Petrol storage consisted of 8000 imp gal (36,368.7 l; 9,607.6 US gal) in 2 imp gal (9.1 l; 2.4 US gal) tins stowed below the waterline. The ship's crew totalled 495 officers and men.

The ship was armed with four 4 inches (10 cm) anti-aircraft guns, two on the quarterdeck

Quarterdeck

The quarterdeck is that part of a warship designated by the commanding officer for official and ceremonial functions. In port, the quarterdeck is the most important place on the ship, and is the central control point for all its major activities. Underway, its importance diminishes as control of...

 and one on each side of the hull. In addition, she was also fitted with two low-angle 4-inch guns, one also on each side of the hull. The rear magazine

Magazine (artillery)

Magazine is the name for an item or place within which ammunition is stored. It is taken from the Arabic word "makahazin" meaning "warehouse".-Ammunition storage areas:...

 and the torpedo warhead storage magazine was protected by a total of 2 inches (5.1 cm) of protective plating on all sides, but the forward magazine and bomb storage rooms only had a 2-inch thick deck to protect them.

Argus was laid down

Keel

In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...

 in 1914 by William Beardmore and Company

William Beardmore and Company

William Beardmore and Company was a Scottish engineering and shipbuilding conglomerate based in Glasgow and the surrounding Clydeside area. It was active between about 1890 and 1930 and at its peak employed about 40,000 people...

 in Dalmuir

Dalmuir

Dalmuir is an area on the western side of Clydebank, in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland.-Location:It is neighboured by the village of Old Kilpatrick, the Mountblow and Parkhall areas of Clydebank, as well as the town centre...

 as the Conte Rosso. She was renamed after her purchase in September 1916 and was launched

Ship naming and launching

The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...

 on 2 December 1917, her building having been slowed by labour shortages. The ship was commissioned on 16 September 1918. Formally named after Argus of the 100 Eyes

Argus Panoptes

In Greek mythology, Argus Panoptes or Argos, guardian of the heifer-nymph Io and son of Arestor, was a primordial giant whose epithet "Panoptes", "all-seeing", led to his being described with multiple, often one hundred, eyes. The epithet Panoptes was applied to the Titan of the Sun, Helios, and...

 from Greek mythology, Argus was nicknamed the Hat Box or the Flatiron due to her flat-topped appearance.

1918–1939

After commissioning, Argus was tasked to conduct deck-landing trials with longitudinal arresting gear transferred from Furious. The first landing on the ship was made on 1 October 1918 by a Sopwith Ship Strutter

Sopwith 1½ Strutter

The Sopwith 1½ Strutter was a British one or two-seat biplane multi-role aircraft of the First World War. It is significant as the first British-designed two seater tractor fighter, and the first British aircraft to enter service with a synchronised machine gun...

. The ship was also used to evaluate the effects of an island in October as a canvas-and-wood dummy island was installed with a smoke box to simulate funnel gases. By 19 December, 36 successful landings had been made by Ship Strutters and Sopwith Pup

Sopwith Pup

The Sopwith Pup was a British single seater biplane fighter aircraft built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It entered service with the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service in the autumn of 1916. With pleasant flying characteristics and good maneuverability, the aircraft proved very...

s. The ship was then refitted from 23 December to 21 March 1919 with modified arresting gear. The wires of the arresting gear had been lifted up off the deck so they could engage the hooks on the undercarriages of the aircraft, but this prevented the use of the flight deck for any other purpose. So the after lift was modified to lower 9 inches (22.9 cm) which allowed aircraft to use the area when the lift was raised flush with the rest of the flight deck. Trials began in April and the lift was widened in October. They were successful enough that Argus joined the Atlantic Fleet in January 1920 for its Spring Cruise carrying eight Ship Strutters, four Sopwith Camel

Sopwith Camel

The Sopwith Camel was a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter introduced on the Western Front in 1917. Manufactured by Sopwith Aviation Company, it had a short-coupled fuselage, heavy, powerful rotary engine, and concentrated fire from twin synchronized machine guns. Though difficult...

 fighters, two Airco DH.9A

Airco DH.9A

The Airco DH.9A was a British light bomber designed and first used shortly before the end of the First World War. Colloquially known as the "Ninak" , it served on in large numbers for the Royal Air Force following the end of the war, both at home and overseas, where it was used for colonial...

s and two Fairey floatplane

Floatplane

A floatplane is a type of seaplane, with slender pontoons mounted under the fuselage; only the floats of a floatplane normally come into contact with water, with the fuselage remaining above water...

s. Operational experience confirmed that the aircraft should attempt to land directly onto the arresting gear lest they be blown over the side of the carrier, as happened three times during the cruise.

After the ship's return from the cruise, a conference was convened aboard Argus on 19 May to consider revised landing arrangements. It was decided that a longer system of wires was needed, and the landing well system was abandoned in favour of ramps that could be raised and lowered as needed. Power-worked palisade

Palisade

A palisade is a steel or wooden fence or wall of variable height, usually used as a defensive structure.- Typical construction :Typical construction consisted of small or mid sized tree trunks aligned vertically, with no spacing in between. The trunks were sharpened or pointed at the top, and were...

s were also needed on the side of the flight deck to help retain aircraft aboard that had not engaged a wire. The revised system was successfully tested aboard the carrier later in the year and Arguss arresting gear was modified accordingly in time for the 1921 Spring Cruise, during which the ship carried ten Parnall Panther

Parnall Panther

The Parnall Panther was a British carrier based spotter and reconnaissance aircraft designed and developed by Parnall and Sons in the latter years of the First World War, continuing in service until 1926...

 spotter and reconnaissance aircraft

Reconnaissance aircraft

A reconnaissance aircraft is a manned military aircraft designed, or adapted, to carry out aerial reconnaissance.-History:The majority of World War I aircraft were reconnaissance designs...

 and three Fairey III

Fairey III

The Fairey Aviation Company Fairey III was a family of British reconnaissance biplanes that enjoyed a very long production and service history in both landplane and seaplane variants...

C reconnaissance aircraft. In addition, the ship's after lift was permanently locked in the up position and 150 LT of ballast were added to compensate for the additional weight of the equipment high in the ship. This cruise was deemed very successful as 45 landings were made, only two of which resulted in serious accidents; an accident rate comparable to those of land-based units. The time required to launch two aircraft and land one aboard was forty minutes during this cruise, primarily because the rotary engines of the time were very difficult to start.

In July 1922, Argus was inclined to evaluate her stability in light of the additional weights which had been added since her completion and it was discovered that her metacentric height had been reduced by 0.83 foot (0.252984 m). The Director of Naval Construction proposed to fit her with a girdle

Anti-torpedo bulge

The anti-torpedo bulge is a form of passive defence against naval torpedoes that featured in warship construction in the period between the First and Second World Wars.-Theory and form:...

 at her waterline

Waterline

The term "waterline" generally refers to the line where the hull of a ship meets the water surface. It is also the name of a special marking, also known as the national Load Line or Plimsoll Line, to be positioned amidships, that indicates the draft of the ship and the legal limit to which a ship...

 to increase her beam and thus her stability. He intended to do this under the 1923–1924 Naval Programme, but this was delayed several times as the ship was needed for training and she was finally modified under the 1925–1926 Naval Programme. Girdling increased her deep displacement to 16750 LT, her beam to 74 feet (22.6 m), reduced her draught to 22 in 10 in (6.96 m) and and her speed by a quarter of a knot. The ship was also fitted with bulk petrol storage, new four-inch guns that used fixed ammunition, and new radio masts.
Argus usually operated about 15 aircraft during the 1920s. This was commonly divided up between one small flight of fighters (Gloster Nightjar

Gloster Nightjar

|-See also:-Bibliography:* James, Derek N. Gloster Aircraft since 1917. London: Putnam and Company Ltd., 1987. ISBN 0-85177-807-0....

s or Fairey Flycatcher

Fairey Flycatcher

-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Mason, Francis K. The British Fighter since 1912. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press, 1992. ISBN 1-55750-082-7.* Taylor, H A. Fairey Aircraft since 1915. London: Putnam, 1974. ISBN 0-370-00065-X....

s), one of spotters (Parnall Panthers or Avro Bison

Avro Bison

-See also:...

s), and one spotter reconnaissance flight with Fairey IIIs.

The ship's hull was surveyed in 1927 and found to be sound for another 15 years, and Argus relieved on the China Station

China Station

The China Station was a historical formation of the British Royal Navy. It was formally the units and establishments responsible to the Commander-in-Chief, China....

 from 1 September to 20 March 1928. Sometime after her return, she was laid up at Plymouth at 14-days readiness to save money. Since she was completed before 9 December 1921, the Washington Naval Treaty

Washington Naval Treaty

The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...

 classified her as experimental and thus she did not need to be scrapped to release treaty-limited tonnage for new construction. The ship was reduced to Extended Reserve (four months readiness) at Rosyth

Rosyth

Rosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 12,790....

 in September 1932. In February 1936, it was decided to refit the ship as a Queen Bee tender. The opportunity was taken to widen her flight deck by 10 feet (3 m) and replace her old boilers with six new destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

-type boilers which could generate more steam than her turbines could handle. The ship was intended to have one hydro-pneumatic aircraft catapult

Aircraft catapult

An aircraft catapult is a device used to launch aircraft from ships—in particular aircraft carriers—as a form of assisted take off. It consists of a track built into the flight deck, below which is a large piston or shuttle that is attached through the track to the nose gear of the aircraft, or in...

, but this was instead diverted to . Since Argus was now classified as a naval auxiliary, her four-inch guns were removed. Her refit was completed on 30 July 1938 and the ship ran her sea trials the following month.

Second World War

After recommissioning, Argus served as a training carrier to allow pilots to practice their deck-landing skills. At the beginning of the Second World War, she was in the Gulf of Lion

Gulf of Lion

The Gulf of Lion is a wide embayment of the Mediterranean coastline of Languedoc-Roussillon and Provence in France, reaching from the border with Catalonia in the west to Toulon.The chief...

 conducting deck-landing practice. By April 1940, the ship had been rearmed with two QF Mk V 4-inch

QF 4 inch Mk V naval gun

The QF 4 inch Mk V gun was a Royal Navy gun of World War I which was adapted on HA mountings to the heavy anti-aircraft role both at sea and on land, and was also used as a coast defence gun.-Naval service:...

 anti-aircraft guns on her quarterdeck and three quadruple Vickers .50 machine gun mounts

Vickers .50 machine gun

The Vickers .50 machine gun, also known as the 'Vickers .50' was basically the same as the Vickers machine gun but scaled up to use a larger calibre round.-Mark II, IV and V:...

. One of these was on each side of her hull and the third was on the centreline of the quarterdeck. Together with the battlecruiser

Battlecruiser

Battlecruisers were large capital ships built in the first half of the 20th century. They were developed in the first decade of the century as the successor to the armoured cruiser, but their evolution was more closely linked to that of the dreadnought battleship...

  and six destroyers, Argus escorted Convoy US-3, loaded with Australian and New Zealander troops, to the United Kingdom in mid-June. A week later, she ferried Supermarine Walrus

Supermarine Walrus

The Supermarine Walrus was a British single-engine amphibious biplane reconnaissance aircraft designed by R. J. Mitchell and operated by the Fleet Air Arm . It also served with the Royal Air Force , Royal Australian Air Force , Royal Canadian Air Force , Royal New Zealand Navy and Royal New...

 amphibians of 701 Squadron

701 Naval Air Squadron

701 Naval Air Squadron was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm squadron that saw service during the Second World War.The 700 numbers were appended to training and ancillary squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm. The grouping 700 to 749 had originally included catapult flights. These later became catapult...

 to Reykjavik. Argus loaded a dozen Hawker Hurricane

Hawker Hurricane

The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...

 and two Blackburn Skua

Blackburn Skua

The Blackburn B-24 Skua was a carrier-based low-wing, two-seater, single-radial engine aircraft operated by the British Fleet Air Arm which combined the functions of a dive bomber and fighter. It was designed in the mid-1930s, and saw service in the early part of the Second World War...

 fighters of 418 Flight RAF in late July for delivery to Malta as part of Operation Hurry. Escorted by Ark Royal, three battleships, two cruisers and 10 destroyers, the ship flew them off without incident on 2 August 1940 from a point west of Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

, although two of the Hurricanes crashed on landing. Accompanied by the battleship and escorted by two destroyers, she returned to Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

 to load 30 Hurricanes with their wings removed. Argus sailed on 22 August and arrived at Takoradi on 5 September where her aircraft were off-loaded. After her return to the United Kingdom, the ship was briefly refitted and she ferried 701 Squadron back to the United Kingdom in late October.

On 11 November, Argus sailed again from Liverpool with a deck-load of a dozen Hurricanes and two Skuas for delivery to Malta (Operation White

Operation White

Operation White was a British attempt to deliver 14 aircraft—12 Hawker Hurricane fighters and two Blackburn Skua dive bombers—to Malta from the aircraft carrier , on 17 November 1940. The operation was thwarted by the presence of the Italian Fleet at sea, which prompted a premature take-off of the...

). She rendezvoused with Force H four days later and launched the aircraft on the morning of 17 November. Eight of the Hurricanes ran out of fuel en route due to headwinds and one Skua was forced to crash land

Emergency landing

An emergency landing is a landing made by an aircraft in response to a crisis which either interferes with the operation of the aircraft or involves sudden medical emergencies necessitating diversion to the nearest airport.-Types of emergency landings:...

 on Sicily after it had been damaged by Italian flak. In mid-December, the ship embarked six Fairey Swordfish

Fairey Swordfish

The Fairey Swordfish was a torpedo bomber built by the Fairey Aviation Company and used by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy during the Second World War...

 torpedo bombers of 821X Squadron

821 Naval Air Squadron

821 Naval Air Squadron was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm carrier based squadron formed on 3 April 1933 with the transferral and amalgamation of the Fairey III aircraft from 446 and half of 455 Flight Flights Royal Air Force to the newly formed Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Air Force...

 for delivery to Gibraltar and another pair of Swordfish from 825 Squadron

825 Naval Air Squadron

825 Naval Air Squadron was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm carrier-based squadron formed on 8 October 1934 from the aircraft and personnel of 824 Naval Air Squadron...

 for self-defence. The carrier rendezvoused with Furious and Convoy WS-5A before the combined force was discovered by the on 25 December, but little damage was inflicted by Hipper before she was driven off by the escorts. No air strike could be flown against the German cruiser because the Swordfish were embarked in Argus with bombs that they could not carry and the torpedoes were aboard Furious. After Furiouss Skuas had flown off to search for Hipper, space was made to land the Swordfish to load the torpedoes, but the Skuas could not locate Hipper because of the poor visibility. Argus delivered 821X Squadron to Gibraltar and was back in the United Kingdom by 14 January 1941

In March, the carrier loaded a dozen Hurricane IIs and three Skuas and delivered them to Gibraltar on 29 March, where they were loaded onto Ark Royal and flown off to Malta a few days later. She returned to the United Kingdom on 11 April and loaded six replacement Swordfish as well as six Swordfish of 812 Squadron

812 Naval Air Squadron

812 Naval Air Squadron was a Naval Air Squadron of the British Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, which was active between 1933 and 1956, and saw service in World War II and the Korean War.-First formation:...

 for self-defence. After a brief refit, Argus sailed on 14 April for Gibraltar to transfer the replacements to Ark Royal. She arrived on 24 April and began a two-week refit after the aircraft were transferred. The ship was back in the United Kingdom, loading another batch of Hurricanes bound for Gibraltar. Three Fulmars of 800X Squadron were also embarked to protect the ship against the Focke-Wulf Fw 200

Focke-Wulf Fw 200

The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor, also known as Kurier to the Allies was a German all-metal four-engine monoplane originally developed by Focke-Wulf as a long-range airliner...

 Condors that patrolled the Bay of Biscay

Bay of Biscay

The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...

 and the Western Atlantic. The carrier arrived on 31 May and disembarked all her aircraft, including 800X Squadron. On her return to the United Kingdom she began a lengthy refit.

In late August – early September, Argus transported 24 Hurricanes of No. 151 Wing RAF to Murmansk

Murmansk

Murmansk is a city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It serves as a seaport and is located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland...

, Russia. Later that month the ship ferried a dozen Fairey Albacore

Fairey Albacore

The Fairey Albacore was a British single-engine carrier-borne biplane torpedo bomber built by Fairey Aviation between 1939 and 1943 for the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm and used during the Second World War. It had a three-man crew and was designed for spotting and reconnaissance as well as delivering...

 torpedo bombers of 828 Squadron

828 Naval Air Squadron

828 Naval Air Squadron was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm carrier based squadron formed in September 1940 as a torpedo spotter reconnaissance squadron...

 to Gibraltar on 30 September for eventual delivery to Malta. In return, she was to ferry the fighters of 804 Squadron

804 Naval Air Squadron

804 Naval Air Squadron was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy, formed in November 1939 from part of 769 NAS Sea Gladiators which had been detached to RNAS Hatston. The squadron was merged into 800 NAS in June 1944 and subsequently reformed in September.-World War II:During World War II, she...

 back to England, but this was cancelled. Eventually, the ship loaded some damaged aircraft and accompanied Eagle back to the United Kingdom on 20 October. Argus loaded more Hurricanes for Gibraltar and also embarked a pair of Swordfish from 818 Squadron

818 Naval Air Squadron

818 Naval Air Squadron was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm carrier based squadron formed in August 1939. It served on a number of the Navy's aircraft carriers during the Second World War, serving in most of the theatres of the war, before decommissioning at the end of the war.-Norway and the...

 and two Sea Hurricanes from 804X Squadron for self-defence. The ship arrived on 8 November and she transferred some of her Hurricanes to Ark Royal. Two days later, the two carriers, in Operation Perpetual, sailed to the west of Sicily and flew off their 37 Hurricanes, three of the fighters were lost en route. Ark Royal was torpedoed and sunk during the return to Gibraltar, which forced Argus to remain there to provide cover for Force H.

Force H was recalled to the United Kingdom in January and Argus loaded 12 Swordfish of 812 Squadron for her own protection. Whilst in the United Kingdom, she loaded some Supermarine Spitfire

Supermarine Spitfire

The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...

 fighters and returned to Gibraltar on 24 February. There, the ship transferred the Spitfires to Eagle and embarked nine Fairey Fulmar

Fairey Fulmar

The Fairey Fulmar was a British carrier-borne fighter aircraft that served with the Fleet Air Arm during the Second World War. A total of 600 were built by Fairey Aviation at its Stockport factory between January 1940 and December 1942...

 fighters of 807 Squadron

807 Naval Air Squadron

807 Naval Air Squadron was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy.-Second World War:807 Squadron was formed at Worthy Down in September 1940, equipped with Fairey Fulmar Is. Three were embarked on HMS Pegasus, where they remained until February 1941, when the entire squadron embarked on for...

. The plan for Operation Spotter I was for Argus to provide fighter cover for Eagle as she flew off the Spitfires for Malta, but the operation had to be cancelled when the long-range fuel tanks of the Spitfires proved defective. The problems were not rectified until 7 March, when the 15 Spitfires were successfully flown off. During Operation Picket I, nine more Spitfires were flown off by Eagle on 21 March whilst a dozen Sea Hurricane IIBs from 804 Squadron provided air cover from Argus. The two carriers repeated the delivery on 29 March when Eagle flew off seven more Spitfires whilst Argus flew 10 Fulmars and two Sea Hurricanes of 807 Squadron covered the operation from Argus. The latter ship also carried six Albacores bound for Malta as well, but the weather got too bad over Malta and their fly-off was cancelled.

Another attempt to deliver the Albacores and more Spitfires was made during Operation LB. As usual, Argus provided the air cover with a dozen Fulmars from 807 Squadron and Eagle ferried the Albacores and 17 Spitfires to their take-off point for Malta on 19 May. The Spitfires were flown-off successfully, but the engines of the Albacores all began to overheat and they were forced to return to the carrier. Examination of the aircraft revealed that their air coolers had been set to "Winter" rather than "Summer". One of the Fulmars was shot down by Vichy French Dewoitine D.520

Dewoitine D.520

The Dewoitine D.520 was a French fighter aircraft that entered service in early 1940, shortly after the opening of World War II. Unlike the Morane-Saulnier M.S.406, which was at that time the Armée de l'Airs most numerous fighter, the Dewoitine D.520 came close to being a match for the latest...

 fighters as it attempted to protect the crew of a Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boat

Flying boat

A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...

 that had been shot down earlier. By this time the ship's Vickers

Vickers

Vickers was a famous name in British engineering that existed through many companies from 1828 until 1999.-Early history:Vickers was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by the miller Edward Vickers and his father-in-law George Naylor in 1828. Naylor was a partner in the foundry Naylor &...

 .50-calibre machine guns had been replaced by 13 Oerlikon 20 mm

Oerlikon 20 mm cannon

The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original design by Reinhold Becker of Germany, very early in World War I, and widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others...

 light anti-aircraft guns.

Afterwards, the ship returned to the UK to ferry 801 Squadron

801 Naval Air Squadron

801 Naval Air Squadron was a Fleet Air Arm squadron of the Royal Navy formed in 1933 which fought in World War II, the Korean War and the Falklands War.- Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Air Force:...

 to Gibraltar and delivered the unit on 7 June. Together with Eagle, Argus was tasked to provide air cover over Force H as it covered a convoy attempting to get desperately needed supplies through to Malta later in June (Operation Harpoon). The carrier embarked two Fulmars from 807 Squadron, nine Swordfish from 813 Squadron

813 Naval Air Squadron

813 Naval Air Squadron was an aircraft squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm during World War II and again post-war. It initially operated Swordfish Mk Is from the aircraft carrier Illustrious and took part in the successful raid on Taranto in November 1940.In July 1943, the squadron was a...

 and four more Swordfish from 824 Squadron

824 Naval Air Squadron

824 Naval Air Squadron is a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm squadron first formed on 3 April 1933, disbanding and reforming several times before assuming its current role at RNAS Culdrose as a training squadron....

 to protect the convoy from submarines while Eagle loaded 20 Fulmars and Sea Hurricanes from three different squadrons. One Swordfish crashed while landing on 13 June and the wreckage was pushed over the side. Both Fulmars from 807 Squadron were shot down on 14 June by Italian bombers, but they likely shot down single examples of Savoia-Marchetti SM.79

Savoia-Marchetti SM.79

The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero was a three-engined Italian medium bomber with a wood and metal structure. Originally designed as a fast passenger aircraft, this low-wing monoplane, in the years 1937–39, set 26 world records that qualified it for some time as the fastest medium bomber in the...

 and CANT Z.1007

CANT Z.1007

The Cant Z.1007 Alcione was a three-engined medium bomber, with wooden structure. Designed by ingegner Filippo Zappata, the "father" of the CANT...

 bombers. Eagle transferred her Fulmars to Argus over the course of the battle and two more were lost later in the day. The ship was attacked multiple times by bombs and torpedoes during the battle without effect.

As part of the preparations for another resupply convoy for Malta (Operation Pedestal

Operation Pedestal

Operation Pedestal was a British operation to get desperately needed supplies to the island of Malta in August 1942, during the Second World War. Malta was the base from which surface ships, submarines and aircraft attacked Axis convoys carrying essential supplies to the Italian and German armies...

), Argus returned to the United Kingdom in late June to load reserve aircraft, including six Sea Hurricanes of 804 Squadron, for the other aircraft carriers involved in the operation and left the Clyde

River Clyde

The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....

 on 2 August for Gibraltar. The ship rendezvoused with the other carriers on 5 August for a three-day training exercise to work out coordination procedures before the operation commenced and 804 Squadron was deemed not ready for combat. It was ordered to return to the UK aboard Argus.

In November 1942, Argus was assigned to the Eastern Naval Task Force that invaded Algiers

Algiers

' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...

, Algeria

Algeria

Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...

 during the Allied landings in French North Africa with 18 Supermarine Seafire

Supermarine Seafire

The Supermarine Seafire was a naval version of the Supermarine Spitfire specially adapted for operation from aircraft carriers. The name Seafire was arrived at by collapsing the longer name Sea Spitfire.-Origins of the Seafire:...

 IICs of 880 Squadron aboard. The ship was hit by a bomb on 10 November that killed four men. She and the escort carrier  joined a convoy returning to the United Kingdom on the evening of 14/15 November that was spotted by the Germans. The torpedoed Avenger, right behind Argus in the convoy, later that morning. The ship was under repair for a month after she reached the United Kingdom, but she required a more thorough refit that lasted from February to May 1943. Reclassified as an escort carrier after the completion of her refit, she was relegated to deck-landing training. She was ordered to be paid off on 27 January 1944, but this order was apparently revoked as she continued training until 27 September 1944 when the last take-off was made from her deck. In March, she was ordered to be converted to an aircraft freighter around the end of the year, but this plan was also apparently cancelled. Argus became an accommodation ship at Chatham in December and she was approved for scrapping on 6 May 1946. She was sold to Thomas W. Ward on 5 December 1946 and arrived at Inverkeithing

Inverkeithing

Inverkeithing is a town and a royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, located on the Firth of Forth. According to population estimates , the town has a population of 5,265. The port town was given burgh status by King David I of Scotland in the 12th century and is situated about 9 miles north from...

 in December 1946 to be broken up.

External links

• Maritimequest HMS Argus photo gallery
• Fleet Air Arm archive
• That Mother Seaplanes: craft of the "hush-hush" fleet may play a part in first trans-Atlantic flight, Popular Science
  Popular Science
  Popular Science is an American monthly magazine founded in 1872 carrying articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. Popular Science has won over 58 awards, including the ASME awards for its journalistic excellence in both 2003 and 2004...
  
  monthly, February 1919, page 80.