HMS Perseus was a light fleet 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...

 built for 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...

 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. The ship was initially named Edgar, but she was renamed in 1944 when 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...

 decided to convert her into an aircraft maintenance carrier. She was completed in 1945, after the end of World War II, and she made a trip to Australia late in the year. Upon her return to the UK in early 1946, Perseus 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....

. The ship was recommissioned in 1950 to serve as the trials ship for the steam catapult then under development. Over 1,600 test launches were conducted before the catapult was removed in 1952 and she was converted for use as a ferry carrier to transport aircraft, troops and equipment overseas. She was reduced to reserve again in 1954 and sold for scrap

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...

 in 1958.

Design, description and construction

The Colossus-class carriers were intended to meet a shortage of naval flight decks. Their design was based on that of the , but modified to permit rapid construction in commercial yards. Perseus was not completed to her original design; the success of the maintenance aircraft carrier prompted modification of the ship, whilst under construction, to an aircraft maintenance ship without 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...

s.

Perseus had an overall length of 695 feet (211.8 m), a beam of 80 in 4 in (24.49 m), and a draught of 23 feet (7 m) at deep load. She displaced 12265 LT at standard load. Each of the ship's two 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 four Admiralty three-drum water-tube boiler

Water-tube boiler

A water tube boiler is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which heats water in the steam-generating tubes...

s operating at a pressure of 400 pound per square inch. The turbines were designed for a total of 40000 shp and gave Perseus a speed of 25 knots (13.6 m/s). The ship carried 3196 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 8500 nautical miles (15,742 km) at 11 knots (6 m/s).

In order maximize space for workshops and stores, the ship's 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 catapult were not fitted; two large deckhouses were added to port of the island and on the rear of the flight deck. The ship had a single 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...

, 17 in 6 in (5.33 m) high. Aircraft were transported between the hangars and the flight deck by two aircraft lifts (elevators); each measured 34 by 45 ft (10.4 by 13.7 m). Two large crane

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...

s were mounted on the flight deck to move aircraft and stores to and from the flight deck. The ship carried two small self-propelled lighters

Lighter (barge)

A lighter is a type of flat-bottomed barge used to transfer goods and passengers to and from moored ships. Lighters were traditionally unpowered and were moved and steered using long oars called "sweeps," with their motive power provided by water currents...

 to allow unflyable aircraft to be transferred between ships or to shore facilities. Bulk petrol storage consisted of 98600 imp gal (448,244.5 l; 118,413.7 US gal). The ship's crew totalled 854, plus 222 in her aircraft repair department.

The ship was equipped with six quadruple mounts for the 40 millimetres (1.6 in) QF 2-pounder Mk VIII gun

QF 2 pounder naval gun

The 2-pounder gun, officially designated the QF 2-pounder and universally known as the pom-pom, was a 1.575 inch British autocannon, used famously as an anti-aircraft gun by the Royal Navy. The name came from the sound that the original models make when firing...

 ("pom-pom"). These gun mounts could depress to −10° and elevate to a maximum of +80°. The Mk VIII 2-pounder gun fired a 40 millimetres (1.6 in) 0.91 pound (0.4127690567 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 1920 ft/s (585.2 m/s) to a distance of 3800 yards (3,474.7 m). The gun's rate of fire was approximately 96–98 rounds per minute. She was also fitted with 19 Bofors 40 mm autocannon

Autocannon

An autocannon or automatic cannon is a rapid-fire projectile weapon firing a shell as opposed to the bullet fired by a machine gun. Autocannons often have a larger caliber than a machine gun . Usually, autocannons are smaller than a field gun or other artillery, and are mechanically loaded for a...

 in single mounts. The Bofors fired a 0.719 pound (0.32613291403 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 2890 ft/s (880.9 m/s). It had a rate of fire of about 120 rounds per minute and a maximum range of 10750 yards (9,829.8 m). All of the guns were mounted on the flight deck, not in sponson

Sponson

Sponsons are projections from the sides of a watercraft, for protection, stability, or the mounting of equipment such as armaments or lifeboats, etc...

s on the side of the hull like her half-sisters that were completed as aircraft carriers. Each "pom-pom" mount was provided with a separate fire-control director fitted with a Type 262 gunnery radar.

Perseus was ordered on 14 March 1942 under the name Edgar. She 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...

 at Vickers-Armstrong in Newcastle-upon-Tyne on 1 January 1943 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 26 March 1944. The ship was renamed Perseus in July 1944, after the decision had been made to convert her to an aircraft maintenance ship, and she was completed on 19 October 1945.

Service

Perseus arrived in Portsmouth

HMNB Portsmouth

Her Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the British Royal Navy...

 on 24 October 1945, after the end of World War II, to begin working up and sailed on 17 November for Australia. She arrived in Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 on 21 December, just in time to take charge of winding up the "Air Train"The "Air Train" was the entire system of depots, repair centres, repair ships and ferry carriers that supplied the fleet carriers of the BPF with flyable aircraft. that had supported the British Pacific Fleet

British Pacific Fleet

The British Pacific Fleet was a British Commonwealth naval force which saw action against Japan during World War II. The fleet was composed of British Commonwealth naval vessels. The BPF formally came into being on 22 November 1944...

 (BPF). The ship departed Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

 on 26 March 1946, carrying a load of aircraft to return to the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 (UK), and arrived 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....

 on 17 May where she was placed in reserve.

In 1950, Perseus was fitted with an experimental steam catapult. The catapult was placed on top of the carrier's existing flight deck and the deckhouse to port of the island was removed to accommodate it. Some 1,560 launches were made by the catapult, beginning with over 1,000 wheeled dead-loads, of gradually increasing weight, and moving on to with unmanned aircraft with their wings truncated to reduce their ability to glide. The final tests were made by manned aircraft of every type flown by the Fleet Air Arm

Fleet Air Arm

The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...

. After this, the ship arrived in Philadelphia on 14 January 1952 to demonstrate the catapult to the United States Navy. Between them, some 127 launches of manned aircraft were made by the British and the Americans. Perseus arrived back at Portsmouth on 21 March and had the catapult removed. All of her remaining maintenance equipment was removed and she was converted for use as a ferry carrier.

On 10 December, the ship carried the Westland Whirlwinds of 848 Squadron to Singapore, arriving on 8 January 1953. She arrived back at Portsmouth on 11 February and then embarked part of the 100 Grumman Avengers transferred to the Royal Navy under the terms of the Mutual Defense Assistance Act

Mutual Defense Assistance Act

The Mutual Defense Assistance Act was a United States Act of Congress signed by President Harry S. Truman on 6 October 1949. For US Foreign policy, it was the first U.S. military foreign aid legislation of the Cold War era, and initially to Europe...

 in Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

 on 16 March. She arrived back in Norfolk to load the remaining aircraft on 29 April. Perseus was fitted with bleacher

Bleacher

Bleachers is an American term used to describe the raised, tiered rows of seats found at sports fields or at other spectator events...

s in June for Very Important Person

Very Important Person

A Very Important Person, or VIP is a person who is accorded special privileges due to his or her status or importance.Examples include celebrities, heads of state/heads of government, major employers, high rollers, politicians, high-level corporate officers, wealthy individuals, or any other...

s and the press during Elizabeth II's Coronation Fleet Review in Spithead

Spithead

Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds, except those from the southeast...

. Later in the year she made a trip transporting troops and equipment to the Far East

Far East

The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...

.

On 20 January 1954, 706 Squadron, a second-line unit, flew aboard to conduct trials of the anti-submarine version of the Whirlwind helicopter. They were successful enough that the squadron was redesignated as 845 Squadron afterwards and Perseus ferried them 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...

 in April. The ship continued on to deliver relief supplies to Singapore intended for Korea and was reduced to reserve again upon her return on 12 July. The Admiralty intended to convert her to a submarine depot ship

Submarine tender

A submarine tender is a type of ship that supplies and supports submarines.Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally do not have the ability to carry large amounts of food, fuel, torpedoes, and other supplies, nor to carry a full array of maintenance equipment and...

 and she was towed to Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

 to begin work in 1955. The cutbacks from the 1957 Defence White Paper

1957 Defence White Paper

The 1957 White Paper on Defence was a British white paper setting forth the perceived future of the British military. It had profound effects on all aspects of the defence industry but probably the most affected was the British aircraft industry...

 caused the conversion to be cancelled and the ship was towed to Gare Loch

Gare Loch

The Gare Loch or Gareloch is a sea loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.-Geography:A sea loch aligned north-south, Gare Loch is 10 kilometres long with an average width of 1.5 kilometres. At its southern end it opens into the Firth of Clyde through the Rhu narrows...

 to await a decision on the ship's disposition. Perseus sold for scrap in May 1958 and towed to Port Glasgow

Port Glasgow

Port Glasgow is the second largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16617 persons...

to begin demolition.

External links

• Maritimequest HMS Perseus photo gallery