- HMS Centaur (R06)
HMS "Centaur" (R06) was the first of the four "Centaur"-class light fleet carriers of the
Royal Navy . She was the only ship of her class to retain the original configuration with a straight axial flight deck rather than theangled flight deck s of her three sister ships. She was laid down in 1944 inBelfast with the contract being awarded toHarland and Wolff though was not launched until 22 April 1947, sometime afterWorld War II had come to a close, due to delays relating to the end of the war. She was commissioned on 1 September 1953, a gap of almost nine years from when she was laid down in 1944.Between 1956–1958 she underwent extensive modernisation with a six degree angled flight deck being added as well as
steam catapults andarrestor cables giving her the ability to operate jet aircraft, such as the Sea Vixen and Scimitar.Operations
In 1961, President Kassem of
Iraq , during a speech, claimed thatKuwait was rightly part ofIraq and that he intended to annex the small defenceless state. The Emir ofKuwait duly appealed for assistance from theUnited Kingdom andSaudi Arabia . The UK obliged, with HMS "Victorious" and accompanying vessels being deployed to thePersian Gulf from her original position of theSouth China Sea . To truly display their intentions, HMS "Bulwark" landed42 Commando, Royal Marines inKuwait . When HMS "Centaur" arrived, the third carrier to deploy, this time offAden . President Kassem suddenly found new reasons to accept Kuwait's right of sovereignty.During the crisis in
Aden ,Sea Vixen s from HMS "Centaur" launched strikes on rebellious tribesmen in theRadfan during Operation Damon. In 1964, a mutiny occurred inTanganyika . The1st Tanganyika Rifles , who were based near the capitalDar-es-Salaam had become mutinous against their British officers, as well as seizing the British High Commissioner and taking over the airport. Britain decided, after urgent appeals for help, to deploy "Centaur" accompanied by 815 Naval Helicopter Squadron along with 45 Commando, Royal Marines. When "Centaur" arrived atDar-es-Salaam , a company ofRoyal Marines were landed by helicopter on a football field next to the barracks of the mutineers. The company assaulted the barracks with full force in a chaotic but swift attack, securing the entrance to the barracks. After a call for the mutinous soldiers to surrender failed, the company demolished the front of the guardroom, with a deftly placed shot from an anti-tank rocket launcher. The culmination of the decision proved successful, with a large number of distressed soldiers pouring out into the open. Later on, fourSea Vixen s from "Centaur" provided cover for moreRoyal Marines who were now landing on an air strip. The operation was a success and the rest of the mutineers soon surrendered, with the main culprits being arrested. Many Tanganyikans were jubilant when the country was restored to a stable and peaceful environment. TheRoyal Marines Band displayed the British forces appreciation of the happy welcoming that they had received from the Tanganyikans while attempting to restore the country to stability by taking part in a heavy schedule of Marches through the streets ofTanganyika . "Centaur" left on 29 January, nine days after originally sailing for what was then a country in crisis.The following year, after conversion to a
commando carrier like her sister-ships "Bulwark" and "Albion" was cancelled, she was consigned to the role of accommodation ship for the crew of "Victorious" while the latter ship undertook a refit. In 1966, "Centaur" was again an accommodation ship, this time for "Eagle", while that ship was going through a refit. In 1970, she was towed to Devonport where she would await her fate for a further two more years, when finally she was towed toCairn Ryan and broken up, after a long and eventful career.External links
* [http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/great_britain/pages/aircraft_carriers/hms_centaur_r06.htm Maritimequest HMS Centaur photo gallery]
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