HMS Triumph (R16)

HMS "Triumph" (R16) (1944–1981) was a Royal Navy "Colossus"-class light fleet aircraft carrier. She served in the Korean War and later after reconstruction as a support ship.

Construction and commission

"Triumph" was laid down during World War II on 27 January 1943 at Hawthorn Leslie and Company on the Tyne. Her construction was relatively quick and she was launched on 2 October 1944 only a few months from the end of the war. She was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 6 May 1946.

Korean War service

In 1950, "Triumph" was on a cruise to Japan as part of the Far East Fleet. She was nearing Hong Kong when news reached "Triumph" and her accompanying ships of war breaking out in the Korean peninsula, forcing "Triumph" into a state of alert, including fully armed aircraft on deck. "Triumph", escorted by the veteran destroyer "Cossack", who would also act as an escort to "Triumph"'s sister-ship "Theseus", was refuelled and reprovisioned at the Royal Australian Naval base at Kure, Japan. The destroyer HMS "Consort" and the cruiser "Jamaica", who would both have prominent roles during the Korean War, as well as the Australian "River"-class frigate HMAS "Shoalhaven", and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary tanker "Wave Conqueror", joined "Triumph" as she left the base.

The following day, she and her escorts, headed for Okinawa, refuelling at the American base there. Then they proceeded to western Korean waters, where other Royal Navy warships were converging. At this time, she was the sole RN carrier in the Far East. She was thus destined to have a vital role in the early months of the Korean War. After joining the US Fleet, 827 Naval Air Squadron, part of "Triumph"'s air group, commenced operations with a number of vintage Seafires, a naval variant of the iconic Spitfire, and which saw much action during the closing years of the Second World War. She also flew Fireflies during the initial operations of the Korean War, which were of a similar age. The Seafires and Fireflies of "Triumph", in conjunction with aircraft from the American carrier "Valley Forge", hit airfields at Pyongyang and Chinnam on 3 July, the first carrier strikes of the war. The Seafires, though agile and fast, had an appearance that was a liability when operating with allied forces. The aircraft had a remarkable similarity to the Yak-9, a WW2 Soviet fighter aircraft, in service with the North Korean forces. Such similarities would play to an almost tragic incident further into "Triumph's" deployment during the Korean War.

On 19 July 1950, Lieutenant P. Cane, flying a Sea Otter, an air-sea rescue aircraft, performed the last operational sea rescue of that type, when a F4U Corsair had been shot down by anti-aircraft fire, forcing the American pilot to ditch into very rough seas. The Sea Otter landed despite the adverse conditions and the American pilot was soon rescued. The Sea Otter returned to "Triumph" successfully, thanks mainly to the skill of the pilot.

On 28 July, an almost tragic event occurred, when a flight of Seafires were deployed to an area to investigate possible enemy air activity. They discovered that the activity was a flight of American B-29 bombers. One of the Seafires was hit by one of the bombers in its fuel tank forcing the pilot to bail out and land in terrible sea conditions. Rescue by Sea Otter was impossible due to the appalling conditions. The pilot was forced to wait about an hour until he was rescued by the American destroyer "Eversole".

Further Combat Air Patrol (CAP) and anti-submarine operations continued until she left Korean waters for Kure in Japan, where she spent her eight days there in refit. On 9 July, "Triumph" was back on the west cost of Korea, accompanied by the cruiser "Kenya", the destroyer "Comus" and two Canadian warships, HMCS "Athabaskan" and "Sioux". Seafires launched numerous Photographic Reconnaissance (PR) operations around areas such as Mokpo, Kunsan, Chinnam, as well as Inchon. Over the next few days, Seafires destroyed two North Korean gunboats, attacked railway tracks, small coaster vessels and oil tanks.

On 23 August, "Triumph", with just nine operational aircraft left, returned to Sasebo, Japan, where she joined two other carriers, "Valley Forge" and "Philippine Sea". While in harbour the North Koreans launched an unexpected air attack, hitting "Comus", causing damage to her hull and killing one sailor in the process. She was escorted to Kure for repair by her sister-ship "Consort". This caused the carriers to be extra vigilant in the aftermath of the attack, with an increase in CAP operations.

On 29 August, another incident occurred, when a Fairey Firefly landed without an arrestor hook and was stopped by the safety barrier. A large piece of propeller blade broke off, hurtled towards the surface of the Flying Control position, breaking the glass of the Operations Room and entering the room with tragic consequences, striking Lieutenant Commander I. M. McLachlan, the Commanding Officer of 800 Naval Air Squadron, who later died from the injuries sustained in this freak incident. He was buried at sea off the coast of South Korea with full Naval Honours.

On 30 August, after a four day patrol, "Triumph" returned to Sasebo, where she received 14 aircraft from the support carrier "Unicorn". On 3 September, "Triumph" departed Sasebo for the West Coast of Korea. When she got there, her aircraft performed the now routine CAP missions along with reconnaissance duties and bombardment spotting for the "Fiji"-class cruiser HMS "Jamaica" and the destroyer HMS "Charity".

After 6 of September, "Triumph", accompanied by "Athabaskan" and HMAS "Warramunga" and "Bataan", proceeded to the east coast of Korea to replace the carriers of the US 7th Fleet. Operations commenced on the 8th, with Fireflies and Seafires attacking numerous targets, causing much havoc for the North Korean forces.

On the 9th, bad weather forced operations to limit themselves to just eight sorties, with four Fireflies attacking the airfield at Koryo, causing a large amount of damage. 800 NAS's aircraft was decreased yet again, now to just six aircraft, after four others had been written off. The following day, "Triumph" returned once again to Sasebo.

On 12 September, "Triumph" departed Sasebo, accompanied by "Warramunga" and the Royal Navy "C"-class destroyers - "Charity", "Cockade" and "Concord". Their objective, though unknown to the crews of the ships at that time, was to cover the landings at Inchon. The group, part of CTF 91, a Commonwealth Task Force, was joined by the cruiser "Ceylon" and RAN warship, "Bataan", and was now known as the Northern Group. There was also a much smaller Southern Group which comprised HMC Ships - "Athabaskan", "Cayuga" and "Sioux".

"Triumph's" aircraft provided vital air cover for the attacking forces in the first few days before the landings. After the landings took place, "Triumph" and her accompanying escort, provided anti-submarine patrols, while her aircraft commenced interdiction and spotting operations. The latter operations proved very successful with Fireflies spotting for the cruisers HMS "Jamaica" and "Kenya". Thanks to the spotting by the Fireflies, "Jamaica" launched a devastating bombardment on North Korean positions, destroying a hidden cache of weapons, which resulted in the top of a hill being completely obliterated, creating a large plume of smoke that reached 8,000 feet.

The end of the day's operations led to a message to the commander of the Commonwealth, Admiral Andrewes, from the United Nation's overall commander, General Douglas MacArthur, "My heartiest felicitations on the splendid conduct of the Fleet units under your command. They have added another glamorous page to the long and brilliant histories of the Navies of the British Commonwealth."

By the end of D-Day an astonishing 13,000 troops and all their equipment had been landed. On 17 September, North Korean aircraft bombed the American warship "Rochester", as well as strafing the British cruiser "Jamaica", killing one and wounding two. Shortly afterwards, both warships managed to carry out a brief bombardment of North Korean troops.

On 21 September, "Triumph" entered Sasebo for the last time in her deployment during the Korean War. She spent two days there in dry dock for temporary repairs, before departing for Hong Kong on 25 September, her role in the conflict being replaced by HMS "Theseus".

Remainder of service

After her Korean service "Triumph" was selected as the replacement for HMS "Devonshire" as a Cadet Training Ship. She carried two terms each of 100 RN and Commonwealth cadets on three cruises each year, in the Spring to the West Indies, in the summer to Scandinavia and around the UK, and in the autumn to the Mediterranean. She carried three Sea Balliol aircraft with which to inculcate air-mindedness in the cadets.

In 1952, HMS "Triumph" was used for the first trials of an angled flight deck. Her original deck markings were obliterated and replaced with new ones at an angle to the long axis of the ship. The success of these trials led to the development of the now standard design with additional areas of the flight deck added to the port side of the ship.cite book
last = Sturtivant
first = Ray
title = Btitish Naval Aviation, The Fleet Air Arm, 1917-1990
publisher = Arm & Armour Press
date = 1990
location = London
doi = 358.4'00941
isbn = 0 85368 938 5]

In 1954 she was diverted to ferry survivors of the troopship "Empire Windrush" from North Africa to Gibraltar for repatriation. In 1955 she replaced HMS "Albion" on a 'goodwill' visit to Leningrad. This terminated in her Captain, Varyl Begg, carrying out a sternboard down the Neva against a beam gale after her hastily Soviet-laid sternbuoy had dragged. Her cadet training duties ended with the autumn cruise of 1955 when changes in the system of training RN officers rendered her redundant. Shortly before arriving home to Devonport HMS "Triumph" executed the last axial-deck landing in the RN. "Triumph" was then converted, between 1956 and 1965, into a Heavy Repair Ship emerging from the work with the pendant number A108. "Triumph" was based in Singapore after her conversion, being involved in a major exercise in 1968 in the Far East, with numerous capital ships from the United Kingdom and other nations taking part, as well as dozens of destroyers and frigates. "Triumph" was used as a heavy repair and transport ship for troops. In 1975 "Triumph" was paid off and held in reserve at Chatham Dockyard where she was used as a backdrop for the annual Navy Days and in 1981 she was struck and subsequently scrapped in Spain.

External links

* [http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/great_britain/pages/aircraft_carriers/hms_triumph_16.htm Maritimequest HMS Triumph photo gallery]
* [http://www.britains-smallwars.com/carriers/Triumph.html Britain's Small Wars - HMS Triumph in Korea]
* [http://www.royalnavyresearcharchive.org.uk/Articles/Forgotten_Cruise.htm "The Forgotten Cruise" HMS Triumph and the 13th Carrier Air Group]

Notes