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 the angled flight decks of her three sister ships. She was laid down in 1944 in Belfast with the contract being awarded to Harland and Wolff though was not launched until 22 April 1947, sometime after World 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 and arrestor 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 that Kuwait was rightly part of Iraq and that he intended to annex the small defenceless state. The Emir of Kuwait duly appealed for assistance from the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia. The UK obliged, with HMS "Victorious" and accompanying vessels being deployed to the Persian Gulf from her original position of the South China Sea. To truly display their intentions, HMS "Bulwark" landed 42 Commando, Royal Marines in Kuwait. When HMS "Centaur" arrived, the third carrier to deploy, this time off Aden. President Kassem suddenly found new reasons to accept Kuwait's right of sovereignty.

During the crisis in Aden, Sea Vixens from HMS "Centaur" launched strikes on rebellious tribesmen in the Radfan during Operation Damon. In 1964, a mutiny occurred in Tanganyika. The 1st Tanganyika Rifles, who were based near the capital Dar-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 at Dar-es-Salaam, a company of Royal 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, four Sea Vixens from "Centaur" provided cover for more Royal 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. The Royal 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 of Tanganyika. "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 to Cairn 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]