HMCS Bonaventure (CVL 22)
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| history | |
|---|---|
| Commissioned: | |
| Keel laying: | November 21, 1943 |
| Launch: | February 27, 1945 |
| Commissioning: | 17th January 1957 |
| Decommissioning: | 3rd July 1970 |
| future | Wrecked in 1971 |
| Data | |
| Displacement: | 16,000 t |
| Length: | 192.02 m |
| Width: | 24.38 m |
| Draft: | 7.47 m |
| Drive: |
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| Top speed: | 24.5 knots (45 km / h) |
| Crew: | 1200 sailors (peace), 1370 (war) |
| Armament: | 4 × 76 mm twin barrel cannons, 8 × 40 mm Bofors guns |
| Airplanes: | Sikorsky S-61 Sea King , Grumman S-2 , Sikorsky S-55 |
The HMCS Bonaventure (CVL 22) was a Majestic- class aircraft carrier of the Canadian Navy that served as HMS Powerful (R95) in the Royal Navy before being sold to Canada . It was the last aircraft carrier in Canada.
history
The ship was as HMS Powerful 21 1943 and Harland & Wolff in Belfast placed on Kiel and launched in February 27 1945th Work on the carrier was suspended after the end of World War II and was not resumed until it was sold to Canada in 1952. The Canadian Navy acquired the carrier as a replacement for the outdated lighter HMCS Warrior and HMCS Magnificent carriers , which were considered too small and too slow for the modern combat aircraft age . Some surplus Royal Navy and US Navy carriers were considered, and in 1952 the HMS Powerful , a Majestic-class ship of the British Navy, was chosen . The prerequisite was that the ship had an inclined flight deck and an aircraft catapult .
The porter was named after Bonaventure Island , a bird sanctuary in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence . He was handed over to active service in the Canadian Navy on January 17, 1957 after the completion of the modernization measures. The Canadians' new flagship , affectionately nicknamed "Bonnie", carried 34 McDonnell F2H Banshee (fighter) and Grumman S-2 ( anti -submarine ) aircraft, as well as Sikorsky built by the De Havilland Aircraft Company in Toronto S-55 - helicopter .
Even after the ship was modernized, landing a banshee on the Bonaventure's relatively short flight deck was a risky maneuver. While Canadian pilots already routinely mastered it, it was much more difficult for US pilots, for example , who had less practice on smaller decks. Many of these pilots therefore refused to land on the "Bonnie" as part of joint operations. The a large wingspan enacting Grumman S-2 submarine-hunting aircraft had barely space on the flight deck. In spite of these difficulties, the Bonaventure was able to go into continuous missions in 1958, with four Grumman S-2s and two Sikorsky S-55s in the air around the clock , which could cover an area of about 518 km². This made the Canadian Navy, along with the US, the only naval force in the world that was able to operate permanent airborne forces over a long period of time.
The decommissioning of the Banshees in 1962 meant that the Bonaventure was able to add some of the new Sikorsky S-61 - Sea-King helicopters to its arsenal in 1964 . In 1966, the ship docked in Québec to be further modernized. This second modernization measure took eighteen months. The carrier was decommissioned in Halifax on July 3, 1970, just three years after this final overhaul , and was scrapped in Taiwan in 1971 .
Data
Before the modernization in 1967
- Displacement: 16,000 t (empty), 19,920 t (fully loaded)
- Dimensions: length: 192.02 m, width: 24.38 m, draft: 7.47 m
- Propulsion: four Admiralty boilers (350psi), two Parsons turbines (40,000 hp ) on two propellers
- Speed: 24.5 knots (45 km / h)
- Crew: 1,200 men in peacetime, 1,370 in war
- Aircraft: around 34, including:
- McDonnell F2H Banshee
- Grumman S-2
- Sikorsky S-55
- Flight deck: length: 214.58 m, width: 34.29 m
- Radar : US AN / SPS-10 surface radar , AN / SPS-12 sky radar , and SPS-8 altitude finder
- Armament: four 76 mm double barrel cannons, eight 40 mm Bofors guns
Changes after the modernization in 1967
- Aircraft: around 34, including:
- Sikorsky S-61 Sea King
- Grumman S-2
- Sikorsky S-55
- Radar: US AN / SPS-10 surface radar, AN / SPS-501 sky radar
