B
Beryl M
Guest
First of all my interest with the HMS Furious Royal Navy Air Craft Carrier is the fact that my father along with others of the 605 squadron served on her during World War 11 for six weeks in the North Atlantic for which they each received the Atlantic Star.
It was in 1915 HMS Furious large light cruiser mounting two 457mm guns, the largest one any Royal Navy warship, was one of the pioneering ships of British naval aviation.
Her large size and excellent speed made ‘Furious’ an obvious choice to operate aircraft. So it was that in February 1917 her forward gun was replaced with a flying off deck. Then in between 1922-1925 it was re-built with a full flight deck and subsequently served with the Atlantic and Home Fleets until 1939.
At the beginning of World War II she was employed hunting U-boats in the Atlantic and in an unusual departure from her normal roles ‘Furious’ then carried gold bullion to Canada.
It was on December 17, 1939, five ocean liners carrying 7,450 men of the First Canadian Division, arrived at Liverpool. Unknown to them, they had narrowly escaped what could have been a major sea disaster. The passenger liner Samaria, showing no lights, had passed right through the convoy unaware of the convoy's position! It struck the wireless masts of the escorting carrier HMS Furious on her port side, struck a glancing blow on the port side of the next ship astern, the liner Aquitania, then passed close down the starboard side of the third and fourth ships sailing in line ahead. If the Samaria had collided head on with the Furious, the ships following would have all crashed into her.
Then in April 1940 ‘Furious’ was used to ferry aircraft reinforcements to Malta including the famous Operation 'Pedestal' convoy of August 1942 which raised the siege of the island and she also took part in ‘Operation Torch’ the landings in North Africa in November 1942. In 1943, she took part in strikes against German shipping, and notably the major attack on the German battleship Tirpitz in Altafiord Norway on 3 April 1944
However, as the war progressed, the ship's age and limitations became increasingly apparent, and so was replaced by more modern vessels.
Ultimately the Furious was placed in reserve in September 1944, and sold in 1948. She was scrapped starting on March 15 1948 and the hull was scrapped at Troon Scotland in July
It was in 1915 HMS Furious large light cruiser mounting two 457mm guns, the largest one any Royal Navy warship, was one of the pioneering ships of British naval aviation.
Her large size and excellent speed made ‘Furious’ an obvious choice to operate aircraft. So it was that in February 1917 her forward gun was replaced with a flying off deck. Then in between 1922-1925 it was re-built with a full flight deck and subsequently served with the Atlantic and Home Fleets until 1939.
At the beginning of World War II she was employed hunting U-boats in the Atlantic and in an unusual departure from her normal roles ‘Furious’ then carried gold bullion to Canada.
It was on December 17, 1939, five ocean liners carrying 7,450 men of the First Canadian Division, arrived at Liverpool. Unknown to them, they had narrowly escaped what could have been a major sea disaster. The passenger liner Samaria, showing no lights, had passed right through the convoy unaware of the convoy's position! It struck the wireless masts of the escorting carrier HMS Furious on her port side, struck a glancing blow on the port side of the next ship astern, the liner Aquitania, then passed close down the starboard side of the third and fourth ships sailing in line ahead. If the Samaria had collided head on with the Furious, the ships following would have all crashed into her.
Then in April 1940 ‘Furious’ was used to ferry aircraft reinforcements to Malta including the famous Operation 'Pedestal' convoy of August 1942 which raised the siege of the island and she also took part in ‘Operation Torch’ the landings in North Africa in November 1942. In 1943, she took part in strikes against German shipping, and notably the major attack on the German battleship Tirpitz in Altafiord Norway on 3 April 1944
However, as the war progressed, the ship's age and limitations became increasingly apparent, and so was replaced by more modern vessels.
Ultimately the Furious was placed in reserve in September 1944, and sold in 1948. She was scrapped starting on March 15 1948 and the hull was scrapped at Troon Scotland in July
Last edited by a moderator: