ROYAL NAVY

Workhorse of the Royal Navy’s post-war carrier fleet

On Friday 20 August 1965 the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Centaur steamed into Portsmouth Harbour flying her paying-off pennant. Although she had been delivered less than 12 years previously, her arrival marked the end of her operational career. Over the next few weeks the ship’s company departed for other drafts and, on 27 September 1965, she paid off for the last time.

While Centaur’s active service had been comparatively brief, she had played an important role in the development of Royal Navy aviation during the early post-war period.

Conrad Waters explores the short but ac tive career of HMS Centaur, one of the lesser-known British aircraf t carriers.

Never in the limelight to the same extent as, for example, her half-sister Hermes or the much larger Eagle and Ark Royal, she nevertheless formed a significant component of a fast-evolving carrier fleet.

AN IMPROVED DESIGN

Centaur was ordered from the Belfast shipyard of Harland & Wolff on 12 July 1943 as one of a new class of what was initially planned to be eight light aircraft carriers. Her design was derived from that of the preceding British light fleet carriers that were to form the well-known Colossus and Majestic classes. However, a far-sighted recognition that allowance had to be made for rapid increases in the weight and performance of naval aircraft meant that the new aircraft carriers were to be substantially different from these previous designs.

Most importantly, the new carriers had to be considerably larger than the earlier ‘light fleets’. For example, the expected increased size of these next generation aircraft meant a greater hangar space served by more powerful lifts was needed. Perhaps less immediately obvious was the need for an expanded magazine capacity to stow the greater weight of ordnance that the upgraded air group could carry. Equally, a higher speed was required to facilitate safe take-offs and landings by the higher-performance aircraft.