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WWII - HMS HERMES DAMAGED & SINKING
H.M.S. HERMES The ninth British warship to bear the name HERMES. and was the first Royal Navy warship designed and built for use as an aircraft carrier. Ordered from Armstrong's at Elswick in July 1917 and laid down on 15th January 1918. After launched on 11th September 1919 work was suspended and in January 1920 the vessel was towed to HM Dockyard Devonport for completion. By the completion date in July 1923 it had been possible to take into account some of the lessons learnt during the conversion and reconstruction of HMS FURIOUS. That ship had been altered from her designed role as a battle cruiser to operate several aircraft instead of being restricted to one or two as in other major warships. Three design changes had been necessary before HMS FURIOUS was able to be used operationally in her new role as an aircraft carrier. The 'island' structure sited on the starboard side of the flight deck included the funnel and a Gunnery Control position at the top of the mast. A special ventilation system was provided in the hangar to reduce the danger of fire from petrol fumes. New handing gear was used to assist in moving aircraft and an electric lift was fitted from the after end of the hangar to the flight deck. The original design allowed for 15 aircraft but by 1938 had increased to 20. In 1939 the total complement was 1,575 including aircrew and maintenance personnel. HMS HERMES proved to be very satisfactory in her designed role and was an excellent sea-boat with little roll. Her full load displacement was about 12,900 tons with an overall length of 598 feet and a bean of 70 feet 9 outside bilges. She had a mean draught of 18 feet 9 inches. Armour protection was similar to that in light cruisers. The armament fitted consisted of six 5.5 inch guns for defence against surface ships and AA defence of three 4" guns was provided. Before the outbreak of war additional close range weapons for use against aircraft were fitted and later during WW2 some 20mm guns. Replacement of the 5.5" armament by eight twin 4.5" guns was intended. Geared turbines with a shaft horsepower of 40,000 driving 2 shafts gave a speed of 25 knots. HMS HERMES was in use as an accommodation ship for officers under training in 1938 and brought forward for service in 1939. She was deployed in the Atlantic for trade protection duties for a brief period before the outbreak of war and was then transferred to the Indian Ocean. In April 1942 whilst deployed with the Eastern Fleet she came under air attack from a Japanese aircraft carrier with heavy loss of life after being hit by several bombs. 
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