HMS Albion (R07)
HMS Albion (R07)
This, the sixth Albion, was built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd at Wallsend-on-Tyne as a Light Fleet Carrier of the ‘Centaur’ Class . Her keel was laid on the 23rd March 1944 and she was launched by the late Lady Atlee on the 6th May 1947. From then until 1949 the ship was berthed at Jarrow with only a care and maintenance party on board. Work on her resumed in August 1949 and sea trials began,
She had an overall length of 737 feet and a width of 123 feet 5 inches. Displacement about 26,000 tons.
On October 18th 1949 she was under tow by tugs Beamish, Hendon & George V from Jarrow to Rosyth when Albion collided with SS Maystone 4 nautical miles from Longstone Lighthouse. Maystone sank, Albion received a 225 square feet hole in her stern and started to sink. The three tugs attempted to beach her near St. Abbs Head but were hampered when Hector became disabled when a tow rope wrapped around her propeller. The tug HMS Restive was sent from Rosyth to assist and the destroyer HMS St. James arrived and took Hector in tow until her crew managed to clear the propeller. Albion was successfully berthed at Rosyth with 5 feet of water in her engine room. She was scheduled for completion in 1951 but was not fully completed until May 1954.
During the night of 19-20th June 1954, helicopters from Albion assisted in the search for survivors of a Swissair aircraft that had ditched in the English Channel off Folkestone, Kent.
She was the first British carrier to be fitted with both the “interim angled deck” of 5½ degrees to port and the mirror landing-sight device both on the port side of the flight deck and on the starboard side. The basic advantages of the angle-deck technique – the clear space ahead for overshoots and the increased parking space – are retained in this interim design, although only one of the two catapults can be used while landing is taking place. The full angle would, of course, give increased parking space, as well as permitting the operation of both catapults.
Of thirteen decks, four in the “island” contain the bridge, operations and wireless rooms, and the flying control position. The two decks immediately below the flight deck form the hangar, around and below which is the accommodation for 2041 officers and men. The lower decks house the boiler and engine-rooms, workshops, storerooms, magazines, furnace and aviation fuel tanks and a variety of machinery. Two lifts, which when in the “up” position form part of the flight deck, are used to carry aircraft, vehicles, guns, men and stores between the hangar and the flight deck. Another lift can bring a variety of explosives stores from the magazines or be used to convey stretcher cases from the flight deck to the sick bay.
Extensive radio equipment provides speech, Morse or tele-printer communications with other ships, aircraft and shore stations throughout the world. An automatic telephone exchange connects some 300 important spaces within the ship, while loudspeaker systems broadcast orders and informative talks as well as relaying radio and record programmes in off duty hours.
Space in any warship is at a premium and does not allow luxury accommodation for the men who man her. In Albion the mess decks are fitted with three-tiered bunks, some of which are stored away during the day to provide recreation spaces.
Four meals a day are served in the central dining rooms on a cafeteria system. Two different cinema programmes are normally shown each week when the ship is at sea, and television sets are hired by the Welfare Committee whilst in range of the UK transmitters. Amenities include a chapel, educational facilities, sick bay, canteen, barber’s shop, book stall, fiction and non-fiction libraries. An up-to-date laundry is operated by Chinese civilians whilst on the Far East station. All can participate in sports and games
In her first commission, Albion steamed over 83,000 miles during a two year period from May 1954.
In her second commission between June 1956 and November 1957, Albion returned once again to the Mediterranean Sea for operations relating to the Suez Crisis where her air group struck key Egyptian airfields, and covered the paratroopers landings. During this period her aircraft flew over 1,100 armed sorties.
After completion of her fourth commission as an aircraft carrier, Albion was taken in hand at HM Dockyard, Portsmouth for an extensive conversion. At completion of this she emerged as the Royal Navy’s second Commando Ship. This conversion embodied many of the feature found necessary from lessons learned in the first Commando Ship, HMS Bulwark. These included even more extensive air conditioning of living accommodation and working space. In her role as Commando Ship, Albion was modified to carry helicopters only. The equipment to operate conventional fixed wing aircraft such as Catapults and Arrester Wires were removed, but aircraft could, however, still land-on and take-off from the ship if necessary. Landing Craft were also carried to support the Commando in Assault and other military operations.
Albion was laid up in 1972
and was towed to Faslane for the ship breakers in 1973 after plans to use her
in the North Sea oil fields were abandoned.