The Implacable-class supercarriers, commonly know as the Improved Implacable class, are a class of aircraft carriers built for the Royal Navy and other Commonwealth and Allied navies. The name of the class indicates the roots of the class' design in the Implacable-class carriers of World War II. Currently, no Improved Implacable-class ships remain in service with the Royal Navy, but some remain in service with other navies. Improved Implacable-class ships are conventionally powered, have an overall length of 326.14 meters (1070 ft) and a displacement of 82,000 tons, and can carry up to 90 aircraft.
The Improved Implacable-class ships use angled flight decks in a CATOBAR arrangement.
Specifications[]
- Type: Supercarrier
- Service Period: 1963-Present
- Characteristics
- Length: 1070 feet (326.14 meters)
- Beam: 272 feet 82.91 meters)
- Draft: 33.5 feet (10.21 meters)
- Displacement: 64,600 (Standard); 82,260 tons (Full Load)
- Crew: 4,460
- Power: 307,500 shp
- Propulsion: 6 x Y300 steam boilers, 4 x steam turbines, 4 x shafts
- Range: 16,500 nautical miles (30,560 kilometers) at 15 knots (27.78 km/h)
- Speed: 36.5 knots (67.6 km/hr)
- Sensor Suite:
- Type 909 Sea Dart Fire Control RDF x 2
- Type 974 Navigation RDF
- Type 982 Fighter Control RDF
- Type 983 3D Air Search RDF
- Type 988 3D Air Search RDF with CDS
- Type 992 2D Surface Search RDF
- Armament
- 4 x Sea Dart GWS.30 Mod 1 AAM launchers
- 3 x CIWS
- Airwing: 90 fixed wing aircraft and helicopters
- Aviation Facilities: 4 x BS Mk.VI steam catapults, 3 x deck edge elevators, 4 x wires and Mk.14 arrestor engines
Ships in class[]
[]
- HMS Implacable (R57)
- HMS Formidable (R58)
- HMS Theseus (R59)
- HMS Venerable (R60)
- HMS Pioneer (R61)
- HMS Majestic (R62)
- HMS Audacity (R63)
- HMS Pathfinder (R64)
[]
- HMIS Viraat (R I01)
- HMIS Vishal (R I02)
[]
- HMAS Canberra (R A03)
- HMAS Commonwealth (R A04)
[]
| Name | Hull Number | Ordered | Laid Down | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HMS Implacable | R57 | 1 October 1957 | 27 December 1957 | 21 May 1961 | 29 April 1963 | 12 May 2009 | Undergoing scrapping |
| HMS Formidable | R58 | 1 July 1957 | 14 September 1957 | 8 October 1962 | 27 October 1963 | 7 August 2003 | Scrapped, 2015 |
| HMS Theseus | R59 | 25 November 1960 | 9 January 1961 | 1 February 1964 | 23 January 1965 | 9 August 1996 | Sunk as target, 14 May 2005 |
| HMS Venerable | R60 | 1 November 1961 | 27 January 1962 | 28 March 1963 | 19 March 1964 | 19 August 2005 | Undergoing scrapping |
| HMS Pioneer | R61 | 30 April 1964 | 22 October 1964 | 27 May 1967 | 7 September 1968 | 23 March 2007 | Undergoing scrapping |
| HMS Majestic | R62 | 5 May 1965 | 5 November 1965 | 28 November 1967 | 7 September 1968 | 29 September 2009 | Undergoing scrapping |
| HMS Audacity | R63 | 28 January 1966 | 15 May 1966 | 15 May 1967 | 14 December 1968 | 25 December 2008 | Undergoing scrapping |
| HMS Pathfinder | R64 | 27 February 1967 | 27 March 1967 | 28 March 1969 | 31 December 1970 | 31 December 2009 | Undergoing scrapping |
| Royal Indian Navy | |||||||
| HMIS Vikrant | R I01 | 27 February 1968 | 30 November 1969 | 1 December 1971 | 20 December 1972 | - | Active |
| HMIS Vishal | R I02 | 27 February 1968 | 31 December 1969 | 22 December 1970 | 29 December 1972 | - | Active |
| Royal Australian Navy | |||||||
| HMAS Brisbane | R A03 | March 1969 | 1 January 1970 | 7 July 1974 | 23 October 1975 | - | Active |
| HMAS Commonwealth | R A04 | March 1969 | 4 January 1970 | 10 August 1974 | 26 September 1975 | - | Active |
| Royal Canadian Navy | |||||||
| HMCS Warrior | R C03 | October 1969 | 20 February 1970 | 26 August 1974 | 11 November 1976 | 25 November 2016 | Awaiting Disposal |