HMS Illustrious

E297735

HMS Illustrious was a British Royal Navy aircraft carrier of the Illustrious-class that saw significant action during the Second World War, particularly in the Mediterranean and Pacific theaters.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
HMS Illustrious canonical 4

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (52)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Illustrious-class aircraft carrier
Royal Navy ship
aircraft carrier
airGroupSize about 36 aircraft (early war)
about 57 aircraft (later war)
antiAircraftArmament 2-pounder "pom-pom" guns
Bofors 40 mm guns
Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
armourBeltThickness 4.5 inches
armourFlightDeckThickness 3 inches
armourHangarSidesThickness 4.5 inches
armourType armoured flight deck
beam 29.2 m
builder Vickers-Armstrongs
builtAt Barrow-in-Furness
commissioned 1940-05-25
country United Kingdom
damagedBy Luftwaffe Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers
linked to: Junkers Ju 87
decommissioned 1954-02-03
displacement 23000 tons (standard)
28000 tons (full load)
draught 8.5 m
honoursAndAwards multiple battle honours for Mediterranean and Pacific operations
laidDown 1937-04-27
launched 1939-04-05
length 227.4 m
maximumSpeed 30 knots
namedAfter the quality of illustriousness
notableEvent heavily damaged by German dive bombers in January 1941
launched the Fleet Air Arm attack on Taranto in November 1940
operator Royal Navy
pennantNumber 87
postwarUse training and trials carrier
predecessorNameUsage third Royal Navy ship to bear the name "Illustrious"
primaryArmament 4 × twin 4.5-inch dual-purpose guns
propulsion 4 shafts
steam turbines
repairedAt Norfolk Navy Yard, United States
linked to: Norfolk Navy Yard
repairedIn 1941
scrapped 1956
servedInConflict Second World War
linked to: World War II
shipClass Illustrious class
theatreOfOperations Indian Ocean
Mediterranean Sea
Pacific Ocean
tookPartIn Battle of Cape Matapan
Battle of Taranto
linked to: Attack on Taranto

British Pacific Fleet operations
Eastern Fleet operations in the Indian Ocean
Malta convoys
Operation Judgement (Taranto)
linked to: Attack on Taranto

Operation Pedestal (support phase)
linked to: Operation Pedestal

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Philip Vian commanded HMS Illustrious
subject linked to: Captain Philip Vian
Attack on Taranto launchedFrom HMS Illustrious
Attack on Taranto involvedShip HMS Illustrious
British Pacific Fleet notableShip HMS Illustrious