HMS Hermes (R12) Centaur Class Light Fleet Aircraft Carrier Portsmouth Navy Day 1970

            HMS Hermes was a conventional British aircraft carrier and the last of the Centaur-class.

Hermes was in service with the Royal Navy from 1959 until 1984, and she served as the flagship of the British forces during the 1982 Falklands War.

The final CATOBAR air wing in 1968-1970 consisted of:

809 NAS. 7 Buccaneer S2 naval strike aircraft
892 NAS. 12 Sea Vixen FAW2 all-weather fighter
849 NAS. A flt. 4 Fairey Gannet AEW.3 airborne early warning
849 NAS. 1 Gannet COD4 for carrier onboard delivery
826 NAS. 5 Wessex HAS3 anti-submarine warfare
Ships Flight 1 Wessex HAS1 air-sea rescue.

When the decision was made in the mid-1960s to phase out fixed wing carrier operations Hermes was slated to become a "Commando Carrier" for Royal Marine operations (similar in concept to a US Navy LHA), and in 1972 underwent a refit in which her arresting cables, steam catapults, and 3-D radar were removed. Landing craft and berthing for 800 troops were added and her airwing became approximately 20 Sea King helicopters. By 1976, with the Soviet submarine threat becoming apparent and through NATO pressure, a further mild conversion was performed for Hermes to become an Anti-submarine warfare carrier to patrol the North Atlantic. Hermes underwent one more conversion and new capabilities were added when she was refitted at Portsmouth from 1980 to June 1981, during which a 12-degree ski-jump and facilities for operating Sea Harriers were incorporated. After this refit the air wing comprised:

800 NAS 5 Sea Harrier FRS1 Fighter
826 NAS 12 Sea King HAS5 ASW

Falklands War

Hermes was due to be decommissioned in 1982 after a defence review by the British government, but when the Falklands War broke out, she was made the flagship of the British forces, setting sail for the South Atlantic just three days after the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands. She sailed for the Falklands with an airgroup of 12 Sea Harrier FRS1 of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, and 18 Sea Kings. A few weeks after sailing, more aircraft were flown or transported via other ships to replace some losses and augment the task force. Hermes airgroup grew to 16 Sea Harriers, 10 Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR3 s of the Royal Air Force, and 10 Sea Kings (after some of the helicopters were dispersed to other ships) as well as a troop of Special Air Service (SAS) and Royal Marines. As she was the RN's largest carrier, she was considered too valuable to risk close into the Falklands, due to the possibility of Argentinian airforce attacks. Her Harriers therefore operated at the limit of their endurance radius, but were very successful in keeping the enemy aircraft at bay.

Air group at the height of the Falklands Conflict:

800 NAS - 16 Sea Harrier FRS.1
826 NAS - 5 Sea King HAS.5
846 NAS - 5 Sea King HC.4
No. 1 Squadron RAF - 10 Harrier GR.3

(Text Wikipedia)
   

Taken on: August 30, 1970

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