HMS Indefatigable

DESCRIPTION

Accession NumberP501Title (extended title only)Plaque - HMS IndefatigableDescriptionSmall sized wooden plaque with raised painted stone/ceramic motif of HMS Indefatigable
DateBetween 1st August 1945 and 30th June 1946ProvenanceHMS Indefatigable was one of two Implacable-class aircraft carriers built for the Royal Navy (RN) during World War II. Completed in 1944, her aircraft made several attacks that year against the German battleship Tirpitz, inflicting only light damage; they also raided targets in Norway. The ship was transferred to the British Pacific Fleet (BPF) at the end of the year and attacked Japanese-controlled oil refineries in Sumatra in January 1945 before joining the American forces in March as they prepared to invade the island of Okinawa in Operation Iceberg. Indefatigable and the BPF joined the Americans in attacking the Japanese Home Islands in July and August. Following the end of hostilities, she visited ports in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
After returning to the UK in early 1946, Indefatigable was modified for transport duties, and ferried troops and civilians for the rest of the year before she was reduced to reserve. She was recommissioned in 1950 as a training ship for service with the Home Fleet Training Squadron, participating in exercises and making several port visits overseas. The Board of Admiralty decided that she was redundant in early 1954 and decommissioned her later that year. Indefatigable was sold for scrap the following year.
Relevance to the CityThe ship arrived at Sydney on 18 September 1945 and began a refit that lasted until 15 November. She arrived in Wellington NZ on 27 November. Indefatigable then sailed to Auckland, arriving on 12 December. She returned to Sydney for the holidays and visited Melbourne on 22 January 1946 before departing for home nine days later. The ship stopped off at Fremantle on 5th February 1946.
The carrier arrived at Portsmouth Dockyard on 16 March 1946. Her hangars were modified to accommodate over 1,900 passengers, including women, and she departed for Australia on 25 April carrying 782 RN personnel and 130 Australian war brides. Most of the RN personnel disembarked at Colombo and most of the war brides did the same at Fremantle. Indefatigable continued on to Sydney, where she embarked a complete naval hospital, with patients, and over 1,000 RN officers and ratings. She departed on 9 June and arrived at Plymouth on 7 July 1946.
06 Feb 1946 - AIRCRAFT-CARRIER IN FREMANTLE HARBOUR. - Trove

CollectionCivic Collection

INTERNAL

LocationCivic Collection

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