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Comments: What was eventually to be launched as the Aircraft Carrier, HMS HERMES, was laid down on the stocks by Vickers-Armstrongs, Barrow, as HMS ELEPHANT on the 21st of June, 1944. I don't know when work recommenced but she was launched on the 16th February, 1953. With a standard displacement of 23,900 tons (28,700 tons full load) on a length overall of 744.3 ft and with a beam of 90 ft, she was about the largest ship to transit the dock gates from the Walney Channel to her fitting out berth in Buccleuch Dock. She was commissioned into the RN on 25 November, 1959.

Her main engines were Parsons geared turbines developing 78,000 bhp driving twin shafts for a speed of 28 knots, with steam being provided by 4, Admiralty, 3-drum type boilers. Design incorporated the most advanced equipment at the time - an angled, armoured flight deck, steam catapult, landing sight, 3-D radar and a deck-edge lift. She was originally intended to carry a complement of 45 aircraft and was originally armed with 14, 3 in. AA.

She joined the fleet in summer 1960 and soon went through a long refit from 1964 to 1966 and was later converted to a commando carrier between 1971 and 1973. As converted, she could carry a Commando of 750 men in addition to a complement of 980 and 20 Wessex Sea King and Sioux helicopters. A second Commando could be accommodated in emergencies. She also retained STOL/VTOL capability for Sea Harrier jump jets but the ski-jump ramp at the bow was not added until a later date. She saw distinguished service during the Falklands conflict and was later transferred to the Indian Navy as the INS VIRAAT (R 22) on 15th February, 1989, whom she still serves. She is scheduled for replacement.

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Comments: The DREADNOUGHT (S101) was, of course, the RNs first nuclear hunter-killer submarine. At 265.8 ft length by 32.2 ft beam her surface displacement was 3,500 tons (4,500 tons submerged). She was laid down 12th June, 1959, launched 21st October, 1960 and commissioned 17th April, 1963. It was originally intended to fit her with a British designed and built nuclear reactor but a complete Westinghouse propulsion set of the type fitted in the USS SKIPJACK was purchased from the US. Armament comprised 6, bow-fitted 21" torpedo tubes. She was manned by a crew of 11 officers and 77 men and was the first British submarine to surface at the North Pole in 1970.

Of interest to some will be the identity of other ships in the background. Many will recognize the I.o.M. steamers which over-wintered at Barrow for many years. SNAEFELL (1948; 2,489 GT) is the most visible in the left-hand photo with the LADY OF MANN (built at Barrow in 1930; 3,104 GT) inboard. Also laid-up at the time were BEN-MY-CHREE and MONA'S ISLE. The stern of the latter can be most clearly seen in the centre photo. Some of you may also have spotted the mothballed, Algerine-class Minesweepers in the distance. They include HMS RATTLESNAKE (M298), HMS ROWENA (M 333), HMS WATERWITCH (M304), HMS CHAMELEON (M 29) and HMS NERISSA (M 73). Several others were laid-up at other berths. I'm not sure of the identity of the frigate inboard of M 73 at the rear of this group.

Visible at centre right of the right hand photo is A.F.D. 59 (Admiralty Floating Dock) which was towed from Portsmouth by the tugs AGILE, CAPABLE and SAMSONIA, arriving 15th August, 1960. This dock was employed as the fitting out berth for DREADNOUGHT and subsequent submarines. Left of centre background is one of Thos. Ward's ship-breaking berths at Barrow with the Liberty ship WILLIAM M. MEREDITH (see next page) outboard of the ex-fleet oiler, ABBEYDALE. Between A.F.D. 59 and the breaking berth is the grain mill of Walmsley Smith (now long gone) which saw much coastal traffic activity during the period.

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Comments: From December 1950 to 1965, 19 oil tankers were built by Vickers. The first was BRITISH ADVENTURE of 28,726 DWT and the last BRITISH ADMIRAL of 103,000 DWT. In between were the Niarchos tankers, WORLD CONCORD (1952) and WORLD UNITY, (1952); ESSO WESTMINSTER (1953) and ESSO CANTERBURY (1954) for Esso, followed by BRITISH SOVEREIGN (1954) and BRITISH VICTORY (1954) for BP. By this time deadweight tonnage had crept up to 32,000. Then came the two smaller, 18,000 DWT tankers for Shell Bermuda (Overseas) Ltd, the HINEA and HINDSIA (both 1955), followed by the magnificently streamlined 47,000 tonners SPYROS NIARCHOS and EUGENIA NIARCHOS (1956/57) for the Niarchos Group. SAN GREGORIO (Eagle Oil; 32,000 DWT) was launched in 1957 along with the BRITISH GLORY and BRITISH FAITH of similar tonnage and a year later the 42,000 DWT BRITISH AMBASSADOR slipped down the ways. A break then followed to accommodate construction of HMS HERMES and ORIANA, tanker construction resuming in 1961 with the traditionally designed BRITISH GRENADIER and BRITISH PRESTIGE of 52,000 DWT and the MALWA for P&O Trident Tankers at 37,000 DWT with the then new format of bridge and accommodation aft.

BP decided to cancel follow-up orders for two further 52,000 tonners and merge them into one 100,000 DWT mega-tanker. In order to construct this new ship, the BRITISH ADMIRAL, the two slipways that had been previously used to construct HERMES and ORIANA were excavated and levelled to enable the building of this giant. To circumvent impending problems in fitting her out, since she was too large to fit through the dock gates at 917 ft x 128 ft, much of the fitting-out took place on the stocks before she was launched by H.M. the Queen Elizabeth on March 17, 1965. Completion was at a special deep water berth in the Walney Channel, close to the slipways, from which she sailed in July, 1965. Of interest in the photo second from left is the first section of the SSBN, HMS RESOLUTION. which was layed down alongside the "ADMIRAL" in February, 1964. To the right of this photo is the part-completed hull of the SSN HMS WARSPITE.

A tanker of a different kind was the METHANE PRINCESS completed in 1964. She was one of the first liquid natural gas carriers and sister to the Harland and Wolff built METHANE PROGRESS. They were built to carry liquified methane from Algeria to a base on Canvey Island and were managed by Shell Tankers (U.K.) Ltd. At 21,876 GT, she was 618 ft x 81.5 ft and powered by two Vickers-built Pametrada type geared turbines supplied with steam by two Foster Wheeler design boilers which could burn either fuel oil or "boil-off" methane. The power plant developed 12,500 shp for a service speed of 17.75 knots. Cargo capacity was 12,500 tons carried in 9 pressure tanks. The far right photo shows the two sisters laid-up in the R. Fal in 1984. The "PRINCESS" outlasted her sister ship by 11 years going to Alang for scrapping in 1997.

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Comments: INVINCIBLE, the sixth RN ship to bear the name, was laid down as a first-of-class, Anti-Submarine Warfare Carrier in July, 1973. She was launched by HM, Queen Elizabeth II on the 3rd of May, 1977, and was commissioned in July, 1980. Two further ships of the class, the ILLUSTRIOUS and ARK ROYAL were built by Swan Hunters at Wallsend and were commissioned in 1982 and 1985 respectively.

As built, INVINCIBLE was protected by a Sea Dart missile system, but after subsequent refit the missile launchers were removed to be replaced by 3, Thales Nederland Goalkeeper 30 mm guns and 2, Oerlikon-Contraves GAM-B01 20mm guns. Overall length is 194 m with a breadth of 33.6 m at deck level and a deck runway length of 170 m. Fully loaded displacement is 20,500 t. A maximum speed of 28 knots is provided by 4 Rolls-Royce Olympus TM3B gas turbines with a combined output of over 71,000 kW. Range is 7,000 miles at an economical cruising speed of 18 knots. Complement is 1,030 officers and men including an air crew of 350 and there is the additional capacity to take onboard up to 500 marines. As the role of this class has evolved over the years, the complement of aircraft carried has changed. Originally designed for a combination of Sea Harriers and Sea King helicopters, this class now operates up to 9 Joint Force GR7/9 Harriers and up to 15 helicopters (a combination of Sea Kings, Chinooks and Merlins).

INVINCIBLE served with distinction in the Falkland's campaign, along with HMS HERMES (above). She also saw service in the Adriatic from 1993-95 and from 1998-99 flew air combat patrols to enforce the No-Fly Zone over Southern Iraq during Operation 'BOLTON'. Shortly thereafter she again saw service in support of NATO operations in the Balkans. Refit was completed in 2003 and after 3 commissions she was withdrawn from service in August, 2005, although she remains available to the Navy at a low state of readiness until 2010.

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