Carrier Collection

Royal Navy Aircraft Carrier HMS Illustrious Returns To Portsmouth Folllowing Refit
Royal Navy Aircraft Carrier HMS Illustrious is escorted by tugs as she returns to Portsmouth following her refit in Scotland

HMS Albion (R07) when in use as a Commando Carrier, December 1971

HMS Queen Elizabeth sails into her home port of Portsmouth for the first time
Pictured is Britains future flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth as she sailed into her home port of Portsmouth for the first time

Her Majestys Australian Ship (HMAS) Melbourne (21) shown with its complement of Douglas A-4G Skyhawks of 805 Squadron RAN ranged for entering port

HMS Ark Royal is pictured operating off the coast of the UK. The Portsmouth based carrier was undergoing the next phase of her workup in becoming the Nations Strike Carrier in 2010

HMS Indefatigable, British aircraft carrier
HMS Indefatigable (R10), British Implacable-class aircraft carrier. Date: circa 1950s

HMS Albion (R07) after conversion to a Commando Carrier

HMS Ark Royal
The aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal in the 1950s Date: 1950s

HMS Indomitable at sea, Second World War, 1945
Aerial photograph of the Royal Navy aircraft-carrier HMS Indomitable under way, 1945. A Seafire fighter airplane is visible, parked on her foredeck

Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer S2 of the Royal Navy lands on an aircraft carrier

Fairey Swordfish Torpedo-Bomber; Second World War, 1941
Painting showing a Fleet Air Arm Fairey Swordfish torpedo-bomber-reconnaissance airplane flying over a British destroyer (bottom centre) and the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious (back right), 1941

B-25 Mitchell Bomber taking off from Hornet; Second World
Photograph showing an American B-25 Mitchell medium bomber taking off from the aircraft carrier Hornet on 18th April 1942

Launch of HMS Ark Royal, Birkenhead, 1937
Photograph showing the aircraft-carrier HMS Ark Royal being launched down the slipway at the Cammell Laird Shipyard, Birkenhead, 13th April 1937

Britains Sea Power Is Yours
World War Two propaganda poster for the Royal Navy - Britains Sea Power Is Yours - illustrated by an Illustrious class aircraft carrier with its escorts and aircraft

Hms Queen Elizabeth Leaves Portsmouth for Helicopter Trials
HMS Queen Elizabeth (accompanied by her support craft), sailing from her home in Portsmouth for the first time since being officially commissioned into the Royal Navy in December

Britains future flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth sailed into her home port of Portsmouth
Pictured is Britains future flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth as she sailed into her home port of Portsmouth for the first time

HMS Ark Royal Visits HMNB Clyde for the Final Time
The Royal Navys mighty HMS Ark Royal visits HM Naval Base Clyde in Scotland for the last time

H. M. S. Formidable
H.M.S.Formidable, an Illustrious class aircraft carrier of the British Royal Navy, launched in 1939 and commissioned in November 1940

British Army messager pigeon service
Taking birds out: to the trenches by despatch-riders to let the pigeons fly for training

The attack carrier USS Coral Sea enters Pearl Harbour
September 1960

HMS Achilles, British light cruiser, WW2
HMS Achilles (70), British light class cruiser which served with the Royal New Zealand Navy during the Second World War. Seen here with a seaplane on board. Date: 1939

Loss of HMS Courageous by G. H. Davis
The loss of HMS Courageous: one of the Royal Navys aircraft carriers sunk by a German submarine

Fiat Multipla MPV

Carrier deck of HMS Warrior aircraft carrier
View of the carrier deck of HMS Warrior (R31) aircraft carrier at Kure, Japan, with crew lined up and a Sea Fury plane. Date: 1953

USS Essex aircraft carrier, CV9, built for the US Navy during the Second World War

Modified de Havilland Mosquito FBVI LR359
Modified de Havilland Mosquito FBVI, LR359, which made the first twin-engined carrier-borne landing on to HMS Indefatigable on 25 March 1944 piloted by Lt Cdr Eric Brown. Date: 1944

Carrier Pigeon poster
Poster warning people of the dangers of shooting carrier pigeons who may be carrying life or death messages

HMS Vengeance, British aircraft carrier
HMS Vengeance (R71), British light aircraft carrier, Colossus-class. Seen here in Malta harbour. Date: circa 1950s

Royal Marine Commandos re-embarking from a Westland Wessex helicopter on to a Royal Navy Commando Carrier

Eritrea - Water Carrier
Eritrea - Female Water Carrier Date: 1936

Picture No. 10750165
CAT - Wicker carrying basket. Date:

Girl Guides: Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret send courier
Princess Elizabeth, patrol leader in the Buckingham Palace Company, sends a message by courier pigeon to Lady Baden Powell at Guide Headquarters

Seaplane carrier pigeon, WW1
A carrier pigeon housed on board a seaplane for the delivery of messages during the First World War. This particular bird delivered a message (no)

Releasing carrier pigeon from tank, France, WW1
A human hand releasing a carrier pigeon through the porthole of a tank, near Albert, Somme, northern France, during the First World War. Date: 9 August 1918

HMS Habbakuk in section
Illustration showing a cross section of the top secret design for HMS Habbakuk a giant aircraft-carrier built of ice and wood pulp, which was proposed as a secret weapon in the Second World War

HMS Habbakuk with HMS Indefatigable, 1946
Illustration showing the top secret design for HMS Habbakuk (centre), a giant aircraft-carrier built of ice and wood pulp, which was proposed as a secret weapon in the Second World War

Swordfish Torpedo-bombers on board HMS Victorious, Second
Photograph showing Fleet Air Arm Swordfish torpedo-bombers gathered on the stern of the Royal Navy aircraft-carrier HMS Victorious, during the Second World War, 1941

CUTTY SARK CLIPPER
China clipper, though she only made 8 voyages to China before steamships destroyed the clipper business : she then became a wool carrier, then a training ship

Ufos / Adamski
Cigar-shaped Venusian interplanetary carrier photographed through a 6" telescope over Palomar Gardens, California; it was 50 km distant at the time

HMS Ocean AIRCRAFT CARRIER1950 s
Image of HMS Ocean in the 1950 s

WW1 - Aircraft Carrier - HMS Argus - Camouflaged - served in Royal Navy 1918-1944. Converted from an Ocean Liner under cnstruction at the start of WW1. Date: circa 1918

HMCS Bonaventure CVL-22
Royal Canadian Navy - HMCS Bonaventure CVL-22, a Majestic-class aircraft carrier seen in March 1957. (Originally ordered for the Royal Navy as HMS Powerful) Date: 1957

USA, California, San Diego, USS Nimitz moored under full moon in San Diego Bay

HMS Glorious cruiser and aircraft carrier, WW1
HMS Glorious, British Royal Navy Courageous-class cruiser during the First World War, rebuilt as an aircraft carrier in the late 1920s. Launched in 1916, sunk in 1940. Date: circa 1920s-1930s

Panama Canal and Carrier
The United States aeroplane carrier Saratoga passes through Pedro Miguel lock. Date: 1914

Champion Basket Carrier
A champion basket carrier steals the show at Covent Garden Market, London

the camel in the room. Photocombination concept idea

British Airways Airbus a380 G-XLEH departing London-Heathrow Airport LHR

Traditional glass milk bottle in a vintage carrier, Cotswolds, Oxfordshire, UK

Royal Navy Replenishment at Sea
Three Royal Navy ships take part in a Replenishment at Sea or RAS. From left RFA Fort Austin, RFA Fort Victoria and HMS Illustrious are pictured transferring stores and fuel

Doryphoros (spear bearer, Roman copy of the time of Tiberius from a Greek original by Polykleitos)

Fairey Campania two-seat seaplane
Fairey Campania two-seat carrier-borne reconnaissance or coastal patroller seaplane, which entered production in early 1917. It was mounted on a wheeled trolley for takeoff from a ships flight deck

Royal Navy Melin Mk 2 Helicopters on HMS Illustrious
Royal Navy Merlin Mk2 helicopters on the flight deck of HMS Illustrious during Exercise Deep Blue. HMS Illustrious was off the coast of the UK undergoing aviation training

FA2 Sea Harrier Launches from HMS Illustrious
Maritime demonstration.28 October 2001. During the Maritime demomstration off Oman, a FA2 Sea Harrier from 801 Squadron launches from the flight deck of HMS Illustrious, Fleet Flag Ship

Harrier Pilot Prepares for Takeoff
A digitally manipulated image of a Harrier pilots view as he prepares to take off from aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal

Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless -the stalwart US Navy carrier -going dive bomber served throughout the Pacific War, sinking most of Japans aircraft carriers

Short Sturgeon TT2 aboard an aircraft carrier

Westland Wyvern S4 VZ789 on a carrier deck with wings folded
Westland Wyvern S4, VZ789, on a carrier deck with wings folded

HMS Courageous, British battlecruiser, WW1
HMS Courageous, British battlecruiser, launched 1916, served during the latter part of the First World War, converted to use as an aircraft carrier during the late 1920s

Fiat 600 Multipla

Fiat Multipla Italy

Typhoid Mary
MARY MALLON, (1869-1938) known as Typhoid Mary; though herself healthy, she is a carrier of typhoid and, employed as a cook, infects 22, one of whom dies

Ufos / Adamski
Venusian interplanetary carrier and six scout craft photographed through a 6" telescope over Palomar Gardens, California

Graf, German zeppelin over London 1931
A good will visit, German zeppelin Graf flying over London, a transatlantic passenger carrier operating between 1928 to 1937, with people paying to take a flight over England. Date: August 1931

Three Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineer craftsmen
Photograph of three Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineer craftsmen repairing the engine of an A Squadron, 15/19th Kings Royal Hussars Saracen Armoured Personnel Carrier, Malaya

825 Squadron on HMS Warrior aircraft carrier
Group photo of 825 Squadron, Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm, on board HMS Warrior (R31) aircraft carrier with a Fairey Firefly plane. Date: circa 1953

Bristol 170 Freighter Mk. 31 EC-AHH Iberia London Airport
Bristol Freighter EC-AHH of Spanish national carrier Iberia on the tarmac at London Airport Date: 1965

HMS Glory, Colussus Class aircraft carrier entering the Grand Harbour in Malta in 1950 Date: 1950

An artists impression of the Tarrant Tabor in flight. Originally intended for long-distance bombing, the aircraft was to be converted into a commercial passenger carrier for up to 100 passengers

HMS Vindictive aircraft carrier, WW1
HMS Vindictive, a Hawkins-class heavy cruiser (then called HMS Cavendish) converted to an experimental aircraft carrier and renamed

HMS Hogue, British armoured cruiser
HMS Vindex, a seaplane carrier of the Royal Navy during the First World War, previously a fast passenger ferry for the Isle of Man Steam Packet

Royal Navy - HMS Bulwark R08, a Commando Carrier, converted from a Centaur-class light fleet aircraft carrier, entering port with decks lined, in March 1973. Date: 1973

HMS Victorious R38
Royal Navy - HMS Victorious R38, the third Illustrious-class aircraft carrier, in November 1946 Date: 1946

HMS Queen Elizabeth in Rosyth Dockyard
The Royal Navys largest ever warship HMS Queen Elizabeth is gently floated out of her dock for the first time in Rosyth, Scotland in July 2014

LCC-LFB foam carrier and foam equipment
The foam carrier (lorry) and pump-escape from station 71 Battersea demonstrating the foam making capability of front-line fire engines

HMS Empress aircraft carrier, WW1
HMS Empress, British Royal Navy aircraft carrier during the First World War

Sputnik 1 rocket track. Long exposure photograph of the night sky showing the track of the rocket that carried Sputnik 1, the worlds first artificial satellite

Golfer and his caddy
A Golfer and his caddy - characters from Three Little Maids a musical by Paul Rubens - Mr G.P. Huntley in the role of Cheyne and Mr Carroll in the role of Cupid. The show opened in 1902

Western Front, France, 1918
Telephone and pigeon men in a shell hole. Telephone lines are broken so messages have to be sent by carrier pigeons on the Western Front in France during World War I on 25th April 1918

HMS Warrior R31
Royal Navy - HMS Warrior R31, a Colossus-class light aircraft carrier, in March 1946. (Warrior was loaned to the Royal Canadian Navy from 1946 to 1948 as HMCS Warrior)

HMS Triumph (R16)
Royal Navy - HMS Triumph (R16), fleet support ship

People waving at the visiting aircraft carrier HMS Centaur. Liverpool, Merseyside. 14th August 1965

A de Havilland Mosquito landing on a carrier deck (LR359ja)

Hawker Sea Fury X flies over an aircraft carrier and ship

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EDITORS COMMENTS

"Unyielding and Majestic: A Legacy of Carriers in Naval History" From the Royal Navy's illustrious HMS Illustrious returning to Portsmouth after a remarkable refit, to the mighty HMAS Melbourne proudly sailing as Australia's naval flagship, carriers have played an indomitable role in maritime warfare. The name "carrier" evokes images of power and strength, epitomized by the legendary HMS Indefatigable and its British counterparts like HMS Albion after conversion. These floating fortresses symbolize the unwavering determination of nations to protect their interests at sea. Dating back to 1937 with the grand launch of HMS Ark Royal in Birkenhead, carriers have continuously evolved alongside technological advancements. The roar of Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer S2 landing on deck echoes through time, reminding us of their pivotal role during critical moments. During World War II, amidst turbulent waters, it was vessels like HMS Indomitable that stood tall against enemy forces. Their presence instilled hope and resilience among Allied troops fighting for victory. Carriers were not limited to air superiority alone; they adapted for various purposes. Take for instance HMS Albion's transformation into a Commando Carrier or USS Coral Sea entering Pearl Harbour as an attack carrier - these versatile platforms showcased their adaptability in ever-changing military landscapes. In this rich tapestry of naval history, we must not forget the unsung heroes who flew from these decks. Fairey Swordfish Torpedo-Bombers soaring through skies during World War II exemplify courage and sacrifice beyond measure. As we marvel at these magnificent vessels throughout history - be it witnessing them return home or embarking on daring missions - one cannot help but feel awe-inspired by their immense contribution towards safeguarding our seas. Carriers stand as testaments to human ingenuity and perseverance; forever etched in our collective memory as symbols of naval might and unity.