HMCS Bonaventure (CVL 22)

HMCS "Bonaventure" was a "Majestic" class aircraft carrier, originally laid down for the British Royal Navy as HMS "Powerful". She served in the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Forces Maritime Command from 1957 to 1970 and was the last aircraft carrier to serve Canada.

History

As HMS "Powerful" she was laid down at Harland and Wolff in Belfast on 21 November 1943, and launched on 27 February 1945. Work was suspended after the end of World War II, and was not resumed until the ship was bought by Canada. She was acquired in the early 1950s by the Royal Canadian Navy, which was looking to replace its aging WW2-vintage light carriers "Magnificent" (another "Majestic" class carrier) and "Warrior" which were deemed unsuitable for the jet age. Several surplus U.S. and U.K. ships were considered, and the then-incomplete HMS "Powerful", a "Majestic"-class light fleet carrier, was purchased in 1952 from the Royal Navy on the condition that it be refitted with an angled flight deck and steam catapult.

"Bonaventure" - named after Bonaventure Island, a bird sanctuary in the Gulf of St. Lawrence - was commissioned into the Canadian Navy on 17 January 1957, upon completion of its refit and modernization. The navy's new flagship, affectionately known as the "Bonnie", carried a force of about 34 McDonnell Douglas F2H-3 Banshee jet fighters, Grumman CS2F Tracker ASW aircraft (built by de Havilland in Toronto), and Sikorsky HO4S helicopters.

Even with the refit, landing a Banshee on the "Bonaventure"’s relatively short flight deck was pushing the envelope. The wide-winged Trackers were also a tight fit. Despite this, and because of the hard work and dedication of her crew, the "Bonaventure" was able by 1958 to conduct around-the-clock SUSTOP (SUSTained OPeration) operations, keeping four Trackers and two HO4S's in the air at all times, saturating an area of 200 square miles (670 km²) with anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft. This made the Canadian Navy the only one in the world at the time other than the US Navy capable of conducting around-the-clock air operations for sustained periods.

The Banshees were retired in 1962. In 1964 new CHSS-2 Sea King helicopters were added to "Bonaventure"’s complement, and in 1966 the carrier docked in Quebec for a mid-life refit. This second refit took eighteen months and cost $11 million. After the 1968 unification of the Canadian Forces, the "Bonaventure" was decommissioned, in Halifax, on 3 July 1970 and was scrapped in Taiwan in 1971. Components from "Bonaventure"’s steam catapult were used to rebuild the catapult aboard Australian aircraft carrier HMAS "Melbourne".Hall, p. 213.]

Description

Before 1967 refit

Displacement: 16,000 t, 19,920 t full load
Dimensions: 192.02 by 24.38 by 7.47 m
Propulsion: Parsons single-reduction geared steam turbines, four Admiralty 3-drum type 350 psi (2.4 MPa) boilers, two shafts; 40,000 shp (30 MW)
Speed Maximum: 24.5 knots (45 km/h)
Crew: 1200; 1370 war
Aviation: Around 34 aircraft, including:
* HS 50 Squadron: Sikorsky HO4S
* VF 870 and VF 871 Squadron: McDonnell F2H-3 Banshee
* VS 880 and VS 881 Squadron: Grumman CS2F TrackerFlight Deck: 214.58 by 34.29 m
Radar: US AN/SPS-10 surface search, AN/SPS-12 air search, and SPS-8 height finder
Armament: 4 × 3 in (76 mm) 50 twin mounts, 3 × 6 pdr (3 kg) saluting guns

After 1967 refit (alterations in bold)

Displacement: 16,000 tons, and 19,920 tons full load
Dimensions: 192.02 by 24.38 by 7.47 m
Propulsion: Parsons single-reduction geared steam turbines, four Admiralty 3-drum type 350 psi (2.4 MPa) boilers, two shafts; 40,000 shp (30 MW)
Speed Maximum: 24.5 knots (45 km/h)
Crew: 1200; 1370 war
Aviation: Around 21 aircraft, including:
* HS 50 Squadron: Sikorsky HO4S
* HS 50, HU 21, and VX 10 Squadron: Sikorsky CHSS-2 Sea King
* VS 880 and VS 881 Squadron: Grumman CS2F TrackerFlight Deck: 214.58 by 34.29 m
Radar: US AN/SPS-10 surface search, and AN/SPS-501 air search
Armament: Four 3 in (76 mm) 50 twin mounts, three 6 pounder (3 kg) saluting guns

See also

* List of aircraft carriers
* List of World War II ships
* List of ship launches in 1943
* List of ship commissionings in 1957
* List of ship decommissionings in 1970

References

*http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/Ships/POWERFUL.html
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