HMS Victorious – Meet the British Aircraft Carrier That Joined the U.S. Navy in WW2

In early 1943, HMS Victorious was transferred to the U.S. Navy to offset the shocking losses America’s fleet of flattops had suffered in the first year of the Pacific War. (Image source: WikiMedia Commons)

“Without extra carriers, the U.S. Navy would have to stop or postpone offensive operations in the Pacific in 1943. Finding more would be crucial if the Allies hoped to hold on to the initiative in the Pacific and keep the pressure on the Japanese.”

By Marc Liebman

AFTER THE October, 1942 Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, the U.S. Pacific Fleet was facing a critical shortage of serviceable aircraft carriers.

Lexington (CV-2), heavily damaged at the Battle of the Coral Sea in May of that year, had to be scuttled. The Navy didn’t have the resources to tow the burned-out hulk to Brisbane, the nearest Australian port, for repairs.

Also damaged at Coral Sea and again at Midway, Yorktown (CV-5) went down after it was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine.

Saratoga (CV-3) was in the yard after being torpedoed in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons.

The carrier Wasp (CV-7) was torpedoed by a Japanese during the Guadalcanal campaign in September.

Hornet (CV-8) sank in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands. The Enterprise (CV-6), badly damaged in the same fight, was in Noumea for extensive repairs.

By October of 1942, the U.S. Navy had only one operational fleet carrier remaining: Ranger (CV-4). It was the last surviving aircraft carrier built before the war and its design was a compromise driven by the tonnage limitations of the 1920 Washington Naval Treaty. At 17,600 tons, Ranger was slower more lightly armed and armoured than the carriers bearing the brunt of the Pacific War.

Ranger’s smaller deck limited her to operating a 70 plane air wing compared to the 90+ of her larger sisters. The U.S. Navy did not want to risk her against the Imperial Japanese Navy and decided to keep Ranger in the Atlantic where the primary threat was U-Boats. Plus, the carrier and her air wing was needed in the Atlantic to provide air cover for Operation Torch.

The newly designed USS Essex (CV-9), the first of 24 Essex-class carriers to be built, weren’t scheduled to be commissioned until Dec. 31, 1942 and not expected in Hawaii until the middle of the summer of 1943, 10 long months away.

Without extra carriers, the U.S. Navy would have to stop or postpone offensive operations in the Pacific in 1943. Finding more would be crucial if the Allies hoped to hold on to the initiative in the Pacific and keep the pressure on the Japanese.

The USS Lexington takes a pounding at the Battle of the Coral Sea. By the end of 1942, almost all American fleet carriers had been damaged or destroyed. (Image source: WikiMedia Commons)

A borrowed carrier?

So, the U.S. Navy turned to the only source of assistance it had: Britain’s Royal Navy.

In late 1942, a British document titled Appreciation by Admiralty – Carrier Reinforcements for Southwest Pacific[1] succinctly outlined the predicament faced by the Royal Navy. Unless it “loaned” a carrier to the U.S., their American allies would not be able to support the invasion of North Africa, which was planned to put Rommel and Germany’s Afrika Korps in a vice between the U.S. Army in the west and the British Eighth Army in the east.

The first time the U.S. Navy asked to “borrow” a carrier was after the Battle of Midway. The Royal Navy refused. Just like the Americans, Britain’s forces were stretched thin and overcommitted. The Admiralty rightly judged continuing to supply the Eighth Army through the Mediterranean was its second highest priority after defeating the U-boats. So, the U.S. request was turned down. In fact, in the spring of 1942, the U.S. loaned Wasp and her escorts to help relieve the besieged Malta.

Then Prime Minister Churchill had a change of heart.

On Dec. 2, 1942, he sent a message to President Roosevelt titled “Carrier Reinforcements for South West Pacific.” He believed that with success of the invasion of North Africa, only two of Britain’s four carriers were needed by the Home Fleet. Accordingly, Churchill authorized the Royal Navy to send one, possibly two carriers to operate under the command of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

The Royal Navy had a few choices in December 1942: HMS Formidable (R67), HMS Furious (R47), HMS Indomitable, (R92) HMS Victorious (R38) and HMS Illustruous (R87). Only Victorious and Illustrious were fully functional and were offered on the condition USS Ranger stay in the Atlantic and could be tasked by the Royal Navy’s Home Fleet.

Eventually, HMS Victorious was selected. The carrier displaced 23,700 tons and had a range of 11,000 nautical miles. When she sailed for Norfolk on Dec. 20, 1942, Victorious’ air wing was comprised of 882, 896 and 898 Squadrons, with 12 Grumman Martlets (F4F-4s Wildcats) each and 832 Squadron with 18 Fairey Albacore biplanes.

The Victorious arrives at Pearl Harbor. (Image source: U.S. National Archives)

Preparing for the Pacific

Stormy North Atlantic weather delayed Victorious’ arrival Norfolk until Dec. 31, 1942. The Norfolk naval shipyard updated the vessel’s radar, installed a newer combat information center, added the U.S. Navy’s talk between ships (TBS) radio and retrofitted a homing system that allowed airplanes to find the carrier at night and in low visibility.

Victorious’ anti-air defenses were also improved with 19 20-mm gun positions. Bomb damage to the bow was repaired and the aft part of the flight deck, known as the round down, was extended. The shipyard also installed the fire suppression system and a station above the hangar deck so the hangar deck officer could see its entire length.

Since the Victorious left Scotland at the beginning of the winter, its crew did not have clothing for warmer climates. The U.S. Navy provided, to use the British expression, “tropical kit” for all the officers and men. Other than several liaison and radiomen familiar with U.S. Navy operations and messaging, the U.S. asked for no other changes to Victorious.

To operate with U.S. carrier air groups, planes departing from Victorious had to be capable of landing on U.S. carriers and vice versa. U.S. Navy landing signal officers and Fleet Air Arm batsman used different signals, many of which were the exact opposite of each other. Victorious’ captain, Lachlan David Mackintosh insisted that his pilots learn the U.S. system, which they did.

The plan was to equip Victorious’ airwing with three squadrons of fighters 882, 896 and 898, each with 12 new Grumman Martlets/Wildcats. While in Norfolk, 832 squadron transitioned to their 16 new Grumman Avengers that replaced its Albacore biplanes.

The Victorious and the Saratoga. (Image source: U.S. National Archives)

Victorious becomes USS Robin

Victorious new call sign in U.S. livery was Robin. Some wags thought the name was a reference to the famous bandit who lived in Sherwood Forest. However, the U.S. Navy was careful never to refer to the ship by its original name in official message traffic. Victorious was known only by her new American call sign and became known unofficially as the USS Robin.

Victorious/Robin left Norfolk for the Panama Canal on Feb. 3, 1943. Along the way, the ship found that the landing weight of the Grumman Avengers were stressing the ship’s arresting gear machinery. After four crashes between Panama and Hawaii that wrecked the airplanes involved and caused two major fires, the air wing temporarily stopped flying its TBMs.

When Victorious/Robin arrived in Pearl Harbor on March 3, work began on improving its arresting gear and modifying the hooks on the Avengers to better “fit” Royal Navy arresting wires which were thicker than those used by the U.S. Navy. More 20-mm and 40-mm gun positions were installed while the airwing flew off to airfields on Oahu for training with U.S. Navy replacement air groups before Victorious/Robin deployed to the South Pacific.

One of the issues discovered during the workups was that the British roundel with its center red circle could easily be mistaken during combat for Japanese  markings so the decision was made to repaint the airplanes with the same insignia as those used by the U.S. Navy.

After a stopover in Hawaii, Victorious/Robin sailed for its final set of workups off Noumea, New Caledonia. While at Pearl and in Noumea, Captain Mackintosh was instructed to share all the fighter direction techniques that the RAF learned the hard way during the Battle of Britain and the Royal Navy had learned in the Mediterranean. Many were better than the U.S. Navy’s methodologies and were adopted.

The Victorious is replenished at sea. (Image source: Imperial War Museum)

Joining the U.S. Navy

On the way to Noumea, New Caledonia, the Royal Navy discovered how the U.S. Navy conducted underway replenishment. Due to Pacific Ocean distances, the U.S. Navy was adept at keeping ships at sea for 80 to 90 days between port visits, something the crew of Victorious/Robin had never experienced.

British sailors on Victorious saw for the first time how U.S. Navy oilers and supply ships refuelled a carrier or battleship on one side and one or more ships on the other. Sometimes, U.S. carriers and battleships refuelled destroyers. Later in the war, the Royal Navy adapted many of U.S. Navy’s underway replenishment techniques.

Unfortunately, on the way to Noumea, the accident rate with the Avengers continued. The decision was made to turn Victorious/Robin into a “fighter carrier.” U.S. Navy squadron VF-5 was transferred from the now repaired Saratoga to the Royal Navy carrier and 832 Squadron and its Avengers moved to the U.S. ship.

Now equipped with 60+ U.S. Navy F4F-4 Wildcats and Royal Navy specification Martlets, Victorious/Robin went off to war as part of Task Force 36.3. Saratoga took on the 16 Avengers from 832 Squadron.

The pilots of the U.S. Navy VF-5 squadron aboard HMS Victorious. (Image source: U.S. National Archives)

Operation Cartwheel

This cross-decking of squadrons was the first between the Royal Navy and U.S. Navy. Victorious/Robin participated in Operation Cartwheel, the mission to neutralize Rabaul and retake the remaining Solomon Islands. The carrier spent 28 days at sea and flew 600 sorties in support of the campaign — both records for a RN carrier.

No enemy aircraft or ships were encountered during patrols by aircraft from Victorious/Robin and Saratoga, save for one Japanese flying boat that was encountered and quickly shot down.

To maintain the fiction that Victorious/Robin was a U.S. carrier, all radio communications were conducted by the 35 U.S. Navy personnel on board. This ensured that the Japanese wouldn’t detect RN terminology or accents over the air.

Probably the most difficult part of the evolution for 832 Squadron was that Saratoga, like all U.S. Navy vessels, was “dry,” meaning no liquor was available.  However, on board Victorious/Robin, the pilots of VF-5 enjoyed the bar in the officer’s mess.

HMS Victorious at New Caledonia, 1943. (Image source: U.S. National Archives)

Heading home

Victorious/Robin’s first sojourn into the campaign to defeat Japan ended in August 1943 when she departed for Hawaii several months earlier than planned. Two new Essex-class carriers – USS Essex (CV-9) and USS Yorktown (CV-10) were en route to Hawaii and would be operational by the end of the year, much earlier than originally thought.

By Sept. 1, 1943, Victorious/Robin was back in Norfolk where the U.S. cryptographic equipment was replaced by Royal Navy equipment and a new SG radar installed. The air wing was re-equipped with new Martlets and Avengers.

Victorious returned to home waters on Sept. 26, 1943 and was put in drydock for a complete refit that lasted until March 4, 1944. The carrier would return to the Pacific as part of the Royal Navy’s contingent supporting the U.S. Navy during the Okinawa campaign.

A few of the Victorious‘ flight deck from one of her aircraft. (Image source: U.S. National Archives)

Lessons

The real value of the Victorious/Robin loan came from the lessons learned from cross-decking aircraft and conducting real combat operations and the improvements in damage control/firefighting techniques. The exchange of squadrons was continued throughout the Cold War.

Today, as this article is published, the new HMS Prince of Wales is scheduled to deploy on an extended cruise to the Far East with U.S. Marine F-35Bs from VMFA-211 embarked. During the voyage, the RN’s newest carrier will operate its own F-35Bs, Merlin and Wildcat helicopters alongside the U.S. Marine F-35s.

HMS Victorious was an Illustrious-class carrier. (Image source: Office of Naval Intelligence, US Navy.)

Post Script

Damage control improvements made to Victorious

The damage caused by the two fires that occurred en route to Hawaii also rekindled a U.S. Navy/Royal Navy discussion over carrier design philosophies.

The U.S. Navy’s position was that the additional hull armour used on British vessels restricted the space on the hangar deck, reduced the maintenance spaces needed to repair aircraft and hindered a crews’ ability to fight fires. The lack of ventilation prevented the starting of airplanes on the hangar deck and raising them to the flight deck by elevator for immediate take off. It also limited the ability to vent the hangar deck to rid it of dangerous fumes or to suffocate a fire. The Royal Navy believed that the armoured flight deck and sides improved the survivability of the ship.

As the war progressed, experience showed that the armoured deck had value but not the way the RN ships were designed. When the Royal Navy ships were hit by kamikazes off Okinawa, the value of their armoured decks was proven, but so were the improvements in their fire-fighting systems installed by the U.S. Navy.

Later versions of the Essex carriers had strengthened decks but also could be divided into thirds with steel fire doors as well as a deck edge elevator. The armour built into the sides of Victorious and other British carriers did not have the space for either the door handling equipment or the doors themselves that divided the hangar deck into sections. Being able to cordon off portions of the hangar deck was instrumental in the survivability of the Essex-class carriers.

Another lesson learned from the Victorious/Ranger trade was that U.S. inspectors were able to point out how the Royal Navy could improve its carrier’s fire-fighting systems. They were, where possible, carried out in yard periods in Norfolk and Pearl Harbor.

On board Victorious, the most visible change were the dollies with large CO2 extinguishers positioned on the hangar and flight decks along with more smaller bottles mounted on the bulkheads. These were added because had they been on board when Victorious/Robin was transiting from the Panama Canal to Hawaii, the damage caused by the two fires could have been minimized.

Other changes including modifying the capacity of the ship’s firefighting system with bigger pumps and its ability to vent and pressurize the aircraft fuelling system with CO2 when the ship was not flying or went to action stations.

[1] Document number is PREM 3/163/1.

 

Marc Liebman is a retired U.S. Navy Captain and Naval Aviator and the award-winning author of 14 novels, five of which were Amazon #1 Best Sellers. His latest is the counterterrorism thriller The Red Star of Death. Some of his best-known books are Big Mother 40, Forgotten, Moscow Airlift, Flight of the Pawnee, Insidious Dragon and Raider of the Scottish Coast. All are available on Amazon here.

A Vietnam and Desert Shield/Storm combat veteran, Liebman is a military historian and speaks on military history and current events.

Visit his website, marcliebman.com, for: past interviews, articles about helicopters, general aviation, weekly blog posts about the Revolutionary War era, as well as signed copies of his books.

And for expanded videos of his MilitaryHistoryNow.com articles, subscribe to Marc’s Youtube channel.

 

Marc Liebman working on the L-3 Restoration Team at the now defunct Cavanaugh Flight Museum.

3 thoughts on “HMS Victorious – Meet the British Aircraft Carrier That Joined the U.S. Navy in WW2

  1. Marc,
    Thank you for a fascinating article. It’s the first I heard about swapping ships as important to the war effort as aircraft carriers. Thank heavens we had strong leaders like Churchill back then who were willing to make decisions that were fraught with political risk –what if the Victorious/Robin sank while part of the US Navy? Can you imagine how our so-called “leaders” would react today? Most likely they’d form a commission to advise on what action to take. We could probably build an aircraft carrier in the time it would take them to reach a decision…

  2. Mike here in Ft Worth Texas. I retired from US Navy in 1981 after a career flying off east coast flattops (Forrestal, ShangraLa, Wasp, Roosevelt, Intrepid) … and this (May ’23) was the very first I had ever heard of the back-and-forth ‘loans’ of Wasp and Victorious. One just never stop learning.

    1. Belated reply to you, Mike.
      You are right to say that we never stop learning.. After several other shios and at the guns or often on the “wooden wheel”, .I served on HMS Victorious 1960-62. Steered her for many a hundreds miles in many seas and conditions yet didn’t know of her US history until I had Ieft the RN.
      Now we are all digitalised and eons away from knots and splices and the sextant and chronometer (as it was “then”) Good luck to our respective Navies now!
      Best
      Tanzy Lee

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