EAGLE aircraft carrier
Eagle 1920
Eagle 1939
| Name | No | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Comp | Fate |
| Eagle (ex-Almirante Cochrane) | 94 | Armstrong, Elswick | 20/2/1913 |
8/6/1918 |
4/1920 (officially) 9/1923 (really) 26/2/1924 (finally) |
sunk 11/8/1942 |
|
Displacement normal, t |
22960 |
|
Displacement full, t |
26800 |
|
Length, m |
203.5 |
|
Breadth, m |
32.0 |
|
Draught, m |
8.1 |
|
No of shafts |
4 |
|
Machinery |
Brown-Curtis geared steam turbines, 32 Yarrow boilers |
|
Power, h. p. |
50000 |
|
Max speed, kn |
22.5 |
|
Fuel, t |
2990 oil |
|
Armour, mm |
belt: 114 - 25, bulkheads: 102, deck: 38 - 25, gun shields: 76 |
|
Armament |
9 x 1 - 152/50 BL Mk XVII, 4 x 1 - 102/45 QF Mk V HA, 25 aircraft (Nightjar, Plover, Flycatcher fighters, Panther, Walrus, Bison, Blackburn recon planes, Dart torpedo bombers) |
|
Complement |
950 |
Aircraft facilities (fd - 6,512 m², ha - ~ 2,196 m² / 11,858 m³): Flight deck: 203.5 x 32 m; hangar: 122 m (length); 2 lifts (6.4 t), 1 crane for seaplanes
| Year | Fighters | Torpedo-bombers | Recon planes |
| 1935 | 9 Osprey | --- | 12 Fairey III |
| 6/1940 | 4 Sea Gladiator | 18 Swordfish | --- |
| 6/1942 | 16 Sea Hurricane | 9 Swordfish | --- |
Ship project history: The ship was ordered for Chilean Navy as battleship Admiral Cochrane. She was requisitioned by Admiralty at the First World War beginning, in the end of 1917 the decision to finish building as an aircraft carrier is accepted. Eagle was planed to commission in 1919, however building was delayed till February, 1924 because of considerable changes in the design (conversion of boilers to oil combustion, fitting of anti-torpedo bulges, changing of armament: number of 152mm guns had moderated with 12 to 9, slenderness of island for giving to it of the best aerodynamic properties). First time there was the "longitudinal" system of arresting gear removed in 1926.
Protection: There were bulges intended for torpedo protection. Main deck has 25mm slopes, connected with lower edge of main belt.
Modernizations: Till 1920 fuel storage was 3200t of coal and 1750t of oil, main guns consisted of 12 152/45mm BL Mk XII. There were no bulges, and maximal breadth was 28.7m.
1926: aircraft fuel stowage increased to 67200l.
1927: + 1 x 1 - 102/45 QF Mk V HA, 14 x 1 - 7.7/87
1929: + 2 x 1 - 40/39 pompom
1932: - 1 x 1 - 102/45, 2 x 1 - 40/39, 14 x 1 - 7.7/92; + 1 x 8 - 40/39 pompom, 2 x 4 - 12.7/62
1937: + 1 x 8 - 40/39 pompom
1942: Aircraft fuel stowage increased to 80600l; - 2 x 4 - 12.7/62; + 12 x 1 - 20/70 Oerlikon, 2x type 282, 285, 290 radars.
Naval service: An accident has happened onboard the ship in Indian ocean 14/3/1940: 250pdr (114kg) bomb has blown up in a hangar for the unknown reason. Repair in full to conduct it was not possible because of urgent transition to Mediterranean sea, therefore the ship suffered from often breakages. She was attacked 11/8/1942 by German submarine U73 and, having received hits of four torpedoes, sunk in 4 minutes, 263 people were lost.
Eagle 1923
Eagle 1935
© Ivan Gogin, 2009