The HMS Glorious reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

HMS Glorious

Career
Ordered:
Laid down:	1 May 1915
Launched:	20 April 1916
Commissioned:	January 1917
Converted to aircraft carrier:	February 1924–March 1930
Fate:	Sunk by Scharnhorst and Gneisenau during the evacuation from Norway in spring 1940.
Struck:
General Characteristics
Displacement:	26,518 tons full load
Length:	786.5 feet
Beam:	27.75 feet
Draught:
Propulsion:	18 Yarrow small tube boilers, Parson geared turbines producing 90,000 shp driving four shafts
Speed:	30.5 knots
Range:	5,860 miles at 16 knots
Complement:	1200
Armament:	16 4.7-inch Four single 4-pdrs Three octuple 2-pdrs
Aircraft:	48
Motto:

HMS Glorious was a warship of the Royal Navy, she saw action as a battlecruiser in World War I and was converted to an aircraft carrier and sunk in WW II

Glorious was built by Harland and Wolff. The design was for a battlecruiser and the keel was laid down in May 1915, the hull was launched on April 20, 1916 and Glorious was commissioned in 1917. She saw little action and design flaws meant that Glorious was placed in the reserve fleet in February 1919. The vessel was converted to a carrier from 1924 and was re-commissioned on March 10, 1930.

The carrier joined the Mediterranean Fleet but with the invasion of Norway in April 1940 she was recalled to home waters. On April 23 she and HMS Ark Royal arrived in Norwegian waters. From June 5 Glorious took part in Operation Alphabet, the evacuation of Allied troops from Norway.

On June 8 the Glorious had taken on board a number of Gloster Gladiators and also Hawker Hurricanes, the first landing of modern aircraft without arrestor hooks on a carrier. Glorious left a larger convoy to proceed independently and while transiting through the Norwegian Sea to return to Scapa Flow the carrier and her two escorts, the destroyers HMS Acasta and HMS Ardent, were intercepted by the German battle-cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. The carrier and her escorts were quickly sunk with the loss of 1,519 men, there were only 41 survivors. The Scharnhorst was badly damaged by torpedo hit and both German vessels took a number of shell hits. The carrier was sunk roughly 170nm west of Harstad. Bletchley Park had received, and reported, indications that Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were out, but these were disregarded as insufficiently credible.

• Displacement: 22,352 tons (26,518 tons with a full load)
• Length: 786.5 ft (240 m)
• Beam: 90.5 ft (27.6 m)
• Height: 24 ft (7.3 m)
• Aircraft: up to 48, either the Fairey Swordfish or Gloster Gladiators
• Defences: 16 x 4.7 inch (119 mm), 3 x Octuple 2-pounder (907 g)
• Power: 18 Yarrow boilers, 90,000 shp (67 MW)
• Top speed: 30 knots (56 km/h)
• Range: 5,860 nautical miles (10,850 km) at 16 knots (30 km/h)
• Crew: 1,200 including Fleet Air Arm

Glorious-class aircraft carrier

Glorious | Courageous

List of aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy

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