HMS Centaur

HMS Centaur was the first of the four Centaur-class light fleet carriers of the Royal Navy. She was the only ship of her class to retain the original configuration with a straight axial flight deck rather than the angled flight decks of her three sister ships. She was laid down in 1944 in Belfast with the contract being awarded to Harland and Wolff; however, she was not launched until 22 April 1947, sometime after World War II had come to a close, due to delays relating to the end of the war. She was commissioned on 1 September 1953, a gap of almost nine years from when she was laid down in 1944.

Between 1956–1958, she underwent extensive modernisation with a six degree angled flight deck being added as well as steam catapultsand arrestor cables, thereby giving her the ability to operate jet aircraft, such as the Hawker Sea Hawk and de Havilland Sea Venom; and, after the 1960 Portsmouth refit, the de Havilland Sea Vixen and Supermarine Scimitar.These were the minimum of alterations needed to operate these advanced, trans-sonic second generation fighter bombers. Centaur's aircraft operating and servicing areas were smaller and less well-designed, compared with her comprehensively updated half- sister, Hermes. The Scimitar aircraft had been pressed into service without a full development programme, and proved too large and dangerous to use from the Centaur, and in its final years Centaur's only aircraft were the Sea Vixens. However these did not represent an adequate counter to the threat of low level Mig 17,19 and 21 strike. Significantly, the Centaur was withdrawn at the time of the Indonesian confrontation.

In 1959 HMS Centaur was used during the making of the film Sink the Bismarck! to depict flight operations from both HMS Victoriousand HMS Ark Royal; (she is clearly marked with her post-war pennant number R06 in both scenes). Three surviving Fairey Swordfishbiplanes were restored and flown from her decks, and scenes were also shot on the bridge of the carrier, and in the aircrew briefing room.