HMS Eagle (R05)

HMS Eagle (R05)

HMS Eagle was an aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy, in service 1951-1972. With her sister ship Ark Royal, she is one of the two largest British aircraft carriers yet built.

She was initially laid down on 24 October 1942 at Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast as one of four ships of the Audacious-class aircraft carrier. These were laid down during World War II as part of the British naval buildup during that conflict. Two were cancelled at the end of hostilities, and the remaining two were suspended. Originally designated Audacious, she was renamed as Eagle (the fifteenth Royal Navy ship to receive this name), taking the name of the cancelled third ship of the class on 21 January 1946. She was finally launched by Princess Elizabeth on 19 March 1946.

Several changes were incorporated into the design, although Eagle was launched too early to see an angled flight deck installed, and the ship was commissioned in October 1951. A year later she took part in the first large NATO naval exercise, Exercise Mainbrace.